Frances Wright Criticism
Frances Wright (1795–1852) was a pioneering Scottish-born social reformer and one of the earliest advocates for emancipation and equal rights, profoundly impacting the 19th-century social reform movements in the United States. Her commitment to these ideals, expressed through her eloquent public lectures and writings, garnered both admiration and criticism. Wright's advocacy for individual liberty, community ethics, and education highlights her revolutionary vision for democracy and equality, as explored by scholars such as Elizabeth Ann Bartlett.
Born into a prominent Scottish family, Wright was exposed to liberal political beliefs early in life, which influenced her intellectual development. Her travels to the United States further fueled her interest in democratic ideals. Wright's major works, like her play Altorf and her philosophical treatise A Few Days in Athens, reveal her engagement with issues of tolerance, self-reliance, and gender equality, as noted by Celia Morris Eckhardt. Her involvement in the establishment of Nashoba, a Tennessee community aimed at gradual emancipation, reflects her bold attempts at social reform, a project discussed in detail by Helen Heineman and William Randall Waterman.
Despite facing significant backlash from conservative elements in society, Wright's rhetoric and activism significantly influenced the feminist movement. As Susan S. Kissel asserts, she played a key role in advancing women's rights across the United States and Britain, evoking both public scorn and sympathy. Figures like John Stuart Mill and Walt Whitman acknowledged her contributions, and her work continued to inspire later feminists such as Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Wright's relentless pursuit of social justice, despite societal opposition, laid the groundwork for future activism in the pursuit of equality.
Contents
- Principal Works
-
Essays
-
Nashoba Concluded
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Waterman reviews Frances Wright's published plan for her cooperative community of Nashoba and argues that Wright's advocacy of equal rights and sexual freedom contributed to her reputation as a radical.
-
Frances Wright and the Second Utopia
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Heineman discusses Frances Wright's correspondence concerning the establishment of Nashoba, a colony intended to serve as a model of emancipation and equality.
-
Jane Austen and the Rebel
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Eckhardt contrasts Frances Wright, who even in her youth expressed outrage at oppression and willfully entered into political activism, with the more iconic and conventional figure of femininity drawn by Jane Austen.
-
Wright, the American Suffragists, Mill, and Whitman
(summary)
In the following essay, Kissel contends that Frances Wright, by generating both public opprobrium and sympathy, significantly advanced the cause of women's rights in the United States and Britain.
-
Frances Wright
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Bartlett considers Wright's moral and political convictions, which grew out of her intellectual commitments to liberal democracy and Utopian socialism.
-
Nashoba Concluded
(summary)
- Further Reading