SOURCE: “Inscribing the ‘Impartial Observer’ in Sedgwick's Hope Leslie,” in Legacy, Vol. 14, No. 2, 1997, pp. 81-92.

In the following essay, Ford discusses the manner in which Hope Leslie addresses the repressive treatment of women and Native Americans.

Taken together, recent criticism discussing Catharine Maria Sedgwick's Hope Leslie constructs a dialogue concerning not only Sedgwick's neglected position in the canon, but also what most critics agree to be her unconventional portrayal of both women and Native American characters. In fact, several critics have pointed out the manner in which Sedgwick's novel questions the repressive treatment of both women and Native Americans,¹ which leads to a question I hope to address: Does the novel negotiate race and gender within the context of domesticity in the same way, to the same ends? The novel's remarkable preface pushes race to the forefront, as it positions the narrative to challenge the dominant racist assumptions...