Mona Caird
Encyclopedia
Mona Caird (1854?–1932) was a Scottish novelist and essayist whose feminist views sparked controversy in the late 19th century. (The year of her birth is uncertain, sometimes given as 1855 or 1858, but most often 1854.)
on the Isle of Wight
, daughter of John Alison, Midlothian
inventor of the vertical boiler
, and Matilda Hector. She wrote stories and plays beginning in her early childhood, which reveal a proficiency in French and German as well as English. In 1877, she married farmer James Alexander Henryson-Caird, son of Sir James Caird on whose land in Cassencary he worked. Her husband was supportive of her independence, and although he resided primarily at Casencary, she spent only a few weeks a year there, spending much of her time in London and travelling abroad. She associated with literary people, including Thomas Hardy
who was an admirer of her work, and educated herself in many areas of the humanities and science. The Cairds had one child, Alister James in 1884, and remained married until his death in 1921.
Caird published her first two novels, Whom Nature Leadeth (1883) and One That Wins (1887), under the pseudonym "G. Noel Hatton", but these drew little attention. Subsequent writings were published under her own name, which came to prominence in 1888 when the Westminster Review
printed her long article "Marriage". In it, she analysed indignities historically suffered by women in marriage and called its present state a "vexatious failure", advocating the equality and autonomy of marriage partners. London's widely circulated Daily Telegraph quickly responded with a series called "Is Marriage a Failure?", which ran three months and drew a reported 27,000 letters from around the world. Feeling that her views had been misunderstood, she published another article called "Ideal Marriage" later that year. Her numerous essays on marriage and women's issues written from 1888 to 1894 were collected in a volume called The Morality of Marriage and Other Essays on the Status and Destiny of Women in 1897.
Continuing to write fiction, Caird published the novel The Wing of Azrael (1889), which deals with the subject of marital rape. In it, Viola Sedley murders her cruel husband in self-defense. Next was a short story collection, A Romance of the Moors (1891). In the title story, a widowed artist, Margaret Ellwood, stirs up the relationship of a young couple by counselling them to each become independent and self-sufficient persons. Her most famous novel, The Daughters of Danaus (1894), is the story of Hadria Fullerton, who has aspirations to become a composer, but finds that the demands on her time by family obligations, both to her parents and as a wife and mother, allow little time for this pursuit. The novel has since been regarded as a feminist classic. Also well known is her short story "The Yellow Drawing-Room" (1892), in which Vanora Haydon defies the conventional separation of "spheres" of men ans women. Such of her works have been referred to as "fiction of the New Woman
".
Active in the women's suffrage movement from her early twenties, Caird joined the National Society for Women's Suffrage
in 1878, and later the Women's Franchise League
, the Women's Emancipation Union, and the London Society for Women's Suffrage. Her essay "Why Women Want the Franchise" was read at the 1892 WEU Conference. In 1908, she published the essay "Militant Tactics and Woman's Suffrage" and participated in the second Hyde Park
Demonstration for women's suffrage. She was also an active opponent of vivisection, writing extensively on the subject, including "The Sanctuary Of Mercy" (1895), "Beyond the Pale" (1896), and a play "The Logicians: An episode in dialogue" (1902), in which the characters argue opposing views on the issue.
Caird was a member of the Theosophical Society
from 1904 to 1909. Among her later writings are a large illustrated volume of travel essays, Romantic Cities Of Provence (1906), and novels The Stones Of Sacrifice (1915), which depicts harmful effects of self-sacrifice on women, and The Great Wave (1931), a social science fiction which attacks the racist
policies of negative eugenics
.
Mona Caird died 4 February 1932 at Hampstead.
Mona Caird did not write Lady Hetty; that's by John Service. John
Sutherland erroneously said Caird did, and the information has been
propagated elsewhere.
Full texts of several of Mona Caird's writings can be found on the web:
Life
She was born in RydeRyde
Ryde is a British seaside town, civil parish and the most populous town and urban area on the Isle of Wight, with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast. The town grew in size as a seaside resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower...
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, daughter of John Alison, Midlothian
Midlothian
Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
inventor of the vertical boiler
Fire-tube boiler
A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases from a fire pass through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of water...
, and Matilda Hector. She wrote stories and plays beginning in her early childhood, which reveal a proficiency in French and German as well as English. In 1877, she married farmer James Alexander Henryson-Caird, son of Sir James Caird on whose land in Cassencary he worked. Her husband was supportive of her independence, and although he resided primarily at Casencary, she spent only a few weeks a year there, spending much of her time in London and travelling abroad. She associated with literary people, including Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
who was an admirer of her work, and educated herself in many areas of the humanities and science. The Cairds had one child, Alister James in 1884, and remained married until his death in 1921.
Caird published her first two novels, Whom Nature Leadeth (1883) and One That Wins (1887), under the pseudonym "G. Noel Hatton", but these drew little attention. Subsequent writings were published under her own name, which came to prominence in 1888 when the Westminster Review
Westminster Review
The Westminster Review was a quarterly British publication. Established in 1823 as the official organ of the Philosophical Radicals, it was published from 1824 to 1914. James Mill was one of the driving forces behind the liberal journal until 1828....
printed her long article "Marriage". In it, she analysed indignities historically suffered by women in marriage and called its present state a "vexatious failure", advocating the equality and autonomy of marriage partners. London's widely circulated Daily Telegraph quickly responded with a series called "Is Marriage a Failure?", which ran three months and drew a reported 27,000 letters from around the world. Feeling that her views had been misunderstood, she published another article called "Ideal Marriage" later that year. Her numerous essays on marriage and women's issues written from 1888 to 1894 were collected in a volume called The Morality of Marriage and Other Essays on the Status and Destiny of Women in 1897.
