Beginning of feminist utopia in the English literature

Abstract

Speaking about the place and depiction of women in English utopian literature we need
to mention two authors – Margaret Cavendish and Sarah Scott. M. Cavendish created a new path in
the new direction in her works, she described women problem in science fiction. Sarah Scott has
unique activity both in her creative writings and in her life. Gender problem is described in different
genres through different literary methods. However, its depiction in utopian fiction has an
ambiguous character. Solutions of gender problems, especially feminism are often illusionary.
Literature itself is the reflection of illusion too, but it is an illusion rooted in reality. The problems
that cannot find a solution or cannot be discussed in the real world can be described in literary
works directly or indirectly. Hence, for the writers who dare to join polemics in a patriarchal
society, literature is the most convenient form of expression. “Blazing World” is a woman’s desire to create her own world, an illusionary world in the 17th
century England that was struggling with social and political issues. Its predecessor, “Millennium
Hall” is a desire to attract attention to the gender problem in England, a powerful country struggling
with social and political issues that differed from the previous century for their character but not in
density.
Naturally, the authors could not avoid the influence of the ideology of the time. Therefore, while
reading, it is important to bear in mind the time and ideology of the period in which the works were
written.