Ep. 015- Literature series - G.K. Chesterton’s The Modern Surrender of Women (1909)

In this new series, Beth & Theresa explore books, essays or articles that discuss the toxicity of feminism and support authentic, Catholic femininity. We begin with the brilliant G.K. Chesterton, an English philosopher, author and Catholic convert of the early 20th century. Few writers had the knack of understanding an issue or problem like Chesterton; his wit, humor, intellectual depth and ability to see clearly through the heady mist of modernism is virtually second to none. His “The Modern Surrender of Women”, written in 1909, is a perfect example: he completely dismisses the issue of whether women should have the legal right to vote and discusses the deeper and more important issue of whether women should *want* to vote. His theory is that women have surrendered their seat of Imperial Majesty for one of the dingy masses, using violent coercion by vote instead of passive influence, and that this has resulted in the triumph not of feminism (or femininity), but of masculinism. It is a fascinating article written over a decade before the 19th Amendment was ratified in the United States, and a prescient viewpoint that has, unfortunately, been proven true. 

The Modern Surrender of Women, by G.K. Chesterton (1909), https://archive.org/stream/dublinreview145londuoft#page/128/mode/2up