The Feminism of Sarah Grimke and Margaret Fuller - Essay Sample

Margaret, Fuller advocated for women's rights, especially the rights to education and employment that saw her revolt against Boston-Cambridge learned professors since she was barred from entering as a girl (Cole, 2010). As an American writer, an American activist for women, and an associate of the transcendentalist movement, Fuller’s influence in early feminism profoundly impacted feminism the campaigns of women suffrage (Mason, 2017). Sarah, Grimke, together with her sister Angelina were prominent female abolitionists. Despite the male condemnation for overstepping on their roles, the two sisters fought for women's political voices through their multiple letters condemning women slavery and legal inequalities faced by women in American society (Alexander, 2018). Therefore, Fuller and Grimke fought for women's political, intellectual, and spiritual equality in society, albeit from diverse perspectives.

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Fuller challenged traditional gender roles through her belief in social reforms for women’s rights through a complete education that would see women’s independence and a wider possibility for social conventions that would prevent women’s sufferings like the cult of domesticity homelessness in a patriarchal society. According to US History (2008), Grimke, on the other hand, championed gender equality and women’s rights by condemning traditional gender norms, violence against women, and slavery. As an associate of the American transcendentalism movement, Fuller was influenced by its characteristics of equality, individualism, self-reliance, and optimism that informed her advocation for women’s equal rights. Like, Fuller, Grimke and her sister were influenced by transcendentalist movements through vast reforms like antislavery reforms fueled through abolitionism.

Fuller’s firm belief on the ideal truths of Christian experience shaped her writings on spirituality underscored by her feminism since she refused to defer to male theologians and influenced the message of many male religious leaders (Ohmann, 2010).Grimke, on the other hand, had firm belief on the Quaker faith that slavery was contrary to the will of God, and her views on women’s rights were also rooted in the bible, where she believed in the principle of obedience to God (Alexander, 2018). No wonder she was opposed to slavery since it was a morally flawed system that violated Christianity's laws. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Grimke saw the condition of women in comparison to enslaved African Americans in the realms of women suffrages and occupying the private spheres like child-raising and household hold works as men occupied the public spheres like in politics and education, as exemplified to slave owners and slaves.

References

Alexander, K. (2018). Sarah Moore Grimké. National Women's History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sarah-moore-grimke

Cole, P. (2010). What Margaret Fuller did for feminism. Welcome to the BicentennialCelebration of Margaret Fuller's birth. https://www.margaretfuller.org/news/101-what-margaret-fuller-did-for-feminism

Grimké, Sarah, and weld, Angelina Grimké. (n.d.). In the Internet encyclopedia of philosophy |An encyclopedia of philosophy articles written by professionalphilosophers. https://iep.utm.edu/grimke/

Mason, H. (2017, May 25). Meet Margaret Fuller: Women’s rights activist and first female

American foreign correspondent. Medium. https://amysmartgirls.com/meet-margaret-fuller-womens-rights-activist-and-first-female-american-foreign-correspondent-bd5828b10f77

Ohmann, G. (2010). Margaret Fuller's spiritual legacy. Welcome to the BicentennialCelebration of Margaret Fuller's birth. https://www.margaretfuller.org/resources/general-articles/109-margaret-fullers-spiritual-legacy

Women's rights [ushistory.org]. (2008). US History. https://www.ushistory.org/us/26c.asp