Women, Law and John Stuart Mill

Ward, Ian; McGlynn, Clare

Abstract

John Stuart Mill's intellectual reputation is unarguable; his liberal credentials seemingly impeccable. Moreover there seems to be a Mill for everyone; liberal, radical, feminist. The precise nature of the feminist Mill has however remained a matter of considerable debate. The purpose of this article is less to engage this speculation, but rather to invite closer consideration of what Mill actually said and wrote about women and the law in nineteenth-century England. For Mill, the law was both an instrument of women's subjection and a prospective means of liberation.

Citation

Ward, I., & McGlynn, C. (2016). Women, Law and John Stuart Mill. Women's History Review, 25(2), 227-253. https://doi.org/10.1080/09612025.2015.1039350

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 4, 2015
• Online Publication Date: May 26, 2015
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Feb 3, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 26, 2016
• Journal: Women's History Review
• Print ISSN: 0961-2025
• Electronic ISSN: 1747-583X
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 227-253
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09612025.2015.1039350
• Keywords: Mill, Feminism, Law, Prostitution, Suffrage.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1446085