Characteristics of Women: Moral, Poetical, and Historical

"Characteristics of Women: Moral, Poetical, and Historical" by Mrs. Jameson is a critical literary analysis written in the late 19th century. The work explores various representations of female characters primarily through the lens of Shakespeare, discussing their virtues, intellect, and moral qualities. The text aims to illuminate the complexities of the female experience in literature, moving beyond mere caricatures to present a nuanced understanding of women's roles and characterizations. The opening of the work sets a reflective tone, as the author discusses her motivations for writing and her devotion to exploring female characters. Through a dialogue between two characters, Alda and Medon, Jameson establishes the thematic foundation of the book, questioning societal perceptions of women and the value of satire versus illustration in literature. Alda conveys her belief that female experiences and attributes are multifaceted, and she intends to analyze these through diverse character studies, particularly those of Shakespeare's women, aiming to reveal their moral and emotional dimensions. This conversational framework suggests a deep engagement with the subject matter and invites the reader to ponder the implications of women's portrayal in the literary canon. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Anna Brownell Jameson was an Anglo-Irish art historian whose work spanned art and literary criticism, philosophy, travel writing, and feminism. She became very well known for her extensive writings. Jameson was connected to some of the most prominent names of the period including Joanna Baillie, Fanny Kemble, Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and Robert Browning, Harriet Martineau, Ottilie von Goethe, Lady Byron, Harriet Hosmer, Ada Lovelace, Charles and Elizabeth Eastlake, and Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon.