Silly Novels by Lady Novelists, written in 1856 by George Eliot – known also as Mary Ann Evans – is an essay discussing the nature of female-led literature at the time. The essay suggests that novels in this era written by women, were inherently “silly”[1] often drawing criticisms of expressions of classic displays of femininity[2]. At first glance, the book appears to be a scathing criticism of all that is feminine, with its aim being to reject and mock all the ideals of women at the time.

             Despite this, an argument could be made to the contrary – it is possible, that when Eliot was writing, she was speaking from the perspective of an early feminist, who was merely arguing the stereotypical and archetypal description of women in these texts[3], and expressing frustration at the concept of women themselves feeding this archetype.

 

             In the mid 1800s, the first wave of feminism was still in its infancy, with women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony[4] beginning to speak about women’s position in society, against a number of issues – these included “equality in education, labour and electoral rights.”[5] The first wave of feminism focused mainly on the idea that women needed to gain the respect of men, mainly through political means, in order to have their voices heard,[6] but also accomplished gaining women the right to their own property and wages, and – eventually – even the right for women to have birth control.[7] With the movement having already been conceived over fifteen years previous to Eliot’s essay, it is not out of the question that this could have influenced the observations she made within it.

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“Frothy, prosy, pious [and] pedantic”[8] is the way Eliot refers to the writing of some female authors. The idea that Eliot’s essay is a criticism of women writers and classic ideals of femininity begins with the first literary example she gives, which is that of the novel Laura Gay[9].  In this, Eliot criticises the characterisation of the protagonist, mockingly describing the way she “had a remarkably original mind […] was a genius, and [was] conscious of her originality,”[10] seeming disdainful of the – albeit hyperbolic - way the protagonist is being displayed. It appears that Eliot has a dislike for descriptions which suggest that the female protagonist is above her peers in terms of intellect or character – in modern day, the character she is describing would be referred to as a ‘Mary Sue’[11] – a trope which is defined as “a type of female character who is depicted as unrealistically lacking in flaws or weaknesses.” This is confirmed by Eliot’s criteria for the type of character she is referring to – a woman who is “an heiress [whose] eyes and […] wit are both dazzling; her nose and her morals […] alike free from any tendency to irregularity”[12]

Eliot then goes on to discuss the novel Compensation[13], which she  describes as “heavily dosed with doctrine [and having] a treble amount of snobbish [wordiness] and absurd incident to tickle the palate of pious frivolity”[14]. This description certainly propels the idea that Eliot has significant dislike for the writing styles of female writers – the idea of “snobbish [wordiness]” suggests the idea that women writers have no right to be creating literature with long, complicated passages; male writers, in this time, would not have faced the same scrutiny[15]

This, then, provides evidence that Eliot has a particular distaste for women writers – herself, perhaps, excepted – and for the way in which they present their own femininity.

 

Despite Eliot’s apparent aversion for female writers, an argument could be made that the reason she resents it is due to the way women describe themselves in the wake of the upcoming feminist movement.

Evidencing that she does not have a specific vendetta against lady novelists, is when Eliot speaks about Rank and Beauty[16]. In this analysis, she expresses that while it is “frothy”, the novel is “[preferred] to [Laura Gay and Compensation]” because “the dialogue is more natural and spirited; there is some frank ignorance, and no pedantry […].”[17] This suggests that there is a specific sector of female-written prose that she dislikes – and that it is that which specifically outlines stereotypically feminine qualities; an image which, with the rise of feminism, may have begun to be questioned by some women within society, especially those who were educated as Eliot was[18]

An interesting aspect of this argument is that Eliot uses a male pseudonym under which to write. While this could suggest that she was kneeling to the male-centric ideals of the era[19], it could equally as easily be suggested that she was using this assumed identity to infiltrate the predominantly male literary world, in order to dispute the perpetuation of female stereotypes – while also paying homage to female writers before her who did the same, such as Currer Bell, A.M Barnard, and George Sand[20]

At one point, Eliot exposes the way female writers receive either patronising praise or outright criticism in regards to their work. She mentions that the specific type of woman writer whom she is referring to throughout the essay[21] is “accustomed to be told […] that their pictures of life are brilliant, their characters well-drawn, their style fascinating, and their sentiments lofty,”[22] while those writers with “plainness of speech” and whose “works are on the way to become classics” are “resent[ed].”[23] She then continues to complain that “every critic of the share […] women will ultimately take in literature will, on principle, abstain from any exceptional indulgence towards the productions of literary women”[24] – thus never giving them the opportunity to express ideals outside of those which perpetuate patriarchal ideas[25], and thus delaying the influence of the new feminist era.

