General Articles
Women Who Write
My theme for this year's International Women's Day, which is celebrated annually on March 8th, is to talk about women writers that took on a male pseudonym. What drives a woman to do that, you may well ask?
Before I go any further, I must quote Eleanor Roosevelt: "A woman is like a tea bag, you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water." Need I say more...
No matter how strong a woman was and is, there are certain times and in certain circumstances that women are still not taken as seriously as they should be. Perhaps it is because of these 'circumstances' that women have to resort to underhand tactics and deceive, in order to achieve a prime place equal to our counterpart - the male.
My first experience with this subterfuge was whilst studying English literature at school. My love of 'Wuthering Heights' was strengthened by the fact that Emily Brontë started her writing profession masquerading as a male author called Ellis Bell. Oh what a tangled web we weave... it wasn't because she wanted to deceive, she wanted her love of words to be acknowledged as a true work of art, independent of the fact she wore a dress. This fact did inspire me probably more than I thought... Wuthering Heights, her only novel was written under her own name. As a family, Emily together with Charlotte and Anne, adopted male pseudonyms to publish a book of poems. Instead of being the Brontë sisters, they were known as the Bell brothers: Ellis, Currer and Acton.
One can forgive the actions of the 19th century as being 'those were the days' but women are still using pen names of the opposite sex to establish credibility and success. They do of course, get the last laugh, so to speak as there bank balances swell but is it really oh so necessary? I guess it must be.
We all know Joanne Rowling, better known as J. K. Rowling. Famous for all those wonderful Harry Potter books. We are in the 21st century, so why was she not gender specific by using her fist name 'Joanne'? Her books are without a doubt pure genius but she would have lost the little boy market who really helped to make her books so incredibly successful. Marketing was definitely the key issue here. If it works, don't knock it. Think of the m-o-n-e-y... ker-ching!
Then we have George Eliot, who was also one of the leading authors of the 19th century. Her desire to keep her identity anonymous was spurred not only because she wanted to be taken serious as a writer, Mary Anne Evans was also having an affair with a married man and her pseudonym became her way of living a somewhat double existence. Much in the same case as Emily Brontë, George Eliot came forward as her true self after her first book ' Adam Bede' was published. It was a great success and she went on to publish six other books, proving herself as a female author, in her own right.
The book titled 'Behind a Mask' seems so appropriate when making reference to this next author: A. M. Barnard. The book features four stories with passionate love affairs, ghoulish hauntings, and cliff-hanging adventures. It is becoming apparent that women were not supposed to write with such emotion and thought provoking situations and had to go to such great lengths to hide their true identity. The author, Louisa May Alcott is famous for writing 'Little Women' which became a film enjoyed by so many.
Women writers have achieved great things, not only as novelists but as journalists and in making a political stand through their literary capabilities. If as women, taking on a pen name or pseudonym encourages reform and achieves a positive outcome, long may it continue. It doesn't matter how it is done, as long as it is done. The world relies on brave people to make changes and if women are the ones to lead the way, then so be it. Positive changes for women no matter how small, are better than no changes at all.
Interesting websites: International Women's Day
Celebrate International Day with European Professional Women's Network