Abstract
This chapter opens with a question for feminists working on recovery research, namely: what happens when the lives of women whom we ‘recover’ become entangled in a ‘recuperative’ purpose? In exploring ‘what happens’, I focus on the life and works of one particular woman — Edith Simcox (1844–1901) — who has been variously positioned, scrutinised and framed by feminists and non-feminists alike, with a single recovery aim in mind: to explain her relationship with, and passion for, George Eliot.
Historically, psychologically, intellectually — & it may be admitted from pure carnal curiosity too — I should like to know how many women there are who have honestly no story to tell, how many have some other story than the one which alone is supposed to count & how many of those who think it worth their while to dissect themselves are in a position to tell all they know of the result. (Edith Simcox, Autobiography of a Shirt Maker, 17 October 1887)
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References
Archives & Manuscripts
Blackburn Collection, Girton College Library, Cambridge
Emily Davies Papers, Girton College Library, Cambridge
Simcox, Edith Jemima (1876–1900) Autobiography of a Shirt Maker, Bodleian Library Oxford (MS, Eng. Misc. d. 494)
Biographical
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© 1999 Pauline Polkey
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Polkey, P. (1999). Recuperating the Love-Passions of Edith Simcox. In: Polkey, P. (eds) Women’s Lives into Print. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230374577_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230374577_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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