 

In her concluding statement, Eliot states that “fiction is a department of literature in which woman can […] fully equal men,” and that “women can produce novels not only fine, but amongst the very finest […] that have a precious specialty quite apart from masculine aptitudes and experience,”[26] – suggesting that the feminine ideas and representations in female-written texts is actually a specific strength, rather than a hinderance. While she does continue to comment upon “incompetent women”[27] – though this is within the context that “in novel-writing there are no barriers for incapacity to stumble against.”[28] This suggests an aversion to ill-skilled writing in general, rather than a specific grudge against women writers. Although it may not yet have been Eliot’s place to disrupt society by criticising the male gaze of women[29], she was able to contribute to the impending feminist era by infiltrating male literary culture to protest the over-feminisation of women, all the while providing genuine literary criticism to those female novelists whom did deserve it – the so-called writers of the silly novels by lady novelists.

 

 

Bibliography

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• Armitage, Helen, ’12 Women Writers Who Wrote Under Male Pseudonyms’ (Culture Trip, 2018)
   

• Atria, Feminism in the 19th Century, (Institute on Gender Equality and Women’s History)
   

• Dolbee, Sandi, ‘First Wave of Feminism’, (The ARDA)
   

• Dorey-Stien, Caroline, ‘A Brief History: The Four Waves of Feminism’, (Progressive Women’s Leadership, 2018)
   

• Eliot, George, Silly Novels by Lady Novelists, (Penguin Books, England, 1856)
   

• Hughes, Kathryn, ‘Gender Roles in the 19th Century’, ‘Discovering Literature: Romantics and Victorians’ (British Library, 2014)
   

• Mansky, Jackie, ‘The Woman Who Coined the Term ‘Mary Sue’”, (Smithsonian, 2019)
   

• Marsh, Jan, ‘Gender Ideology and Separate Spheres in the 19th Century’, (Victoria and Albert Museum)
   

• OER Services, ‘19th Century Feminist Movements’, ‘Introduction to Women Gender Sexuality Studies’ (OER Services)

·Showalter, Elaine, ‘A Literature Of Their Own: British Women Novelists from Brontë to Lessing: British Women Novelists from Bronte to Lessing’, (Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1977)

·Silverman, Rosa, ‘Women writers suffer in male-dominated literary world, says novelist’, (The Telegraph, 2013)

• Srayisah, May Hasan, ‘Victorian Women in Literature’, (RSP, 2017)

• Sweeney, Christine, ‘Gendered Glances: The Male Gaze(s) in Victorian English Literature’, (Georgetown University Press, USA, 2009)

• Unknown Author, ‘Compensation’

• Unknown Author, ‘Laura Gay’,

• Unknown Author, ‘Rank and Beauty’, (Hurst and Blackett Publishers, London, 1856)

• Waldman, Katy, ‘How Women See How Male Authors See Them’, (The New Yorker, 2018)

 

[1] Eliot, George, Silly Novels by Lady Novelists, (Penguin Books, England, 1856) pg. 22

[2] Hughes, Kathryn, ‘Gender Roles in the 19th Century’, ‘Discovering Literature: Romantics and Victorians’ (British Library, 2014) https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/gender-roles-in-the-19th-century (accessed 16/10/19)

[3] Srayisah, May Hasan, ‘Victorian Women in Literature’, (RSP, 2017) https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/53ec/7e3f10d9cdf2fb86e31290ad08697bdb5d05.pdf (accessed 16/10/19)

