Williams Morris’s Feminism in News from Nowhere

Abstract

In the Victorian period, female rights, and the idea of the ‘place’ of a woman , advanced along with the rapid pace of the Industrial era. The quick expansion of women’s rights over the last two centuries developed from this era. William Morris is considered to be both feminist, and anti-feminist, depending on which work we read. Focusing solely on Morris’s socialist utopian novel, News from Nowhere, I argue that while Morris has his moments of possible anti-feminism, as a whole, this work takes a feminist stance. Recognizing that Morris was an influential figure in the literary world and also supportive of women’s rights is vital when understanding gender roles in News from Nowhere from a feminist standpoint.