The Crimes of Womanhood
About the Book
Cultural views of femininity exerted a powerful influence on the courtroom arguments used to defend or condemn notable women on trial in nineteenth-century and early-twentieth-century America. A. Cheree Carlson analyzes the colorful rhetorical strategies employed by lawyers and reporters in the trials of several women of varying historical stature, from the insanity trials of Mary Todd Lincoln and Lizzie Borden's trial for the brutal slaying of her father and stepmother, to lesser-known trials involving insanity, infidelity, murder, abortion, and interracial marriage. Carlson reveals clearly just how narrow was the line that women had to walk, since the same womanly virtues that were expected of them--passivity, frailty, and purity--could be turned against them at any time. With gripping retellings and incisive analysis, this book will appeal to historians, rhetoricians, feminist researchers, and anyone who enjoys courtroom drama.About the Author
A. Cheree Carlson is a professor in the School of Letters and Sciences and a faculty affiliate of the women's studies program at Arizona State University.Reviews
"[An] innovative study. . . . [Carlson's] careful analysis of the impact of these gendered narratives on the outcome of the cases provides a valuable contribution to the discussion of why law fails to embody the gender neutrality it often idealizes. Recommended."--Choice"A provocative, well-written, and illuminating work."--The Journal of American History
"Engaging, informative, and concise accounts of these complicated trials."--H-Law
"[A] splendid book."--The Historian
"A clearly written, provocative study of the role of gender norms and stereotypes in the American justice system of the nineteenth century."--Rhetoric & Public Affairs
Blurbs
"This enjoyable and readable book adds significantly to our understanding of the construction and embodiment of gender during the 1860s through the 1920s. A nuanced, complex mosaic of public conversations about gender."--Martha Watson, author of Lives of Their Own: Rhetorical Dimensions in Autobiographies of Women Activists
"Written in a lively style and full of insightful analysis, The Crimes of Womanhood offers an important contribution to rhetorical scholarship. The book will make an excellent addition to courses exploring the intersections of rhetoric, gender, and/or the law in the United States. I look forward to using it."--Sara Hayden, professor of communication studies, University of Montana
"A provocative read. Carlson illustrates the ways that historical legal narratives-- presented as factual, neutral, and objective--were, indeed, highly rhetorical and highly gendered. Her call for a rhetorical reframing of our narratives regarding women, both within the legal realm and outside it, is nothing less than call for expanding our cultural repertoire of the possibilities for successful femininity."--Cindy L. Griffin, coeditor of Feminist Rhetorical Theories: A Reader
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