SOURCE: Marshall, David. “Writing Masters and ‘Masculine Exercises’ in The Female Quixote.” Eighteenth-Century Fiction 5, no. 2 (January 1993): 105-35.

In the following essay, Marshall examines the gender issues explored in Lennox's novel, focusing especially on the author's apparent commentary on the societal constraints regarding female artistry.

In book 2 of The Female Quixote, or The Adventures of Arabella the narrative of Arabella's history opens up to include the story of a character named Miss Groves. Following the death of her father, Arabella's uncle and her cousin Glanville have left for London, hoping for a “Reformation” that will cure Arabella of her addiction to romances and her belief that they “were real Pictures of Life.”¹ Contrary to the “Command” and “Will” of her father, Arabella has refused to marry Glanville, who leaves regretting “the little Power his Father had over her” (pp. 64-65). Wishing for “an agreeable Companion of her own Sex...