抗爭平等選舉權:重探19世紀英國女權運動開拓者安‧奈特與她的時代

Abstract

自1970年代以降，學界一般公認1850年代末為英國有組織的女權運動之起點。本文透過重探英國改革運動者安．奈特（Anne Knight, 1786-1862）於1840－1850年代初的社運經驗，檢視該敘事在研究方法的侷限和歷史事實上的可議之處。本文將指出，1850年代初出現的平等選舉權運動，是由. 1840年代英、美、法社會運動和三國跨國女權網絡交互作用而生。 為了釐清英國平等選舉權運動的發展過程，本文分成三部分。第一部分透過分析1840－1846年間，奈特經歷的社會運動事件，以及其牽涉的人員網絡和文本網絡，本文將說明奈特從主張平等代表權到倡議平等選舉權之變動過程。第二部分首先藉由交叉分析奈特於1847年印刷的女性平等選舉權宣傳品和當時代論著，本文將闡釋奈特作為積極的讀者的行動力和創作力，如何賦予原文本新的脈絡，使其服務於平等選舉權的宣傳功能。其次，由女性是否應自行組織社團爭取平等選舉權所引起的辯論以及奈特的行動，本文觀察在1840年代末的英國社會，平等選舉權議題的發展情形。最後，本文檢視奈特參與法國第二共和女權鬥爭的論述和行動，指出她在該運動中扮演的角色，並且鋪陳該運動經驗建立起的人脈網絡和行動工具。第三部分，本文先分析奈特在中產階級改革者外，接受和工人階級女性運動者合作的過程。接著，本文聚焦謝菲爾德女性政治協會的主張和其行動策略，並呈現該組織和憲章運動、議會改革以及發展中的美、法女權運動之互動過程。最後，本文透過該組織引起的公眾迴響，闡釋1850年代初英國平等選舉權運動的時代意義。 綜合以上，本文一方面期待能解開和奈特的社會運動經驗糾葛不清的歷史問題，另一方面希望能激起學界重新討論19世紀英國女權運動史的分期，加深吾人對當時代本國和跨國社會運動的理解。

Since the 1970s, it has been widely recognized among scholars that the organized women's rights movements did not emerge in Britain until the late 1850s. This thesis examines the methodological limitations and historical fallacies of this narrative by revisiting the experience of the British reformer Anne Knight (1786-1862) in the social movement of the 1840s and early 1850s. It will argue that the equal suffrage movement of the early 1850s was born of the interaction of the British, American, and French social movements of the 1840s and the transnational feminist networks. To shed light on the development of the British equal suffrage movement, this thesis has been divided into three parts. The first part illustrates Knight’s transition from advocacy of equal delegation to equal suffrage by analyzing the social movement events she experienced during 1840-1846, along with the personnel and textual networks involved. The second part begins with cross-examination of Knight's 1847 printed propaganda on equal suffrage and contemporary writings, demonstrating how her activism and creativity as an active reader brought a new context to the original text in the service of equal suffrage propaganda. Next, through the debate over whether women should have organized themselves to fight for equal suffrage and Knight's actions, this thesis observes the development of equal suffrage issues in late 1840s British society. Finally, the thesis explores Knight's participation in the feminist struggle during the French Second Republic, identifying her role in the movement and presenting the network of activists and tools of action forged by the movement's experience. The third part analyzes Knight's gradual outreach to and collaboration with working-class women activists in addition to middle-class reformers. Then, it focuses on the claims and tactics of the Sheffield Female Political Association in the context of its interaction with Chartism, the parliamentary reform, and the developing feminist movements in the United States and France. It concludes by illuminating the contemporary significance of the equal suffrage movement in early 1850s Britain through nuanced and mixed reception from the public. In summary, this thesis aims to unravel the historical issues that have been entangled with Knight's social movement experience. Moreover, it also hopes to reignite the scholarly discussion on the chronology of 19th-century British feminist history, thereby deepening our understanding of both domestic and transnational social movements in the first half of the 19th century.