Introduction
Historically, writing, authorship, and scholarship was a male-dominated field, something that continues to persist this very day. For generations, it was men that were writers, defining history, culture, and literature. Until the 20th century, it was very uncommon for women to be writers, especially recognized as professionals in this industry. For thousands of years women have faced discrimination based on gender, being cut off from opportunity to demonstrate themselves creatively and professionally while confined to household duties or manual labor professions. However, over the years, some writers were able to breakout and public iconic pieces of literature, published and recognized, sometimes not until decades later.
This paper will explore key female authors from the 18th century to modern day, while discussing the general challenges they faced and their immense contributions to society. Female authors were always at a disadvantage in society and the field of writing due to their gender, but the difficulties they faced often contributed them to create inspiring and quality literature while also pushing the boundaries of social acceptance and feminism.
18th and 19th Century
In the 18th and 19th centuries, female writers first began to emerge as more publicly known figures and their work had some widespread publication. By the 19th century, there were ongoing social reforms where women began to take on larger roles in society, able to project their views through writing without the total judgment and cruelty often experienced by women writers in previous centuries (Howell 23).
One of the most renowned writers of the time is Jane Austen, best known for her iconic novel Pride and Prejudice. Austen was born in a scholarly family of a reverend, attended Oxford and had familial monetary support. However, she also faced difficulties in love and marriage which was a social expectation at the time, reflecting in her novels and she had to move often after her initial marriage plans fell apart. The quote from one of her novels, “The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!” is said to have reflected her independent attitude (Nokes 387).
Her first publications of Sense and Sensibility in 1811 had to be published anonymously, and if it was not for her brother’s connections, she would have faced even more issues with finding a publisher. It was not until after her death in 1817 due to a disease, that her authorship of the works that much of England was reading at the time was announced, and it was not until the 20th century that her works were more recognized as classics of literature (Nokes 411).
20th Century
The 20th century saw a growth in equality and female participation in society, largely due to the suffrage movement which gave women the right to vote across the world. Female entertainers, authors, poets, and other professions began to emerge. While there is a tremendous number of amazing authors from this century, the most iconic is Virginia Woolf.
Virginia Woolf is a British author born in 1882. Coming from an affluent family, she underwent childhood struggles with the death of her mother and sexual abuse but received an education and was even encouraged to write professionally by her father who saw her talent. She became a prominent figure in the English literary scene, and quickly adopted a feminist perspective. Her works were often centered around feminine themes and unspoken emotions of daily experiences.
She recognized the role of women in society and even in literature, “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman” (Auden). Woolf was criticized by many, including other women for not addressing the key issues of the time such as war and politics. Her suffering mental health and public affairs also contributed to controversy surrounding her life, as few publishers wanted to work with her or publish such socially controversial works which promoted financial, creative, and intellectual freedom for women. After multiple attempts, Woolf eventually died by suicide due to her deteriorating mental health. Her work was not embraced or publicly anthologized until nearly 50 years after publications of her novels.
Modern Day Authors
While modern day female authors in the 21st century do not face the harsh censure endured by their predecessors, they must operate in a multi-billion-dollar industry that continues to more subtly discriminate or disenfranchise women. Female authors are promoted less, typically paid less, and viewed as less influential in comparison to their male counterparts in the corporate offices of the publisher conglomerates. While opportunities exist for anyone to become a successful writer, it is just as difficult as in the past to get mass published without appropriate connections.
J.K. Rowling is the author that comes to mind when speaking about female writers of the 21st century. Known for the global phenomenon of the Harry Potter series, Rowling is universally recognized as one of the most popular and commercially successful female authors of all time. However, her journey to the success was wrought with challenges. When beginning her writing career, Rowling was unemployed, living on welfare, and extremely depressed..At the time of conceiving Harry Potter, she lost her mother, saw her marriage collapse, and became a single parent. She also experienced numerous setbacks in completing her first book.
Eventually, she sought to publish the first novel, but was rejected by at least 12 different publishers until finally given a chance which came with a warning that she would not be able to make a living off her writing (Kirk 74). Now, the Harry Potter franchise is one of the most famous in the world and J.K. Rowling is the first author to become a billionaire, a platform she actively uses for social activism and feminist ideals. In her words “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.” (Year On Team).
