The Catholic Faith of John Stuart Mill's Stepdaughter: A Note on the Diary and Devotional Life of the Feminist Activist Helen Taylor (1831–1907)

Abstract

Helen Taylor (1831-1907) is rightly identified in her Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry as a promoter of women's rights.1 Her championing of this cause included her role as a key organizer of the first-ever petition for women's suffrage presented to Parliament (in 1866); her success in drawing attention to civil restrictions on women by herself attempting to stand for Parliament before women were legally eligible to do so (in 1885); serving on the London School Board; and writing Claim of Englishwomen to the Suffrage Constitutionally Considered (1867).2 Taylor is also remembered for being the stepdaughter of the philosopher John Stuart Mill; his closest companion and confidant in the last fifteen years of his life; and the editor of his posthumously published books, including the celebrated Autobiography (see Figure 1). Delighting to praise her, Mill even claimed that Helen Taylor's intellect was more considerable and original than his own.3 As he referred to her simply as my daughter, correspondents would sometimes mistakenly address her as Miss Mill.4 Helen's mother, Harriet Taylor (see Figure 2), and Mill had fallen in love when Helen was a baby.5 Helen grew up living with her mother separate from her father and with Mill as a strong presence in their lives. Mill habitually spent at least one day a week with They would also go on holiday together.Helen Taylor kept a diary from January 1, 1842 (when was 10% years old) until January 18, 1847 (when was 15%). Although scholars have quoted snippets from it when discussing the lives of her mother and stepfather, it has never been published and it has never been the subject of a sustained analysis.6It would not be inaccurate to say that it is in large measure a spiritual or devotional diary. But its contents are truly startling when it comes to religion. Before presenting that material, however, it is worth highlighting a few other features. One surprise is that John Stuart Mill is never expressly mentioned. Helen typically recorded any visitor, including even her brother Algernon, who was just a year older than her, but had been sent away to be educated by a tutor with whom he was a boarder. Never referring to Mill would mean either that he was considered so much a part of the household as not to be worth mentioning or, more likely, that had been instructed not to put anything about him in writing. Harriet Taylor and J. S. Mill were obsessed with their own privacy. In his letters to his few confidants, Mill would refrain from mentioning Harriet by name and would merely comment abruptly on how she was doing.7The one possible direct reference to Mill comes on April 8, 1845: Grandpapa here yesterday, he Mamma and I had a short discussion about him. Nevertheless, the philosopher's presence-including on two continental holidays recorded in this diary-is not only known from other sources, but can even be inferred from what is here. For example, April 16, 1842: Mr Carlyle came. I like him very much. Thomas Carlyle, of course, was not calling on Harriet Taylor at her retreat home in Surrey alone; he was there with Mill. On September 27, 1846 we are even informed that John's younger brother had paid a visit: George Mill came here yesterday. (Algernon was also there and the two boys had become friends when they had joined Harriet Taylor and J. S. Mill on a holiday trip.)Another clue comes on November 12, 1846: The only remark I have ever seen about the Greeks which seemed to me really true was one in that article on Grote's Greece that their merit consisted not in carrying things to perfection but in inventing them. This is a reference to an article in the current (October 1846) issue of the Edinburgh Review, written by J. S. Mill, but published anonymously, as was the journal's practice.8 Mill's article would have been a topic of discussion among them and thus Helen's decision to read it.Having finally worn down her mother's resistance, at the age of twenty-five Helen made a concerted, but ultimately abandoned, attempt to become a professional actor. …