[4] OER Services, ‘19th Century Feminist Movements’, ‘Introduction to Women Gender Sexuality Studies’ (OER Services) https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-introwgss/chapter/19th-century-feminist-movements/ (accessed 16/10/19)

[5] Atria, Feminism in the 19th Century, (Institute on Gender Equality and Women’s History) https://institute-genderequality.org/news-publications/feminism/feminism-19th-century/ (accessed 14/10/19)

[6] Dorey-Stien, Caroline, ‘A Brief History: The Four Waves of Feminism’, (Progressive Women’s Leadership, 2018) https://www.progressivewomensleadership.com/a-brief-history-the-four-waves-of-feminism/ (accessed 16/10/19)

[7] Dolbee, Sandi, ‘First Wave of Feminism’, (The ARDA) http://www.thearda.com/timeline/events/event_309.asp (accessed on (16/10/19)

[8] Eliot, George, ‘Silly Novels by Lady Novelists’, (Penguin Books, England, 1856) pg.1

[9] Unknown Author, ‘Laura Gay’, (https://forgottenbooks.com/en/books/LauraGay_10025042) – the assumption, though, is that Eliot is referring to a female writer, based on the context – indeed, Eliot seems to suggest that the novel is self-titled.       

[10] Eliot, George, ‘Silly Novels by Lady Novelists’, (Penguin Books, England, 1856) pg, 5

[11] Mansky, Jackie, ‘The Woman Who Coined the Term ‘Mary Sue’”, (Smithsonian, 2019) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/these-women-coined-term-mary-sue-180972182/ (accessed 16/10/19)

[12] Eliot, George, ‘Silly Novels by Lady Novelists’, (Penguin Books, England, 1856) pg. 1

[13] Unknown Author, ‘Compensation’

[14] Eliot, George, ‘Silly Novels by Lady Novelists’, (Penguin Books, England, 1856) pg. 8

[15] Waldman, Katy, ‘How Women See How Male Authors See Them’, (The New Yorker, 2018) https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/how-women-see-how-male-authors-see-them (accessed 16/10/19)

[16] Unknown Author, ‘Rank and Beauty’, (Hurst and Blackett Publishers, London, 1856)

[17] Eliot, George, ‘Silly Novels by Lady Novelists’, (Penguin Books, England, 1856) pg.11

[18] Showalter, Elaine, ‘A Literature Of Their Own: British Women Novelists from Brontë to Lessing: British Women Novelists from Bronte to Lessing’, (Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1977)

[19] Silverman, Rosa, ‘Women writers suffer in male-dominated literary world, says novelist’, (The Telegraph, 2013) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/9977417/Women-writers-suffer-in-male-dominated-literary-world-says-novelist.html (accessed 16/10/19)

[20] Armitage, Helen, ’12 Women Writers Who Wrote Under Male Pseudonyms’ (Culture Trip, 2018) https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/12-female-writers-who-wrote-under-male-pseudonyms/ (accessed 16/10/19)

[21] Eliot, George, ‘Silly Novels by Lady Novelists’, (Penguin Books, England, 1856) pg. 31

[22] Eliot, George, ‘Silly Novels by Lady Novelists’,  (Penguin Books, England, 1856) pg. 31

[23] Eliot, George, Silly Novels by Lady Novelists’, (Penguin Books, England, 1856) pg. 31

[24] Eliot, George, ‘Silly Novels by Lady Novelists’, (Penguin Books, England, 1856) pg. 31

[25] Marsh, Jan, ‘Gender Ideology and Separate Spheres in the 19th Century’, (Victoria and Albert Museum) http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/g/gender-ideology-and-separate-spheres-19th-century/

[26] Eliot, George, ‘Silly Novels by Lady Novelists’, (Penguin Books, England, 1856) pg. 33

[27] Eliot, George, Silly Novels by Lady Novelists, (Penguin Books, England, 1856) pg. 33

[28] Eliot, George, ‘Silly Novels by Lady Novelists’, (Penguin Books, England, 1856) pg. 34

[29] Sweeney, Christine, ‘Gendered Glances: The Male Gaze(s) in Victorian English Literature’, (Georgetown University Press, USA, 2009)