“The Second Greatest Force in the Universe” – Ownership of Property and Personhood in the 19th Century (Part 3 of 3)

In both novels, motherhood is a form of property – whether it is a method of ownership or the way which one can be owned. For Linda in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the birth of her first child, and the growing concern she has for that child, is the point atContinue reading ““The Second Greatest Force in the Universe” – Ownership of Property and Personhood in the 19th Century (Part 3 of 3)”

“The Second Greatest Force in the Universe” – Ownership of Property and Personhood in the 19th Century (Part 2 of 3)

It is clear through various scenes and instances within the novels The Awakening and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl that both Edna and Linda are aware that it is through property that people experience selfhood. The best example of this is in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, when LindaContinue reading ““The Second Greatest Force in the Universe” – Ownership of Property and Personhood in the 19th Century (Part 2 of 3)”

“The Second Greatest Force in the Universe” – Ownership of Property and Personhood in the 19th Century (Part 1 of 3)

Walter Lippmann, the famous American reporter who was among the first people to introduce the concept of the Cold War, once said that “Private property was the original source of freedom.  It still is its main bulwark”. From the earliest days of enlightenment philosophy, the right to own property and the effects that such ownershipContinue reading ““The Second Greatest Force in the Universe” – Ownership of Property and Personhood in the 19th Century (Part 1 of 3)”