The Political Pose of Women Chartists

Abstract

The many facets of the suffering that working women experienced as a result of industrialisation formed the core around which revolved female Chartists’ public statements, and their addresses in particular. These public utterances were couched in highly stylised language verging on the stereotypical. The uniformity of female Chartists’ political articulation and the pose in which it was made are important indications of the constraints under which women operated once they made an explicit stand in public.