The Crimes of Womanhood: Defining Femininity in a Court of Law

Carlson (letters and sciences, Arizona State University) reopens several famous cases of trials of women, all but one from the nineteenth century. Rather than discuss guilt or innocence, she addresses the rhetoric used by male lawyers on both sides to convince the all male juries. The image of proper womanhood is a subtext in all of these trials, including that of Lizzie Borden. Borden was arrested because she seemed unnaturally calm for a grieving woman and acquitted because the jury couldn't believe she was capable of such a horrific murder. While this is the best known trial, the others cited are equally compelling. The insanity trial of Elizabeth Packard, put in an asylum by her husband for changing her religion, is particularly illustrative of how clever questioning of witnesses can reveal the inconsistency of social standards. Carlson's narrative is just as convincing as that of the winning attorneys. Each example illustrates the complexities of gender discrimination and how it can be used both for and against women on trial. In her conclusion, Carlson notes that these social assumptions are still with us, although the penultimate trial of a female abortionist, makes that abundantly clear. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)