An affair of the heart: Sensibility, Revolution, Gender in Letters Written in France

Abstract

Helen Maria Williams, one of the early romantic women writers, was a controversial figure of her age on the account of her being pro-French Revolution. Her support for the French Revolution is well expressed in Letters from France which were published in eight volumes between 1790 and 1796. Among them, I will focus on the first of volume of the Letters. This paper will explore why Williams used sensibility in her Letters (1790) and how she shows the sensibility with the political point of views in the epistolary form and the Memoir of Mos. and Madam Duf ―. Sensibility in Letters seems to be one of the ways to avoid critical remarks about female political prose. Williams would also use sensibility in Letters to accept her idea easily. In addition, the epistolary form assists Williams in expressing her political point of views with sensibility well in Letters and allows her to express her feelings freely and frankly. She can effectively persuade readers to sympathise with her feelings in the epistolary form. The other strategy enables Williams to show her sensibility with the political standpoint is the Memoir of Mons And Madam Duf - in later chapters of the Letters. The memoir is seemingly the love story but there is the contrast between the despotic government and the new government and the process of the revolution behind the romantic story. It is a sentimental story for covering Williams' political voice well. Williams's sentimental strategy looked to be a huge success before the revolution became violent. She expressed her political points of view with sensibility which could be the bulwark of her defence.