The Mirror of Antiquity: American Women and the Classical Tradition, 1750-1900

Winterer, an assistant professor of history at Stanford University, enlists a familiar cast of characters-Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Frances Willard, and others-in this very interesting and thought-provoking work to illustrate the ways in which American women adopted characteristics of Greek and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:History (Washington) 2008, Vol.36 (2), p.59
Main Author: Jackson-Abernathy, Brenda
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
American history
Nonfiction
Women
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Winterer, an assistant professor of history at Stanford University, enlists a familiar cast of characters-Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Frances Willard, and others-in this very interesting and thought-provoking work to illustrate the ways in which American women adopted characteristics of Greek and Roman classicism to secure that cultural power that provided them with at least a modicum of influence in America's first century and a half. Winterer's volume takes a significant turn with chapter 5, "Climbing Parnassus, 1790- 1850": in this and the chapters that follow she argues that by the middle decades of the nineteenth century, women were less inclined to embrace classicism for its ornamental, or cultural, purposes and were more interested in its practical applications.
ISSN:0361-2759
1930-8280