Jane Anger
Jane Anger is a historical figure known for her pamphlet titled "Her Protection for Women," published in 1589 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. This work is notable for its counterarguments to Thomas Orwin's earlier pamphlet, which expressed a derogatory view of women, asserting that "women are all harlots." Anger's response humorously flips this sentiment, claiming instead that "men are all swine." The pamphlet is often viewed as an early example of commercial journalism, designed to engage the public by provoking controversy around gender issues.
While some modern feminists consider Anger's writing as an early precursor to feminist thought, it also reflects the period's complex attitudes towards gender and societal expectations. The authorship of the pamphlet is debated, with some suggesting that Joan Robinson, a widow and printer’s wife with experience in the printing trade, may have authored it, highlighting her influential role in the literary world of the time. Regardless of the true authorship, Anger's work remains an important part of the discourse on women's rights and literary history in early modern England.
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Subject Terms
Jane Anger
Writer
- Born: fl. 1588
- Birthplace: England
Biography
The name Jane Anger, whose byline includes the further description “Gentlewoman at London,” appeared on a single pamphlet entitled Her Protection for Women, published in 1589, during the reign of Elizabeth I, queen of England and Ireland. The argument contained in the pamphlet was a response to an earlier pamphlet by Thomas Orwin, His Surfeit in Love, with a Farwel to the Folies of His Own Phantasie, published the previous year. Although some modern feminists consider Anger’s reply an early precursor of their endeavors, it might be better regarded as the second part of an early exercise in commercial journalism, attempting to engage a paying audience by stirring up a popular controversy.
The argument of Orwin’s jeremiad, in a nutshell, is that “women are all harlots, alas,” while Anger’s counterargument can be summarized as “no they’re not- -and anyway, men are all swine.” The slightly florid and whimsically provocative style in which both essays are written would be suggestive of a common cause even if Anger’s riposte did not bear an inscription declaring it to have been printed “by Richard Lone and Thomas Orwin.”
Orwin’s attitude to women may have been colored by the fact that he obtained his own printing press, after serving his apprenticeship elsewhere, by marrying the widow and heiress of a printer named George Robinson. Although the precise details of her biography are unknown, the records show that Joan Robinson had previously been married to yet another printer, so she was richly experienced in the trade; her son by her first marriage, Felix Kingston, also went on to become a printer. After her third husband died, Joan Orwin operated the press herself as “the Widow Orwin,” working in association with Joan Broome—the widow of yet another printer, William Broome—in St Paul’s Churchyard in London.
Joan Orwin’s career certainly entitles her to be considered a precursor of feminism, and there seems to be every possibility that she was Jane Anger. The only other person likely to have written Her Protection for Women is Thomas Orwin himself; if he did so, it was probably by way of an apology to his wife, who must have felt a trifle slighted by his earlier publication. Whether Joan Orwin was the sole author of the second pamphlet or not, it is reasonably certain she played a significant part in its inspiration.