Authoress, Poetess, Prostitute: The Right Kind of Woman

A quick disclaimer, this whole article was inspired by ‘Eve Bites Back’ by Anna Beer, it is amazing and eye opening so I cannot recommend it enough!

As a woman before the 20th century having your writing published was a battle, be it poetry, novels, journalism or prose. So I am going to give you a crash course on how to be the “Right Kind of Woman” so that your work can be published without being accused of prostitution! Yippee. But first, I have to answer the question; what makes the right kind of woman?

(False)Modesty

To be deserving of fame you must not actually want it. “That is so hypocritical”, I hear you say, but of course you need to take into account that we silly little women don’t know what is in our best interest. A woman must be under the dominion of both her husband and of course God, content in the domestic sphere, and most importantly, refute the siren’s call of notoriety. Our first ‘right woman’ was Anne Bradstreet, the first woman in America to have her original poetry published. What made her the pinnacle of women-writers (who deserved publication) was the fact that her work was published by her brother in law. Her family remained adamant that she did not want her work published. This shy reluctance was evocative of what a woman should be within a conservative Christian theocracy, and thus because fame was supposedly distasteful in Anne’s eyes she became deserving of it…

“By a Lady”

Jane Austen (another Right Kind of Woman) famously did not give her own name on some of her publications, simply stating that they were written “By a Lady” instead. This description immediately lends her writing a level of authority given the social position of its author and adding to the idea of turning away from fame given she did not use her own name. This level of propriety was necessary for a woman to be ‘allowed’ to publish her own works because of course, was she of a low class, had sex before marriage or, wrote about anything salacious she had no credibility at all. 

This is a fun double standard considering her contemporary Benjamin Disraeli faced no similar judgements. He became PM even after describing his publisher as a “brothel Madame” and then himself as a “literary prostitute”. Male discussion of sex was perfectly okay but for a woman to discuss sex, what an abhorrent idea. Thus should you want to be the Right Kind of Woman you must remember to act as a cordial lady the entire time, and any discussion of sex is completely banned.

Thirst for Fame

But now onto the cautionary tale, what makes you the Wrong kind of woman? Aphra Behn, an English playwright, was an extraordinary figure, and one of the first women to support herself through her publications. However, she was famously described as an ‘errant whore’, not the kindest nickname for a woman who supported herself through her own means… But to be a female author who sought out fame and payment you were akin to a prostitute, for ‘to sell your words was to sell your body’. Behn attempted to distance herself from this accusation with the statement ‘I value Fame as much as had I been born a Hero’, thus suggesting she cared little for the money she earns but instead longed for immortality through the lens of fame. But this of course makes her undeserving of respect as to long for fame is to become a whore and thus the ‘Wrong Kind of Woman’. 

Body of Work versus “The Body”

To be a female author you also had to accept speculation about your humanity, body and relationships. Thus women like Jane Austen and Mary Elizabeth Bradden decimated any trace of themselves. After Austen’s death her sister Cassandra burnt all of their letters ensuring that any exploration of Jane’s private life hit a dead end. Austen’s life was sanitised massively, this removal of biographical information ensured her survival as a serious author through the puritanical Victorian ideals. Similarly, Mary Elizabeth Bradden burnt all the letters sent to her by her lover, and later husband, Maxwell, so that after her death people were unable to read any salacious correspondence, and instead all that was left was her body of work. 

Moving onto a feminist reading of the lives of these women it is important to remember that they themselves wanted to prevent any speculation about their private lives. Many modern criticisms of Bradden’s ‘Lady Audley’ suggest that she only wrote a reflection of herself. This idea simply adds to the idea that a woman cannot write anything of merit without it simply being confessional rather than a creation of her own imagination. To think that a work such as ‘Lady Audley’ which competed with Dickens’ ‘Great Expectations' has been reduced to an auto-biographical work rather than a work of fiction is incredibly disappointing.

Similarly, Aphra Behn’s work has been reduced by the analysis of Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West who suggested that the commercialisation of her work reduces it’s artistic merit. They suggest that to write for money, rather than for a love of writing (a slightly ironic suggestion given the different social class that they held to Behn) is crass and degrading for a woman. Whereas, I would describe Behn as an inspiration considering she was able to support herself off of her success despite the accusations of prostitution and constant public degradation.

The Guide

Overall then, my guide would be:

1. You cannot want fame because then you cannot deserve it… your work must be published by a trustworthy male relative rather than yourself otherwise you’re a harlot <3.

2. Do not discuss sex and frankly come from a high social class so you don’t rely on your writing for a wage because then you're a prostitute as you sell yourself.

3. Ensure that your own personal history is lost or destroyed to ensure that people actually read your work and focus on that rather than any relationships you may have had…    

Bibliography 

Beer, A. (2023) Eve bites back an alternative history of English literature. London: Oneworld Publications.