Renderings of the Self: The Inception of Autobiographical Writing in Robinson, Wollstonecraft, and Wordsworth

Author

Hannah M. DeWitt, Seattle Pacific UniversityFollow

Date of Award

Spring 6-11-2020

Document Type

Honors Project

University Scholars Director

Dr. Christine Chaney

First Advisor/Committee Member

Dr. Traynor Hansen

Second Advisor/Committee Member

Dr. Christine Chaney

Keywords

Autobiography, self-rendering, Romantic, Wordsworth, Wollstonecraft, Robinson

Abstract

This paper covers the origination of British autobiography and investigates why authors began to write autobiographically through the analysis of three pioneering autobiographical works: The Prelude by William Wordsworth, Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark by Mary Wollstonecraft, and Memoirs of Mary Robinson, “Perdita,” by Mary Robinson. In each section of this paper, I examine these stories and authors individually and attempt to unearth what pushed each author toward autobiographical writing in relation to what drove them to publish their work. I argue that autobiography is centered around rendering oneself, and that self-renderings these authors created point to their purposes for writing, publishing, and showing themselves autobiographically, as well as the lack of individuality present in the 18^th and early 19^thcenturies that these works were founded in.

Recommended Citation

DeWitt, Hannah M., "Renderings of the Self: The Inception of Autobiographical Writing in Robinson, Wollstonecraft, and Wordsworth" (2020). Honors Projects. 139.
https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects/139