The thesis argues that never-married gentlewomen dissociated themselves from negative and ubiquitous stereotypes of the old maid by focussing on their gentility rather than their marital status. By demonstrably fulfilling the familial and social roles which belonged to their sex and rank, and by representing themselves in terms of approved genteel feminine virtues and conduct, they located themselves in networks of social reciprocity which extended from household and family into the wider social sphere. In doing so they confounded popular caricatures of mature unmarried women as selfish parasites whose failure to marry and procreate drained the resources of their natal families and undermined the nation’s strength. The thesis focuses on a number of case studies drawn from the extensive collections of family papers in the National Records of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland. Several of these never-married women were kin by birth or marriage, and their correspondence illustrates the reach of their relationship networks, their status, and influence. Their personal and, in some cases, published writing shows how they used ideals of gentility and associated language to support the familial and social positions they claimed. The thesis chapters examine the relationships they forged, and the resulting influence they were able to exercise, by considering them variously as members of households headed by male kin, as heads of their own households, and as familial patrons. While never-married women are increasingly the subjects of research, the lives of never-married gentlewomen remain under-examined. Yet gentlewomen, habituated to writing as an essential social skill, have left a wide range of sources by which their management of social status and singlehood can be assessed. This thesis shows some of the perspectives opened up by study of these sources.

Istoriografijoje XVIII a. vadinamas moterų amžiumi ne tik dėl to, kad pačios moterys pradėjo aktyviau reikštis įvairiose gyvenimo sferose, bet ir dėl to, kad amžininkai pradėjo diskusijas apie moterų vietą ir tikslus „vyriškame“ pasaulyje. Šios Apšvietos epochos diskusijos, prasidėjusios Prancūzijoje, pasiekė ir Abiejų Tautų Respubliką (ATR) ir, žinoma, Lietuvos Didžiąją Kunigaikštystę. Moterų aktyvumas priklausė ne tik nuo Apšvietos epochoje atsiradusių diskusijų dėl moterų padėties visuomenėje, bet ir nuo naujų kultūrinių bei geopolitinių aplinkybių. Darbo tikslas – remiantis šaltiniais ir istoriografija, išskirti ir išanalizuoti būdingiausias moterims veiklas XVIII a. Lietuvos Didžiojoje Kunigaikštystėje. Šiam tikslui išsikeliame šiuos uždavinius: 1) remiantis istoriografija ir šaltiniais, apibrėžti moterų veiklų sąlygas šeimoje ir visuomenėje; 2) išskirti būdingiausias moterims veiklas XVIII a.; 3) remiantis istoriografija ir šaltiniais, atskirai išanalizuoti tų veiklų priežastis, tikslus ir aplinkybes; 4) remiantis moterų sukurtais šaltiniais, išanalizuoti jų pasirinktos veiklos priežastis ir aplinkybes. Didelis dėmesys pradėtas skirti moterų ugdymui bei išsilavinimui. Čia labiausiai pasižymėjo vienuolės, kurių žinioje dažnai buvo mergaičių auklėjimas. Viena populiariausių moterų veiklų yra literatūrinė. Šaltiniuose aptikta informacija leidžia teigti, kad atsiminimų, dienoraščių, eilių rašymas buvo plačiai paplitęs tarp moterų. Atsiminimus, dienoraščius ir t. t. moterys... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The XVIIIth century deservedly is calling as the women’s century, not only because contemporaries started discussions about women place and aims in the masculine world, and yet women started to play up in different playgrounds by themselves. Such discussions of Age of Enlightenment have been started in France, and reached Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (PLC) and The Grand Duchy of Lithuania as well. The women activity depended not only on those discussions about women state in society, and yet of new cultural and geopolitical circumstances. The aim of this researching is to identity and analyse the most typical women’s activities at XVIIIth century in The Grand Duchy of Lithuania on ground of historiography and origins. There are four tasks to fulfil this aim: 1) to identity and analyse the circumstances of women’s activities in the family and society on ground of historiography and origins; 2) to identity the most typical women’s activities at XVIIIth century; 3) to analyze the reasons, aims and circumstances of particular activities on ground of historiography and origins; 4) to analyze women’s activities reasons and circumstances on ground of origins created by women. Though women’s legal status was deferent than men, but their status quo depended on women’s temper. Often woman’s status in the public life depended on her status in her own family. Also there showed up new meaning of women role in society, on ground of first partition (1772). Woman had been ranked as... [to full text]