Victorian Women Writers and the Periodical Press: The Case of Harriet Martineau

Abstract

Explains how the convention of anonymity associated with most Victorian periodicals enabled Harriet Martineau to resist socially-constructed stereotypes of the “female author.” When writing for periodicals, Martineau molded her narrative voice to suit her rhetorical purpose, assuming a male or female persona according to her subject matter, readership, and editorial guidelines. Believes the indeterminacy of Martineau’s narrative voice enabled her to resist and reconstruct social stereotypes, expanding the number of possible literary media, topics, and narrative voices open to women writers; in this role she provided an important model for later Victorian women writers.