Fanny the Feminist

I believe that her Fanny Fern’s writings are the product of a disgruntled woman, and really, there’s no argument to that. Her own brother rejected her writings and encouraged others to do the same. She wrote “Aunt Hetty on Matrimony” in 1851, the same year that she left her husband Samuel P. Farrington, who she found “jealous, tyrannical, and repulsive”. This woman had every right to be disgruntled. And that’s why she’s a feminist.
People rarely question things when they don’t know that they could be different or don’t think that they have an option. Why would a housewife living with a leech-like husband think that other women have it any better? She’s probably to busy making dinner and cleaning up after the children and husband to talk to her fellow peers. Not to mention the vibe that I get from that time era makes me think that one wouldn’t converse openly about one’s private home life. I really have no basis for this; it’s just what it seems like. Anyway, Ms. Fern had it a bit different. From her biography, we know that she was married, had three kids, and then Husband #1 kicked the bucket. Apparently she tried to support herself by writing afterwards but couldn’t. Enter Husband #2. I think that Fanny’s feelings about Husband #2 are summed up when she writes “O, girls! set your affections on cats, poodles, parrots or lap-dogs; but let matrimony alone. It’s the hardest way on earth of getting a living”(Baym 1795). The sheer selfishness of the husband described is enough to drive anyone up the walls, yet so many women put up with it because they saw no other option. Well, Ms. Fanny Fern didn’t see it that way.
After leaving Husband #2 (gasp!), Fanny tried to crank out a living by writing. And as hard as this must have been back in the 1850’s, Fanny must have thought it was better than answering to a hungry husband. Plus, the parasitic relationship gave her something to write about. Having been married once before Husband #2 (thus making him husband #2), she got to see marital life from two different views. I like to think that she at least cared a little bit for Husband #1, seeing as she didn’t leave him. Imagine going from a person that you probably like at least a little to an atrocious mongrel. That makes for some good storytime right there. And the best part? Other women could relate. I don’t know how many women wrote regular articles in newspapers at that time about their horrible husbands, but I don’t think it was a lot.
In any case, Ms. Fanny wasn’t going to take that kind of nonsense. She left a repulsive man, became a single mother in the 1850’s, and \became independent and paved the way for women in a man’s line of work. She became self-sufficient, and even made Husband #3 sign a pre-nup. Ms. Fanny realized that she didn’t have to be trapped, and she looked for options that other women wouldn’t dare take. And for that, Ms. Fern, you earn the title of feminist, and a couple gold stars too.