The changing role of women in Bengal, 1849-1905 /Meredith Borthwick

By: Meredith BorthwickContributor(s): Meredith BorthwickMaterial type: TextTextPublisher number: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd. | ;7/22, Ansari Road, Darya Ganj, New Delhi-110002Publication details: Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press , ©1984Description: xviii,402 Pages ;24 cmISBN: 9780691628189Subject(s): Social SciencesGenre/Form: ;Women -- India -- Bengal -- History -- 19th century.DDC classification: 305.42095 MER
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations. List of Tables -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Note on Transliteration. List of Abbreviations -- CHAPTER ONE. Traditional Roles of Women in Bengali Society -- CHAPTER TWO. The "Condition of Women" Issue: The Impetus for Reform -- CHAPTER THREE. Expanding Horizons: The Education of the Bhadramahilā -- CHAPTER FOUR. Changing Conjugal Relations -- CHAPTER FIVE. Motherhood and Child Rearing -- CHAPTER SIX. Domestic Life: The Role of the Bhadramahilā as Housewife -- CHAPTER SEVEN. The Erosion of Purdah -- CHAPTER EIGHT. Between Domesticity and Public Life: Voluntary Associations and Philanthropic Activity -- CHAPTER NINE. The Bhadramahilā in Public Life: Employment and Politics -- Conclusion -- Biographical Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- Backmatter
Summary: Basing her work on Bengali-language sources, such as women's journals, private papers, biographies, and autobiographies, Meredith Borthwick approaches the lives of women in nineteenth-century Bengal from a new standpoint. She moves beyond the record of the heated debates held by men of this period-over matters such as widow burning, child marriage, and female education-to explore the effects of changes in society on the lives of women and to question assumptions about "advances" prompted by British rule. Focusing on the wives, mothers, and daughters of the English-educated Bengali professional class, Dr. Borthwick contends that many reforms merely substituted a restrictive British definition of womanhood for traditional Hindu norms. The positive gains for women-increased physical freedom, the acquisition of literacy, and limited entry to nondomestic work-often brought unforeseen negative consequences, such as a reduction in autonomy and power in the household. Originally published in 1984. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905
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Item type Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Books Books SNU LIBRARY
305.42095 MER (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Not For Loan 26628
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Frontmatter --
Contents --
List of Illustrations. List of Tables --
Preface --
Acknowledgments --
Note on Transliteration. List of Abbreviations --
CHAPTER ONE. Traditional Roles of Women in Bengali Society --
CHAPTER TWO. The "Condition of Women" Issue: The Impetus for Reform --
CHAPTER THREE. Expanding Horizons: The Education of the Bhadramahilā --
CHAPTER FOUR. Changing Conjugal Relations --
CHAPTER FIVE. Motherhood and Child Rearing --
CHAPTER SIX. Domestic Life: The Role of the Bhadramahilā as Housewife --
CHAPTER SEVEN. The Erosion of Purdah --
CHAPTER EIGHT. Between Domesticity and Public Life: Voluntary Associations and Philanthropic Activity --
CHAPTER NINE. The Bhadramahilā in Public Life: Employment and Politics --
Conclusion --
Biographical Notes --
Bibliography --
Index --
Backmatter


Basing her work on Bengali-language sources, such as women's journals, private papers, biographies, and autobiographies, Meredith Borthwick approaches the lives of women in nineteenth-century Bengal from a new standpoint. She moves beyond the record of the heated debates held by men of this period-over matters such as widow burning, child marriage, and female education-to explore the effects of changes in society on the lives of women and to question assumptions about "advances" prompted by British rule. Focusing on the wives, mothers, and daughters of the English-educated Bengali professional class, Dr. Borthwick contends that many reforms merely substituted a restrictive British definition of womanhood for traditional Hindu norms. The positive gains for women-increased physical freedom, the acquisition of literacy, and limited entry to nondomestic work-often brought unforeseen negative consequences, such as a reduction in autonomy and power in the household. Originally published in 1984. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905

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