Women's Place in Pope's World

How was Alexander Pope's personal experience of women transformed into poetry, and how in turn did he and his writing figure in the lives of the women he wrote about? How characteristic of his age was Pope's attitude towards women? What exactly was the role in his life of individual women such as his mother, Patty Blount and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu? Valerie Rumbold's is the first full-length study of these important issues. Making use of previously little-known manuscripts, she focuses both on Pope's own life and art, and on early eighteenth-century assumptions about women and gender. She offers readings of some of the well-known poems in which women feature prominently, and follows Pope's response throughout his writings in general. His own alienation from the dominant culture (through religion, politics and physical handicap) and his troubled fascination with certain kinds of women make this subject complex and compelling, with wide implications. Dr Rumbold brings to light new information, and shows how the women with whom Pope dealt can themselves be seen as individuals with presence and dignity.