Women and Empire: The Gap between British Rhetoric and Colonial Realities

by Matthieu Santerre

In the study of the British Empire, rhetoric and reality are often far apart. The imperial enterprise has always been one of sharp contrasts; and so it is for women and Empire. This essay establishes a gap between the female rhetoric in Britain, regarding the role women should play in British Imperialism, and the reality in the colonies. Victorian female writers at home saw the colonies as a way to solve the problem of the ‘redundant’ unmarried woman. In reality, most women did not go to the colonies to get married, but to exercise agency and independence. First, I outline the doctrine of separate spheres between men and women; second, I survey the rhetoric of the redundant women and the colonies in Victorian Britain by looking at contemporary female writers; third, I look at the precedent of female colonial participation; fourth I evaluate the role of women in the British Empire by looking at two cases in British India and South Africa. In the nineteenth century women participated in imperialism not as wives, sisters or daughters, but as women.

19 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 9, 2013

Reviews

[Philemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! I highly recommend it! It give a good understanding of women's role in the British Empire, and the writing is clear and succinct.