Milton and Gender

Although Milton's contempt for women has been accepted since Samuel Johnson's famous life of the poet, critics continue to debate whether Milton's writings are anti- or pro-feminine, a problem further complicated by his advocacy of "divorce on demand" for men. This book re-evaluates these claims by analyzing his major poems, his four divorce tracts, and the responses of female readers ranging from George Eliot and Virginia Woolf to lesser known artists and revolutionaries.