blue·stock·ing (plural bluestockings)
| 2. | a member of a mid-18th-century London literary circle: Lady Montagu was a celebrated bluestocking. |
Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827), Breaking Up of the Blue Stocking Club
Women who are socially prominent due to their education or ability have often been coined with the title “bluestocking.” The term has been taken to the extreme in some cases and has been used to identify feminist or radical female groups. But, the origins of the name are actually trivial, despite the significance now associated with the term. There is a popular myth that the term “bluestocking” originated from a man, Benjamin Stillingfleet, who wore blue stockings to a literary discussion held by a group of women. Blue stockings were generally intended for sleep or lounge wear, and thus he was not surprisingly the only person wearing blue stockings in the group. But, it was not that one man who would be forever known as “bluestocking”, instead the literary circle of women coined the name.
This literary circle was a group of women who corresponded through letters and discussion about literature, the fine arts, philosophy, and many other intellectual subjects. The literary circle was established when Elizabeth Montagu began hosting breakfasts at her home in London. Cards were an extremely common social activity, but Montagu would not permit them at her functions and instead focussed conversation on intellectual subjects. Elizabeth Montagu and Elizabeth Vesey functioned as hostesses for these discussions that quickly evolved from breakfast conversation to serious literary discussions. Of the original Bluestockings, the principle women were Frances Boscawen, Elizabeth Carter, Hester Chapone, Mary Delany, Sarah Fielding, Catharine Macauly, Hannah More, Clara Reeve, Sarah Scott, Catherine Talbot, Elizabeth Vesey, and Elizabeth Montagu1.
Richard Samuel
As the group grew, they became increasingly organized. The intent of the literary circle was to remain a means of pleasant social activity, but also functioning as an educational medium within the group’s parameters. Politics were not considered a suitable topic for discussion as they were regarded as private affairs. The topics of discussion were narrowly focussed on literature and the fine arts. The group did remain primarily female, but they did also invite educated men.
Despite the impact of the Bluestockings, they were neither radical nor extreme feminists but rather they were actually very conservative. They may have established a foundation for the enlightenment, but their goals, ideas, and works were not truly radical and they “did not obviously or vociferously attempt to reform the condition or treatment of women.”2 The literary works of the Bluestocking women became very popular in the late eighteenth century. Some of their works prove they were not radical feminists, such as Hester Chapone’s “Letters on the Improvement of the Mind” (1773) which “became a standard text for issue to young ladies, a handbook on the acquisition of respectable middle-class femininity.”3 This means of advice targeted young women as an audience and the popularity encouraged more to read and become involved.
The Bluestockings were initially received by the public with controversially. Although they were not radicals, the women were viewed as overstepping their feminine spheres. Women were thought to belong in the home and worship their husbands. Only men were permitted to attend universities and it was believed inappropriate for women to learn foreign languages or to write. Female authors of the time would often try to conceal their identities with male aliases, because their works would be otherwise ignored. The Bluestockings were some of the first female authors to publically identify themselves as such. The perseverance of the Bluestockings that would eventually garner positive criticism and respect. The mixed emotions remained, but increasingly more were open to the possibility of female intellectuals and their popularity continued to grow.
Blue Stockings - Woman revealing herself as author
The Bluestockings may have been named after a man in blue undergarments, but the trivial nature of the title does not reflect the significant impact they had on women and society. They introduced innumerous opportunities for female intellectuals to expand their horizons. The Bluestockings were not attacking society or gender roles, they were simply offering a medium for education that was not otherwise available to females. Society has proved fickle over the centuries, and the Bluestockings that were once dramatized as deviant women are now accepted as heroes. They were truly renaissance women.
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October 23, 2008 at 2:01 am
Bluestockings Today « 18th Century Prose and -ugh- Poetry
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October 23, 2008 at 10:51 am
Elizabeth Montagu « 18th Century Prose and -ugh- Poetry
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