Judith Sargent Murray (1751-1820), poet, essayist, playwright, and
one of the most thoroughgoing advocates of women's rights in early
America, was as well known in her own day as Abigail Adams or
Martha Washington. Her name, though, has virtually disappeared from
the public consciousness. Thanks to the recent discovery of
Murray's papers-including some 2,500 personal letters-historian
Sheila L. Skemp has documented the compelling story of this
talented and most unusual eighteenth-century woman. Born in
Gloucester, Massachussetts, Murray moved to Boston in 1793 with her
second husband, Universalist minister John Murray. There she became
part of the city's literary scene. Two of her plays were performed
at Federal Street Theater, making her the first American woman to
have a play produced in Boston. There as well she wrote and
published her magnum opus, The Gleaner, a three-volume "miscellany"
that included poems, essays, and the novel-like story "Margaretta."
After 1800, Murray's output diminished and her hopes for literary
renown faded. Suffering from the backlash against women's rights
that had begun to permeate American society, struggling with
economic difficulties, and concerned about providing the best
possible education for her daughter, she devoted little time to
writing. But while her efforts diminished, they never ceased.
Murray was determined to transcend the boundaries that limited
women of her era and worked tirelessly to have women granted the
same right to the "pursuit of happiness" immortalized in the
Declaration of Independence. She questioned the meaning of gender
itself, emphasizing the human qualities men and women shared,
arguing that the apparent distinctions were the consequence of
nurture, not nature. Although she was disappointed in the results
of her efforts, Murray nevertheless left a rich intellectual and
literary legacy, in which she challenged the new nation to fulfill
its promise of equality to all citizens.
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