The surplus woman : unmarried in Imperial Germany, 1871-1918
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The surplus woman : unmarried in Imperial Germany, 1871-1918
(Monographs in German history, v. 30)
Berghahn Books, 2009
- : hbk
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-264) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The first German women's movement embraced the belief in a demographic surplus of unwed women, known as the Frauenuberschuss, as a central leitmotif in the campaign for reform. Proponents of the female surplus held that the advances of industry and urbanization had upset traditional marriage patterns and left too many bourgeois women without a husband. This book explores the ways in which the realms of literature, sexology, demography, socialism, and female activism addressed the perceived plight of unwed women. Case studies of reformers, including Lily Braun, Ruth Bre, Elisabeth Gnauck-Kuhne, Helene Lange, Alice Salomon, Helene Stoecker, and Clara Zetkin, demonstrate the expansive influence of the discourse surrounding a female surfeit. By combining the approaches of cultural, social, and gender history, The Surplus Woman provides the first sustained analysis of the ways in which imperial Germans conceptualized anxiety about female marital status as both a product and a reflection of changing times.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction: Single Women in Imperial Germany
PART I: DER FRAUENUEBERSCHUss - THE FEMALE SURPLUS
Chapter 1. The Alte Jungfer
Chapter 2. Sexology and the Single Woman
Chapter 3. Imagined Demography
Chapter 4. The Maternal Spirit
PART II: ALLEINSTEHENDE FRAUEN - WOMEN STANDING ALONE
Chapter 5. Moderate Activism: Helene Lange and Alice Salomon
Chapter 6. Radical Reform: Helene Stoecker, Ruth Bre, and Lily Braun
Chapter 7. Socialism and Singleness: Clara Zetkin
Chapter 8. Spiritual Salvation: Elisabeth Gnauck-Kuhne
Conclusion: The Surplus Woman
Bibliography
Index
by "Nielsen BookData"