Lives of Their Own: Rhetorical Dimensions in the Autobiographies of Women Activists

How five exceptional turn-of-the-century women crafted autobiographies that became compelling, persuasive models for their cause and for other women

Lives of Their Own explores how five exceptional turn-of-the-century women crafted autobiographies that became compelling, persuasive models for the women of their generation. Although Frances Willard, Anna Howard Shaw, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Emma Goldman, and Mary Church Terrell were not among the first women to cut a path into the mainstream of American life or the only women of their era to lead movements for social change, they were among the first to publish narratives of their lives. Martha Watson provides glimpses not only of the women themselves but also of the autobiographical genre as a dimension of public rhetorical discourse.

Watson examines the experiences that motivated these new women to break social and rhetorical barriers in writing their life stories, the impact of their activism and public reputations on the autobiographies, and the readership-both supportive and skeptical-for their works. Linking the autobiographies to the development of a feminine consciousness, she suggests that the activists used the writings to assert themselves as women and to articulate a model of selfhood for others to emulate.

In addition, Watson looks closely at the autobiographies as extensions of public advocacy that complemented the more explicitly agitative and argumentative discourse of these women on behalf of their respective causes. She examines how they defended their ideological commitments, dealt with the sometimes competing goals of championing a movement and writing a compelling narrative, and negotiated the boundaries of womanliness in their efforts to garner support for their convictions.