Socialist and feminist dream-narratives of solidarity at the end of 19th century (Morris and Corbett)

Abstract

The Victorian fin de siècle exhibits not only a double quality but also the ambivalence of modernity with the appearance of ‘new’ ideas in the ‘old’ age. The unique perspective is especially evident in the socalled ‘dream-narratives’ written in the last decades of the 19th century, for instance, in Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward 2000-1887 (1888) and William Morris’s News from Nowhere (1890). In my paper, I will juxtapose the Morrisian British socialist utopia and Elizabeth Corbett’s feminist utopia, New Amazonia (1889), focusing on communal solidarity, emancipation and gender equality in the works. I will also highlight the importance of the ideal reader who is effectively addressed in both utopias.