Fanny Fern
Selections from Fern Leaves from Fanny’s Portfolio
Introduction
You may be surprised when you begin reading Fanny Fern’s writing. Her style, language, and tone are not quite what we see in many other writers you may be familiar with during this period, and that is certainly true when we consider her style next to the other writers included in this section. Fern’s humor and sharp commentary made her one of the most popular—and highest-paid—writers of her time. While her columns might initially seem entertaining, humorous, and “easy” to read, don’t be fooled: her writing is still very engaged in many reformist causes of the period.
Like Lydia Maria Child, Fern was a prolific writer who focused on a variety of social problems, including class issues, poverty, and prison reform; however, most of her writing focuses on women’s rights. She tackled women’s education, the institution of marriage, legal rights, professions for women, pay equity, sexual double standards, the role of women writers, and more. Her own experiences informed much of what she wrote. The death of her first husband left her dependent on family members who were reluctant to support her and her daughters. After divorcing her second husband, she was disowned by her family, and she realized quickly that the social system did not make it easy for women to survive on their own. Fern worked a number of jobs before she finally became successful as a writer, and it was around this time that she adopted the pseudonym Fanny Fern; this was a significant move, considering that Fern was born into the Willis family, a very prominent family in the newspaper publishing business. That Fern reimagined herself, and essentially reconstructed her identity in ways that translated to public and private success, was unusual and important for women in her time. Despite, or perhaps because of, her success, Fern remained sympathetic to other women who were not so fortunate, and her writing is largely devoted to improving conditions for women.
Discussion Questions:
- Consider Fern’s tone, pacing, rhetorical strategies, and any other interesting or unusual characteristics of her writing style. How do these strategies help her to convey her ideas? How might they hurt?
- Consider how Fern constructs herself in these columns. What impressions about herself do you think she is trying to convey to her readers? How or why might these impressions be significant in terms of the commentary she’s offering?
- Consider Fern’s writing in the context of other American women writers. How does her work participate in that larger tradition? How does her work extend the conversation started by other women writers? To what extent does her writing reveal changes in how women are perceived, or in terms of what counts as “appropriate” roles for women?
- Consider Fern’s essays in the context of the American Dream. How does she define this phrase? How does she seem to be defining what counts as the ideal American?
CRITICS.