She is more concerned with a way of life that liberates women as human beings than she is defending their right to do men's work. Sayers is far from what most imagine a feminist to be.

Only three times is she known to have written on the nature and functions of women-in the two essays printed here and in her introduction to Dante's Purgatory.

One of the first women to graduate from Oxford, Sayers met with the Inklings from time to time and might be best known for her detective stories, plays, and fine translations of Dante. Her arguments concerning women are sharp as any battle-ready sword and also (quite often) hilarious in their delivery and execution. Indeed, she is 'engagingly provocative' and 'agreeably stimulating' with 'a lively arch charm' (Merriam-Webster), though this reader would hardly wish to find herself opposing Ms. One could very well call the wit of Dorothy Sayers 'biting,' though the publishers of this edition choose instead the far more elegant (and complimentary) piquant. Seller Inventory # 9780802829962īook Description Paper Back. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. These essays and witty arguments explore the role of women in society, and provide a sensible approach to ongoing gender issues. Aiming to be true to her humanity, rather than her gender, the author believes that women should be treated as individuals, not a homogeneous class.

Though written several decades ago, these essays still offer in Sayers's piquant style a sensible and conciliatory approach to ongoing gender issues. The proper role of both men and women, in her view, is to find the work for which they are suited and to do it. We are to be true not so much to our sex as to our humanity. Central to Sayers's reflections is the conviction that both men and women are first of all human beings and must be regarded as essentially much more alike than different. One of the first women to graduate from Oxford University, Dorothy Sayers pursued her goals whether or not what she wanted to do was ordinarily understood to be 'feminine.' Sayers did not devote a great deal of time to talking or writing about feminism, but she did explicitly address the issue of women's role in society in the two classic essays collected here. This work includes an introduction by Mary McDermott Shideler.

Are women human dorothy sayers