Fidelia was a favoured female
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...
among writers in English in the 18th century.
['' The Feminist Companion to Literature in English. Women Writers from the Middle Ages to the Present'', Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements and Isobel Grundy, eds (London, Batsford, 1990), p. 369.] It was derived from the Latin ''fidelitas'', meaning faithfulness.
Usage
Hester Chapone
Hester Chapone ''née'' Mulso (27 October 1727, Twywell, Northamptonshire – 25 December 1801, Hadwell, Middlesex), was an English writer of conduct books for women. She became associated with the London Bluestockings.
Life
Hester, the daug ...
adopted Fidelia as her
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
's pseudonym in "The Story of Fidelia" (1753–1754), in Nos 77–79 of the English newspaper ''
The Adventurer''.
did likewise in a short piece of sentimental fiction.
[Published in ''The Female Advocate: or an Attempt to Recover the Rights of Women from Male Usurpation'' (1799). See Catherine Packham: ''Eighteenth-Century Vitalism: Bodies, Culture, Politics'' (Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).]
Among the writers who used Fidelia as an author's pseudonym for their own work were the Englishwomen
Mary Astell
Mary Astell (12 November 1666 – 11 May 1731) was an English protofeminist writer, philosopher, and rhetorician. Her advocacy of equal educational opportunities for women has earned her the title "the first English feminist."Batchelor, Jenni ...
(1666–1731) and
Jane Barker (1652–1732), and the Americans
Sarah Prince Gill (1728–1771),
Hannah Griffitts
Hannah Griffitts (1727–1817) was an 18th-century American poet and Quaker who championed the resistance of American colonists to Britain during the run-up to the American Revolution.
Early life
Griffitts was born into a Quaker family in Philade ...
(a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
, 1727–1817) and Sukey Vickery (1779–1821).
Back in England, the
Lincoln poet who used the name Fidelia in
The Gentleman's Magazine
''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...
in 1734–1735 may have been Keziah (died 1742), a sister of
John Wesley
John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching ...
. She wrote to belittle an award of £50 offered as a poetry prize ("you forget the price of a candle") and propose instead that the prize should be the hand of
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubli ...
in marriage. This sparked off exchanges of verses with the Welsh poet
Jane Brereton (1685–1740) and the English poet
Elizabeth Carter
Elizabeth Carter (pen name Eliza; 16 December 1717 – 19 February 1806) was an English poet, classicist, writer, translator, linguist, and polymath. As one of the Bluestocking Circle that surrounded Elizabeth Montagu,Encyclopaedia BritannicRet ...
(1717–1806).
Compliment
In modern times, the description Fidelia has sometimes been used as a compliment to a woman.
References
{{Reflist, 30em
See also
*
List of pseudonyms
This is a list of pseudonyms, in various categories.
A pseudonym is a name adopted by a person for a particular purpose, which differs from their true name. A pseudonym may be used by social activists or politicians for political purposes or by ...
18th-century poets
18th-century women writers
18th-century pseudonymous writers
Pseudonyms
Pseudonymous women writers