A Tale of Two "Sisters": Public and Private Lives at Bryn Mawr and Wellesley, 1875-1930

Abstract

The initial development of women's history as a branch of social history led to many benefits for the field-for example an emphasis on research dealing with ordinary women-but also to some disadvantages, especially a lack of attention to women's higher education. The work of Ellen Fitzpatrick (Endless Crusade: Women, Social Scientists, and Reform, 1990), Rosalind Rosenberg (Beyond Separate Spheres: Intellectual Roots of Modern Feminism, 1982), and Margaret Rossiter (Women Scientists in America: Struggles and Strategies to 1940, 1982) introduced us to the study of women intellectuals and academics. Yet we still know very little about how such women functioned within educational institutions, and how they balanced the public and private aspects of their lives. Two new books, one a biography of Bryn Mawr College's famous president, M. Carey Thomas (1894-1922), the other a collective portrait of the all-female academic community at Wellesley College from its founding in 1875 to the 1930s, address these and other themes, providing vivid descriptions and insightful analyses of these women as pioneers of both personal and professional lifestyles. Scholars such as M. Carey Thomas and members of the Wellesley faculty were among the first American women to attend full-fledged colleges and, in some cases, prestigious graduate institutions. They chose demanding careers in scholarship, teaching, and administration, refusing to marry and thereby risk subordinating their freedom to the demands of traditional family life. Many also created lasting family relationships, intimate friendships, and partnerships with other women. Horowitz and Palmieri represent this group of women, born between 1850 and 1875, as breaking away from the norms and values of sentimental