Women's issues / women's rights

Virtually every fiction work by Margaret Oliphant touches on women's issues; and thus the selection given below is only representative, not by any means complete. The issue at the root of all others is whether a woman has the right to make her own decisions, control her own life.

In many Oliphant novels an intelligent woman faces a serious issue affecting herself or those close to her, and must do whatever is necessary to resolve the problem. Soon she discovers that by virtue of her sex she is not taken seriously, even sometimes treated with contempt. At first she looks for cooperation from others, but at some point she concludes that all must depend upon herself - the ironic realisation of nearly every Oliphant heroine.

Here is a sampling of women's issues in Oliphant fiction:

- Women held back from attending university or doing meaningful work:

Merkland, Orphans, Heart and Cross, Miss Marjoribanks, Phoebe Junior, Carità, In Trust, Hester

- Women who lose caste by going to work:

Adam Graeme, The Curate in Charge, Hester, Kirsteen

- Women expected to obey fathers or husbands against their own better judgment:

The Ladies Lindores, Sir Tom, Madam, The Prodigals and Their Inheritance, Sir Robert's Fortune,
Old Mr Tredgold, A Girl of the Period (comic treatment)

- Women whose concerns for their children are overridden by their husbands:

Mrs Clifford's Marriage, Madonna Mary, The Ladies Lindores, Sir Tom, A Country Gentleman, Madam, The Marriage of Elinor, Sir Robert's Fortune

- Women with money or property whose husbands consider it lawfully theirs:

Mrs Clifford's Marriage, Sir Tom, Sir Robert's Fortune

-Women who sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of others:

The Doctor's Family, My Faithful Johnny, The Ladies Lindores, The Lady's Walk, Elinor, Joyce,
Mary's Brother

The "virtue" of self-sacrifice was a popular concept in Victorian times - expected of women much oftener than of men. In some Oliphant novels a woman sacrifices her own life out of love for her family and out of her conviction that she is the only capable person; but in others such as My Faithful Johnny, The Ladies Lindores, and Joyce, she is being bullied or manipulated by someone selfish. Margaret Oliphant often questioned the wisdom and necessity of self-sacrifice: "Don't you see that to accept this giving up of your life is barbarous, it is wicked, it is demoralizing to the others?" (My Faithful Johnny.)

An interesting analysis of Margaret Oliphant's evolving views on women's issues and women's rights can be found in Margaret Oliphant, A Critical Biography (1986) by Merryn Williams, especially in chapters 7 and 11.

(Several other themes overlap with this theme, including Working Women, Unmarried Women, and Widows.)

Merkland, a Story of Scottish Life [Self-Sacrifice]	(Marjory)	Novel	1850
Adam Graeme of Mossgray		Novel	1852
Orphans, a Chapter in Life		Novel	1857
The Doctor's Family		Novel	1861
Mrs Clifford's Marriage		Novel	1863
Heart and Cross		Novel	1863
Miss Marjoribanks		Novel	1865
Madonna Mary		Novel	1866
The Curate in Charge		Novel	1875
Phoebe, Junior - a Last Chronicle of Carlingford		Novel	1876
Carità	(Agnes)	Novel	1876
My Faithful Johnny		Short Fiction	1880
In Trust, the Story of a Lady and Her Lover		Novel	1881
The Ladies Lindores		Novel	1882
The Lady's Walk		Novel	1882
Sir Tom		Novel	1883
Hester, a Story of Contemporary Life		Novel	1883
Madam		Novel	1884
Elinor		Short Fiction	1884
The Prodigals and Their Inheritance		Novel	1884
A Country Gentleman and His Family		Novel	1885
Joyce		Novel	1887
Kirsteen		Novel	1889
The Marriage of Elinor		Novel	1891
A Girl of the Period		Short Fiction	1892
Mary's Brother		Short Fiction	1892
Sir Robert's Fortune, the Story of a Scotch Moor		Novel	1893
Old Mr Tredgold, a Story of Two Sisters		Novel	1895

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Women's issues / women's rights

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