Introduction

Imagine you lived in a world in which you could not vote, hold elected office, or own property no matter how old you are. Consider how limited your life would be if you were not encouraged to go to school or pursue a career. Think about how frustrating it would be to marry a spouse who maintained final authority over every aspect of your life, a spouse who in some places could administer corporal punishment to you with the full consent and encouragement of the law. Until comparatively recent times, most women lived in such a world, for discrimination based on gender was the rule in almost every culture. Yet even in the most repressive times and places, writers of both sexes have protested the discrimination against women that was so thoroughly woven into the fabric of society that many people simply could not recognize the inequities...