Women represented in Desmond

Women in volume one of Desmond were portrayed with little to no names or personalities, but within volume two we allowed to see into the mind of Geraldine Verney, as well as being introduced to her sister, Fanny. Both women in their corresponding letters to each other seem to have a bit of sass and intellect. Mrs. Verney says of her husband in Letter I that "when he is at home, it makes no other difference to me than that of destroying my peace without promoting my happiness" (160). Fanny as well in considered to be a very popular woman at parties, and her dislike of Mr. Verney is evident. Nevertheless, these women seem to have a completely different character when seen through the male perspective. 

Desmond sees Mrs. Verney as an angel of the house (even though the term I believe won't be around until another few years), despite the fact that she hides away from her husband, and even has the strength to say no to the man her husband has sold to her.

In Letter V when Mr. Bethal first meets Fanny, he tells that "she is not as you once believed, destitute of that feminine tenderness" (177). Implying that Fanny was considered unfeminine due to her intellect, and from then on whenever she and Mr. Bethal interact she is always seen crying before him. Something that was quite the opposite of her character through her letters with her sister. 

Why would Smith write her women this way? Was it to show that their demure nature in front of men was simply a front to hide their unfeminine snark? 

The Age of Romanticism

Romanticism first started to take form due to the French and Industrial Revolutions. The French Revolution called into question the authority of world order and emphasized freedom of all men. The Industrial Revolution though, caused the Romantics to start using nature and it's beauty among the growing cities and the formation of the middle class, thus allowing people more fluidity to move through the ranks. Due to this, women explored themselves as writers, where they took a different look on the individual and the mind than their male counterparts. Amongst those mentioned in the introduction was Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Jane Austen, and many other poets, novelists, and playwrights. One of which, Joanna Baillie was considered to be "the best dramatic writer since the days of Shakespeare."