>In one of his prefaces J.S. Mill thanks Harriet Taylor profusely and says
>that because he discussed the material with her so thoroughly, she should be
>considered a co-author. This has been taken by some and transferred into
>statements similar to those that Jim repeated.
>
>Rod
Rod means the preface to "On Liberty":
"To the beloved and deplored memory of her [Harriet Taylor] who was
the inspirer, and in part the author, of all that is best in my
writings -- the friend and wife whose exalted sense of truth and
right was my strongest incitement, and whose approbation was my chief
reward -- I dedicate this volume. Like all that I have written for
many years, it belongs as much to her as to me; but the work as it
stands has had, in a very insufficient degree, the inestimable
advantage of her revision; some of the most important portions having
been reserved for a more careful re-examination, which they are now
never destined to receive. Were I but capable of interpreting to the
world one half the great thoughts and noble feelings which are buried
in her grave, I should be the medium of a greater benefit to it, than
is ever likely to arise from anything that I can write, unprompted
and unassisted by her all but unrivalled wisdom." Also, in his
autobiography published in 1873, Mill gave credit to both Harriet and
Helen Taylor (Harriet's daughter): "Whoever, either now or hereafter,
may think of me and my work I have done, must never forget that it is
the product not of one intellect and conscience but of three, the
least considerable of whom, and above all the least original, is the
one whose name is attached to it."
But evidence is not limited to the above. J.S. Mill wrote in a
letter to Harriet Taylor (on 20 March 1854):
"I am but fit to be one wheel in an engine not to be the self moving
engine itself -- a real majestic intellect, not to say moral nature,
like yours, I can only look up and admire. I shall never be
satisfied unless you allow our best book the book which is to come,
to have our two names on the title page. It ought to be so with
everything I publish, for the better half of it all is yours, but the
book which will contain our best thoughts [The Subjection of Women],
if it has only one name to it, that should be yours."
And most scholars now accept that some of the essays published under
Mill's name were written by Harriet Taylor: "The Enfranchisement of
Women" (the _Westminster and Foreign Quarterly Review_ 1851), for
example.
Most important evidence comes from the works of Harriet Taylor herself:
***** Jacobs, Jo Ellen, ed., and Paula Harms Payne, asst. ed.
Mill, Harriet Taylor
The Complete Works of Harriet Taylor Mill
Indiana University Press, September 1998, 592 pp., 20 black-and-white
photos, ISBN 0-253-33393-8, $59.95 (higher outside North America)
Description:
For the past 170 years, historians have presented Harriet Taylor Mill
as a footnote in John Stuart Mill's life. Few of her works have ever
been transcribed from the manuscripts held at the London School of
Economics. This volume presents Harriet Taylor Mill in her own voice.
Readers may assess for themselves the importance and influence of her
ideas on issues such as marriage and divorce, domestic violence,
education and suffrage for women. Those reading her ideas on ethics,
religion, arts, socialism, and historical figures will be able to
note the overlap of her ideas (many expressed in letters from the
1830s) with her more famous husband's important works, On Liberty and
Utilitarianism, which were published at least twenty-five years later.
The works in these pages are filled with Harriet Taylor Mill's
passionate and practical understanding of the world. She attacks
organized religion for its irrelevance to most people's spiritual
lives and praises the co-operative unions producing goods in France.
Readers will learn about Victorian medical practices, the "watering"
spas where members of the nineteenth-century middle class sought
cures for ailments from tuberculosis to stomach "derangement," and
the intricacies of travel in Europe during this period. HTM's letters
to her daughter disclose the classic difficulties of a young adult's
first departure from home, while her letters to her sons reveal an
affectionate but more distant relationship. Harriet Taylor Mill's
correspondence with John Stuart Mill demonstrates her willingness to
open her heart to him -- along with her lust, her anger, and her
curiosity.
This volume contains all of the published and unpublished writing of
Harriet Taylor Mill, including her drafts and essays on women and
women's rights, marriage, women's education, domestic violence,
ethics, religion, and arts, along with some revealing personal
writing. This collection also comprises her letters to John Stuart
Mill, John Taylor, and various family and friends. Approximately
seventy percent of this work is appearing in print for the first time
in the twentieth century.
Contents:
Acknowledgements, Introduction, Textual Introduction, Chronology
Section One: Writings on Women
1. Education of Women
2. Marriage and Divorce
3. Women's Rights
4. Violence and Domestic Violence
Section Two: Writings on Other Issues
5. Ethics
6. Religion
7. Arts
8. Miscellaneous
Section Three: Letters
9. To John Stuart Mill
10. To Family and Friends
11. To John Taylor
12. To Helen Taylor
Hardy Family Tree, References, General Index, Index of Documents *****
See also Jo Ellen Jacobs, "'The Lot of Gifted Ladies is Hard': A
Study of Harriet Taylor Mill Criticism," _Hypatia_ 9.3 (Summer 1994):
132-162.
Yoshie
