The Age of Romanticism

    The introduction of the text expresses an increasingly drastic shift in the literary, political, and philosophical minds of the Romantic period. The French Revolution sparked a violent rekindling of the freedom of learning and creativity through literature, inspiring a burning desire to find the spirit of the revolution, if only initially. Romanticism is often studied with a focus on the natural world and imagination "The Age of Romanticism" suggests that the whirlpool of political ideology brought on by the French and Industrial Revolutions had drastic shifts on the literary minds of the era.

The role of female writers expresses a window into the minds of the disenfranchised lower class. For instance, Barbauld commented on the fate of common people "as prey to vice...through economic hardship and lack of education," in her writings the "Thoughts on the inequality of conditions." Her focus was largely on the struggle to illuminate the terrible conditions for the poor brought on by the shift to industrialization. While Jane Austin commented on the growth of the middle class giving power to tradesmen and changing the political landscape forever in "Pride and Prejudice." These female writers give deep insight into the increasingly drastic shifts of the time by voicing the cries of injustice for the poor and commenting on the alienation of the lower class.

I find it quite impressive that the female literary minds of the time were able to capture the political and social changes that were occurring around them during the Romantic period. Their works often rival if not surpass the writings of men during the era by highlighting the issues of the lower class and the shift in thinking both philosophically  and politically while providing a refreshing view into the minds of women during the time.