Mary Carpenter: Her father's daughter?

Abstract

This thesis consists of four thematic chapters showing Mary Carpenter (1808-1877) as an example of a Unitarian educational reformer who carved for herself a respectable public life at a time when the emphasis was on separate spheres for women. Mary's significance has recently become more widely broadcast, although her place as a leading pedagogue in educational history still needs to be asserted. As the title suggests, a primary concern will be to examine the influence that Lant Carpenter had on his daughter throughout her life. The first chapter examines Unitarianism, the life of Lant Carpenter, philanthropy in Bristol and the activities that Mary was involved with during her early life as a school teacher. This chapter also considers the education of middle-class girls together with the relationships between fathers and daughters in the period. The second chapter investigates the early anti-slavery campaigns in England focusing on the movement in Bristol. Mary's participation in the anti-slavery movement in England and America is examined together with the activities of the Bristol and Clifton Ladies Antislavery Society. The third chapter considers juvenile delinquency in England at mid-century, together with Mary's involvement in the formation of reformatory schools for the perishing and dangerous classes', as well as her involvement with the drafting of the Juvenile Offenders Act of 1854. Mary was the first woman to speak publicly at the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, and this aspect of her life is examined. The fourth chapter discusses Rammohun Roy's visit to Bristol in 1833 together with Mary's later commitment to help her Indian friends bring education to the women of India. Mary's four visits to India are examined together with her influential book and the formation of the National India Association. The conclusion considers how the seriousness of her religious beliefs gave Mary the strength to challenge the orthodoxies of the day for females and step out of the prescribed role for women: her career is a cautionary tale underlining the obstacles women faced in their encounters with the Victorian state.

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