Continuing to write fiction, Caird published the novel The Wing of Azrael (1889), which deals with the subject of marital rape. In it, Viola Sedley murders her cruel husband in self-defense. Next was a short story collection, A Romance of the Moors (1891). In the title story, a widowed artist, Margaret Ellwood, stirs up the relationship of a young couple by counselling them to each become independent and self-sufficient persons. Her most famous novel, The Daughters of Danaus (1894), is the story of Hadria Fullerton, who has aspirations to become a composer, but finds that the demands on her time by family obligations, both to her parents and as a wife and mother, allow little time for this pursuit. The novel has since been regarded as a feminist classic. Also well known is her short story "The Yellow Drawing-Room" (1892), in which Vanora Haydon defies the conventional separation of "spheres" of men ans women. Such of her works have been referred to as "fiction of the New Woman
New Woman
The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century. The New Woman pushed the limits set by male-dominated society, especially as modeled in the plays of Norwegian Henrik Ibsen . "The New Woman sprang fully armed from Ibsen's brain," according to a joke by Max Beerbohm...
".
Active in the women's suffrage movement from her early twenties, Caird joined the National Society for Women's Suffrage
National Society for Women's Suffrage
The National Society for Women's Suffrage was the first national group in the United Kingdom to campaign for women's right to vote. Formed on 6 November 1867, by Lydia Becker, the organisation helped lay the foundations of the women's suffrage movement, furthered later by the National Union of...
in 1878, and later the Women's Franchise League
Women's Franchise League
The Women's Franchise League was an organisation created by the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst together with her husband Richard in 1889, fourteen years before the creation of the Women's Social and Political Union in 1903....
, the Women's Emancipation Union, and the London Society for Women's Suffrage. Her essay "Why Women Want the Franchise" was read at the 1892 WEU Conference. In 1908, she published the essay "Militant Tactics and Woman's Suffrage" and participated in the second Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
Demonstration for women's suffrage. She was also an active opponent of vivisection, writing extensively on the subject, including "The Sanctuary Of Mercy" (1895), "Beyond the Pale" (1896), and a play "The Logicians: An episode in dialogue" (1902), in which the characters argue opposing views on the issue.
Caird was a member of the Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
from 1904 to 1909. Among her later writings are a large illustrated volume of travel essays, Romantic Cities Of Provence (1906), and novels The Stones Of Sacrifice (1915), which depicts harmful effects of self-sacrifice on women, and The Great Wave (1931), a social science fiction which attacks the racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
policies of negative eugenics
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
.
Mona Caird died 4 February 1932 at Hampstead.
Writings of Mona Caird
- Whom Nature Leadeth (1883) novel
- One That Wins (1887) novel
- Marriage (1888) essay
- The Wing Of Azrael (1889) novel
- The Emancipation of the Family (1890) essay
- A Romance Of The Moors (1891) stories
- The Yellow Drawing-Room (1892) story
- A Defence of the So-Called Wild Women (1892) essay
- The Daughters Of Danaus (1894) novel
- The Sanctuary Of Mercy 1895) essay
- A Sentimental View Of Vivisection (1895) essay
- Beyond the Pale: An Appeal on Behalf of the Victims of Vivisection (1897) extended essay
- The Morality of Marriage and Other Essays on the Status and Destiny of Women (1897) essays
- The Pathway Of The Gods (1898) novel
- The Ethics of Vivisection (1900) essay
- The Logicians: An episode in dialogue (1902) play
- Romantic Cities Of Provence (1906) travel
- Militant Tactics and Woman's Suffrage (1908) essay
- The Stones Of Sacrifice (1915) essay
- The Great Wave (1931) novel
Mona Caird did not write Lady Hetty; that's by John Service. John
Sutherland erroneously said Caird did, and the information has been
propagated elsewhere.
External links
- Beverly E. Schneller, ‘Caird , (Alice) Mona (1854–1932)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 21 Feb 2007
Full texts of several of Mona Caird's writings can be found on the web:
- Marriage http://digital.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/Ebind2html/vic_cairmarr
- Ideal Marriage http://digital.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/Ebind2html/vic_cairidea
- Morality of Marriage http://digital.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/Ebind2html/vic_cairmora
- A Defense of So-Called Wild Women http://digital.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/Ebind2html/vic_cairdefe
- The Emancipation of the Family Part I http://moa.cit.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/sgml/moa-idx?notisid=ABQ7578-0150-68
- The Emancipation of the Family. Part II http://moa.cit.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/sgml/moa-idx?notisid=ABQ7578-0151-5
- The Daughters of Danaus http://www.indiana.edu/~letrs/vwwp/caird/daughters.html
- Beyond the Pale: An Appeal on Behalf of the Victims of Vivisection
- Victorian Women Writers Project at www.indiana.edu
- The Sanctuary Of Mercy http://www.indiana.edu/~letrs/vwwp/caird/sanctuary.html