Common Challenges
One of the major challenges faced by female authors through all time is discrimination based on gender and relentless competition with their male counterparts. As mentioned, writing was only until recently seen as a male occupation. Even in modern day, the discrimination persists in more subtle ways, such as the publisher advising Joan Rowling to write her name as J.K. Rowling on the cover of the Harry Potter series in order to hide her gender as to not push away teenage boys that may want to read her books (Howell 24).
Of course, the women coming before faced much greater struggles of even getting their works published or recognized. While in the past it was accepted the women of upper classes could write recreationally, a position that Jane Austen was able take advantage of, but any sort of professional work in writing was highly scandalous. There has and continues to be an inherent “lack of gender equality in the literary world,” and even in contemporary world where there’s a special section for ‘women’s literature’ – it signifies a thematic where women are singled and “categorized” out for being different stylistically or otherwise different in the same genres as men (Howell 25).
These female authors faced misogyny at virtually all levels of the writing and publication process as bias and discrimination, sometimes not just because of gender but due to race as well were prevalent. Many publishers would be reluctant to work with women, with their work not picked for review or not taken seriously especially when discussing not female-associated topics such as war, socioeconomics – women were expected to stay within certain parameters and themes which is highly discouraging for many writers. Even if works are published, these would not be recognized for awards or be included in school curriculums, sometimes only decades after or after their death.
For centuries, female authors emerging had to undergo struggles to ultimately break the glass ceiling in the societal expectation that women should marry and make family a priority, not their passions or interests (Howell 23). However, many of the women discussed in this paper were able to balance family and professional writing, demonstrating the capability to maintain a writing career and breaking the glass ceiling as their legacy allowed other writers to persist.
Contribution to Literature and Society
For centuries, women writers were essentially the only champions for themselves, as well as their predecessors and contemporaries. The work A Vindication on the Rights of Women published in 1792 by Mary Wollstonecraft is seen as the landmark document for women to publish their works and engage in critical discourse on the issue of women in literature. Due to societal limitations, female authors were associated with feminism movements throughout history, attempting to carve the way for women writers and break the glass ceiling, with only little support from men. For the most part, historically the people interested in reading and responding to female literature were other women, but it was just as important as it empowered authors, especially smaller ones that are not part of the iconic names discussed earlier. Eventually, renewed interest in women’s literary history allows these writers, recognizable and not to be part of the history and canon. Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own (1929) offers a metaphorical discussion on the place of women’s literature in the literary tradition, which sparked the contemporary movement of recognition of female authors which later inspired the second wave feminism in the latter 20th century (Rivera).
Women have made tremendous contributions to literature in all forms: novels, poetry, prose, non-fictional writing, journalism, and others. Many of the greatest pieces of work both directly and indirectly discussed many critical societal issues, including that of feminism and female empowerment as well as the role that women played in key historic events or ideologies. Pride and Prejudice examines social structures and class, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is one of the greatest abolitionist anti-slavery novels of the time, and even teen fiction such as the Hunger Games examines the role of media and female leadership. These female authors not only created literal masterpieces, but their work often exemplified the need for acknowledgment, activism, and social critique of existing societal status quo.
Conclusion
The impact that female writers have had on literature and society is indescribably amazing. Most of the time, these women had to work from a position where their status in society as writers was not initially accepted as they faced discrimination because of their gender as well as potentially race, socioeconomic status, political views, and other factors. It is important to note that this paper covers only a small portion of great female authors through history, and despite the numerous societal limitations, some women writers emerged as early as the 15th century. The authors explored are considered icons of literature and social progress for their time, and their contributions are immense in the light of personal and societal challenges that they faced regardless of the time period of their careers, but each paved the way for new generations of women authors to continue their legacy.
Works Cited
Auden, W. H. “A Consciousness of Reality.” The New Yorker, 1954. Web.
Howell, Samantha. “The Evolution of Female Writers: An Exploration of Their Issues and Concerns from the 19th Century to Today.” Hohonu, vol. 13, pp. 23-26, 2014. Web.
Kirk, Connie A. J.K. Rowling: A Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003.
Nokes, David. Jane Austen: A Life. University of California Press, 1998.
Rivera, Adrienne. “The History and Importance of Women’s Literature.” Books Tell You Why, 2020. Web.
Year On Team. “Failure. Rejection. Success: The J. K. Rowling Story.” Year On, 2015. Web.