Harriet Martineau

Harriet Martineau (12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist. Her writing drew on sociology, holistic thinking, religion, and a woman's perspective. She translated the works of Auguste Comte and, unusually for a female writer of her era, earned enough money to support herself. Martineau argued that society should be studied in full, covering domestic life in the home along with major political, religious, and social institutions. The young Queen Victoria liked her work and asked her to attend the 1838 coronation. Novelist Margaret Oliphant described Martineau as "a born lecturer and politician... less distinctively affected by her sex than perhaps any other, male or female, of her generation." Because of her strong abolitionist stance, Martineau's work is examined around the world, especially at American universities. When a statue of Martineau was unveiled in December 1883 at Boston's Old South Meeting House, speaker Wendell Phillips called her the "greatest American abolitionist."

Born in Norwich, England, Harriet Martineau was the sixth of eight children. Her father, Thomas, worked as a textile manufacturer and served as deacon of the Octagon Chapel in Norwich from 1797. Her mother, Elizabeth (née Rankin), was the daughter of a sugar refiner and grocer. Harriet's five older siblings were Elizabeth, Thomas, Henry, Robert, and Rachel Ann. Her two younger siblings were James and Ellen, the youngest. Harriet was closest to her brother James, who later became a philosopher and clergyman in the English Dissenter tradition. The Martineau family had French Huguenot roots and followed Unitarian beliefs. They were financially comfortable and close friends with the Gurney family of Earlham Hall, Norfolk. Harriet's father held the lease on the Gurneys' home in Gurney Court, off Magdalen Street, Norwich, where Harriet was born. The family's wealth held until after the panic of 1825, a stock market and banking crash. According to writer Diana Postlethwaite, Harriet's relationship with her mother was tense and lacking warmth, which shaped views in her later writing. Martineau said her mother left her with a wet nurse. Hiring wet nurses was common, especially when a mother could not nurse her own child, but the nurse Elizabeth chose could not produce enough milk. This left Harriet underfed for her first few weeks, and her mother later blamed that for all of Harriet's later health problems. Harriet's ideas about domestic life and the "natural faculty for housewifery," which she wrote about in *Household Education* (1848), came from her own lack of care as a child. Affection from her mother was rare. Some evidence suggests Harriet imagined angels coming to take her away, which may have reflected a wish to escape her mother's control through suicide. Though their relationship improved in adulthood, Harriet saw her mother as the opposite of the warm, nurturing qualities she believed girls needed early on. Elizabeth urged all her children to read widely but also opposed female pedantry, keeping "a sharp eye for feminine propriety and good manners. Her daughters could never be seen in public with a pen in their hand." Despite this, Harriet was not the only academically successful daughter; her sister Rachel ran her own Unitarian academy, with artist Hilary Bonham Carter among her students. Mrs. Martineau enforced proper feminine behavior, pushing her daughter to "hold a sewing needle" as well as the (hidden) pen. Harriet's uncles included surgeon Philip Meadows Martineau (1752–1829), whom she enjoyed visiting at his nearby estate, Bracondale Lodge, and businessman and benefactor Peter Finch Martineau. In the Martineau household, Harriet's mother Elizabeth made sure all children received a proper education. Because the family was Unitarian, both boys and girls were expected to get a conventional education. Harriet began her schooling at home, taught by several older siblings. Her mother taught her French, the main language spoken by her father; her father taught her Latin; and her brother Thomas taught her math and writing. Being taught at home, especially by siblings, often led to teasing. When she was nine, Harriet moved to a small school run by a man named Perry. She later said Perry's school was the first place that gave her a positive, non-judgmental learning environment, and she credited it as the catalyst for her intellectual growth and interest in education. As she progressed, she grew fond of Shakespeare, political economy, philosophy, and history. But her mind was often troubled by three insecurities: her hearing disability, her poor handwriting, and the look of her hair. The next step in her education came when she was invited to the girls' boarding school run by her Aunt and Uncle Kentish in Bristol. Along with the standard courses, Harriet began lifelong self-directed study there, teaching herself Latin, Greek, and Italian, and taking a deeper interest in the Bible. She did not write often until her brother James—born when she was three—went off to Manchester New College of York in 1821. James and Harriet were close, and he suggested she start writing as a way to cope with their separation.