The shape of a woman's life: Lady Anne Barnard's <i>Memoir</i>

In her old age, Lady Anne Barnard revised the diaries and letters which remained from her life in Scotland, London, and at the Cape. She shaped part of these records into a six-volume Memoir and since a man's memoir would concentrate attention on his public life and achievements, she cast it in...

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Main Author: M. Lenta
Format: Article
Language:Afrikaans
Published: AOSIS 1993-05-01
Series:Literator
Online Access:https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/703
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author M. Lenta
author_facet M. Lenta
author_sort M. Lenta
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description In her old age, Lady Anne Barnard revised the diaries and letters which remained from her life in Scotland, London, and at the Cape. She shaped part of these records into a six-volume Memoir and since a man's memoir would concentrate attention on his public life and achievements, she cast it into a shape which recalls that of the female’ novel of the eighteenth century. She therefore presents her rejection of the lifestyle of her family, that of impoverished Scottish aristocrats, and her move to London, as a quest for a suitable marriage. This view of her life was not, however, entirely congenial to her: she had a strong sense of her achievements as an autonomous individual, rather than as the lesser partner in a marriage, and although the Memoir ends with her marriage, there is much evidence in it of her pride in having originated and achieved for herself a new lifestyle.
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spelling doaj.art-a114872940024d68a02c914b73aeec3c2022-12-21T19:13:51ZafrAOSISLiterator0258-22792219-82371993-05-0114210111610.4102/lit.v14i2.703642The shape of a woman's life: Lady Anne Barnard's <i>Memoir</i>M. Lenta0University of Natal, DurbanIn her old age, Lady Anne Barnard revised the diaries and letters which remained from her life in Scotland, London, and at the Cape. She shaped part of these records into a six-volume Memoir and since a man's memoir would concentrate attention on his public life and achievements, she cast it into a shape which recalls that of the female’ novel of the eighteenth century. She therefore presents her rejection of the lifestyle of her family, that of impoverished Scottish aristocrats, and her move to London, as a quest for a suitable marriage. This view of her life was not, however, entirely congenial to her: she had a strong sense of her achievements as an autonomous individual, rather than as the lesser partner in a marriage, and although the Memoir ends with her marriage, there is much evidence in it of her pride in having originated and achieved for herself a new lifestyle.https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/703
spellingShingle M. Lenta
The shape of a woman's life: Lady Anne Barnard's <i>Memoir</i>
Literator
title The shape of a woman's life: Lady Anne Barnard's <i>Memoir</i>
title_full The shape of a woman's life: Lady Anne Barnard's <i>Memoir</i>
title_fullStr The shape of a woman's life: Lady Anne Barnard's <i>Memoir</i>
title_full_unstemmed The shape of a woman's life: Lady Anne Barnard's <i>Memoir</i>
title_short The shape of a woman's life: Lady Anne Barnard's <i>Memoir</i>
title_sort shape of a woman s life lady anne barnard s i memoir i
url https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/703
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