The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-seventy

The Creation of Feminist Consciousness sweeps over more than 1000 years of Western history - from the Dark Ages to the revolutionary and industrialized nineteenth century. It was under patriarchal hegemony in thought, values, institutions, and resources that women had to struggle to form their own feminist consciousness. The book discusses such topics as the educational disadvantaging of women; the role of women mystics; the concept of motherhood as a means for female bonding; feminist Bible criticism; creative literary women (with special emphasis on Mary Wollstonecraft and Emily Dickinson); the struggle for equal education; female support groups and salons; and the search for women's history.

The book reinterprets Western history from a woman's perspective and shows the difficult and often heroic struggles women faced to secure their place in society. Lerner emphasizes how denial of educational opportunies was a crucial barrier women had to overcome. But equally difficult were the steps women had to take to reclaim their place in history. The book represents a perceptive and path-breaking examination of the role of women in Western history.