Victorian Passions: Ella Wheeler Wilcox's Contribution to Women's Sexual Rights
Abstract
Poetess of passion and follower of the New Thought movement, an ideology that emphasized spiritual manifestation and the power of right thinking, Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919) achieved fame through newspaper publication in the second half of the nineteenth century as a woman of the people. Once a widespread name, Wilcox has since fallen from prevalence into the category of deceased and overlooked, but nonetheless honored practitioners of verse (Wilcox, Worlds and I 84). In adolescence, Wilcox wrote about what elite, influential classes considered “moral topics” that progressed common values such as minding one’s speech, and loyalty in friendship. In youth she wrote her most notable work in the field of morality, Drops of Water, which addresses overindulgence in alcohol. Following the release of her novel Maurine in 1876, the public sought a collected volume of Wilcox’s sentimental “heart-wails,” poems that originally appeared in the papers. Wilcox responded by augmenting the collection with supplementary material, resulting in Poems of Passion in 1883. However, the publication of Wilcox‘s collection provided critics the opportunity to portray her writing as falling into the same immoral category as “half-tipsy wantons” (Wilcox, Worlds and I 82). Upon reevaluation of Wilcox’s verse, it is evident that Wilcox did not outright defy, but rather, grappled with prevailing Victorian values in the pursuit of expanding the sphere of women’s influence and opinion. Through the focus of gender and sexual upheaval, Poems of Passion adds to the dialogue surrounding women’s sexual rights and mobilizing their desires beyond the private spheres and into the public domain through verse.
Start Time
15-4-2026 9:00 AM
End Time
16-4-2026 10:00 AM
Room Number
252
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Presentation Subtype
UG Orals
Presentation Category
Arts and Humanities
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor
Thomas Holmes
Victorian Passions: Ella Wheeler Wilcox's Contribution to Women's Sexual Rights
252
Poetess of passion and follower of the New Thought movement, an ideology that emphasized spiritual manifestation and the power of right thinking, Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919) achieved fame through newspaper publication in the second half of the nineteenth century as a woman of the people. Once a widespread name, Wilcox has since fallen from prevalence into the category of deceased and overlooked, but nonetheless honored practitioners of verse (Wilcox, Worlds and I 84). In adolescence, Wilcox wrote about what elite, influential classes considered “moral topics” that progressed common values such as minding one’s speech, and loyalty in friendship. In youth she wrote her most notable work in the field of morality, Drops of Water, which addresses overindulgence in alcohol. Following the release of her novel Maurine in 1876, the public sought a collected volume of Wilcox’s sentimental “heart-wails,” poems that originally appeared in the papers. Wilcox responded by augmenting the collection with supplementary material, resulting in Poems of Passion in 1883. However, the publication of Wilcox‘s collection provided critics the opportunity to portray her writing as falling into the same immoral category as “half-tipsy wantons” (Wilcox, Worlds and I 82). Upon reevaluation of Wilcox’s verse, it is evident that Wilcox did not outright defy, but rather, grappled with prevailing Victorian values in the pursuit of expanding the sphere of women’s influence and opinion. Through the focus of gender and sexual upheaval, Poems of Passion adds to the dialogue surrounding women’s sexual rights and mobilizing their desires beyond the private spheres and into the public domain through verse.
