"The Gates Ajar" Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward Hand Written COA For Sale

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ElizabethStuart Phelps Ward(August 31, 1844 – January 28, 1911) was an early feminist American author and intellectual who challengedtraditional Christian beliefs of the afterlife, challengedwomen's traditional roles in marriage and family, and advocated clothing reform forwomen.In1868, three years after the Civil War ended, she published The GatesAjar, which depicted the afterlife as a place repletewith the comforts of domestic life and where families would be reunited—alongwith family pets—through eternity.In her 40s, Phelps broke convention againwhen she married a man 17 years her junior. Later in life she urged women toburn their corsets. Her later writing focused on feminine ideals and women'sfinancial dependence on men in marriage. She was the first woman to present alecture series at Boston University. During herlifetime she was the author of 57 volumes of fiction, poetry and essays. In allof these works she challenged the prevailing view that woman's place andfulfilment resided in the home. Instead Phelps' work depicted women assucceeding in nontraditional careers as physicians, ministers, and artists.Nearthe end of her life, Phelps became very active in the antivivisection movement. Hernovel, Trixy, published in 1904, was constructed around thetopic of vivisection and the effect this kind of training had on doctors. Thebook became a standard polemic against experimentation on animals.