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82-411: Mills felt that the central task for sociology and sociologists was to find (and articulate) the connections between the particular social environments of individuals (also known as " milieu ") and the wider social and historical forces in which they are enmeshed. The approach challenges a structural functionalist approach to sociology, as it opens new positions for the individual to inhabit with regard to

164-474: A couch, she was cared for by her mother until purchasing a house and hiring a nurse to aid her. She next moved downriver to Tynemouth where she regained her health. She stayed at Mrs Halliday's boarding-house, 57 Front Street, for nearly five years from 16 March 1840. The establishment is still open as a guest house today, now named the "Martineau Guest House" in her honor. The critic Diana Postlethwaite wrote of this period for Martineau: Being homebound

246-538: A deeper interest in the Bible. Up until her brother James, who was born when she was 3 years old, went off to college at the Manchester New College of York in 1821 ( Harris Manchester College, Oxford ), she did not write often. James and Harriet had a great relationship, so James had suggested that Harriet begin writing as a way to cope with their new separation. Martineau began losing her senses of taste and smell at

328-550: A deterministic constraint ( milieu ) and as a nurturing shell ( ambiance ). Max Scheler distinguishes between milieu as an experienced value-world, and the objective social environment on which we draw to create the former, noting that the social environment can either foster or restrain our creation of a personal milieu. Pierre Janet saw neurosis in part as the product of the identified patient 's social environment – family, social network, work etc. – and considered that in some instances what he termed "social surgery" to create

410-405: A healthier environment could be a beneficial measure. Similar ideas have since been taken up in community psychiatry and family therapy . Harriet Martineau Harriet Martineau (12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist . She wrote from a sociological, holistic , religious and feminine angle, translated works by Auguste Comte , and, rare for a woman writer at

492-800: A historical plaque marks this house. In 1841 she published a series of four novels for children, The Playfellow , comprising The Settlers at Home , The Peasant and the Prince , Feats on the Fiord , and The Crofton Boys . In 1844 she published Life in the Sickroom: Essays by an Invalid, an autobiographical reflection on invalidism. She wrote Household Education (1848), the handbook on the "proper" way to raise and educate children. Lastly, she began working on her autobiography. Completed much later, it included some hundred pages on this period. Notable visitors included Richard Cobden and Thomas and Jane Carlyle. Life in

574-532: A letter, She was very agreeable and managed to talk on a most wonderful number of subjects, considering the limited time. I was astonished to find how little ugly she is, but as it appears to me, she is overwhelmed with her own projects, her own thoughts and own abilities. Erasmus palliated all this, by maintaining one ought not to look at her as a woman. Significantly, Martineau's earlier popularization of Thomas Malthus ' theories of population control may have helped convince Charles to read Malthus, which provided

656-561: A long visit to the United States; she and her travelling companions spanning the nation from New York to Boston , and from Chicago through to Atlanta and elsewhere in Georgia . During this time, she visited a great many people, some little known, others as famous as James Madison , the former US president, at his home at Montpelier . She also met numerous abolitionists in Boston and studied

738-548: A sewing needle" as well as the (hidden) pen. In the Martineau family, Harriet's mother Elizabeth made sure all her children received a proper education. With the Martineaus being Unitarian, both the boys and girls in the family were expected to receive a conventional education. In order to abide by this well-rounded education, Harriet was taught at home by several of her elder siblings in the beginning of her education journey. Harriet

820-977: A variety of topics. Martineau's frequent publication in the Repository acquainted her with editor Rev. William Johnson Fox (not William Darwin Fox, see disambiguation). First coming to London around 1830, Martineau joined Fox's social circle of prominent thinkers, which also introduced her to Erasmus Alvey Darwin , older brother to Charles Darwin. In November 1832, Martineau moved to London. Among her acquaintances were: Henry Hallam , Harriet Taylor , Alexander Maconochie , Henry Hart Milman , Thomas Malthus , Monckton Milnes , Sydney Smith , John Stuart Mill , Edward Bulwer-Lytton , Elizabeth Barrett Browning , Sarah Austin , and Charles Lyell , as well as Jane Welsh Carlyle and Thomas Carlyle . She met Florence Nightingale , Charlotte Brontë , George Eliot and Charles Dickens later on in her literary career. Until 1834, Martineau

902-439: A woman was suggesting such a position in the power dynamic, critics suggested that, as she was an invalid, her mind must also be sick and the work was not to be taken seriously. British and Foreign Medical Review dismissed Martineau's piece on the same basis as the critics: an ill person cannot write a healthy work. They thought it was unheard of for a woman to suggest being in a position of control, especially in sickness. Instead,

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984-413: A writer and her father's business failure, which she describes as "one of the best things that ever happened to us". She described how she could then "truly live instead of vegetate". Her reflection emphasizes her experience with financial responsibility in her life while she writes "[her] fusion of literary and economic narratives". Harriet's first commissioned book, Illustrations of Political Economy ,

1066-491: A young age. She was deaf and having to use an ear trumpet at the young age of 12. However, it was said that Harriet did not actually utilize the ear trumpet until her late twenties as she was trying to avoid harassment from others by doing so. It was the beginning of many health problems in her life. With such an early onset of illness, and the passing of her father, requiring her to make a living for herself, she became an avid writer. In 1821, she began to write anonymously for

1148-563: Is a broader concept than that of social class or social circle . The physical and social environment is a determining factor in active and healthy aging in place, being a central factor in the study of environmental gerontology . Moreover, the social environment is the setting where people live and interact. It includes the buildings and roads around them, the jobs available, and how money flows; relationships between people, like who has power and how different groups get along; and culture, like art, religion, and traditions. It includes

1230-434: Is a major part of the process of becoming feminine. In this interior setting she (Martineau) is taught the home arts of working, serving, and cleaning, as well as the rehearsals for the role of mothering. She sees her mother... doing these things. They define femininity for her. Her illness caused her to literally enact the social constraints of women during this time. Martineau wrote a number of books during her illness, and

1312-511: Is alienated from the self and society totally. Mills asks if, at some point and time in the future, individuals will accept this state of total rationality and alienation willingly and happily. This is a pressing concern as the Cheerful Robot is the "antithesis" of democratic society; the Cheerful Robot is the "ultimate problem of freedom" (175) as a threat to society's values. According to Mills, social scientists must study social structure, using

1394-406: Is based on a system of beliefs enforced by society, writes Mills. In this he criticizes Parsons for his view in terms of historical and social change and diversity. He thereby criticizes the means by which a social order can be derived without observation. In the third chapter Mills criticizes the empirical methods of social research which he saw as evident at the time in the conception of data and

1476-515: Is commonly understood (Mills, 1959, 7–12). In writing The Sociological Imagination , Mills tried to reconcile two varying, abstract conceptions of social reality, the "individual" and the "society", and thereby challenged the dominant sociological discourse to define some of its most basic terms and be forthright about the premises behind its definitions. He began the project of reconciliation and challenge with critiques of "grand theory" and "abstracted empiricism", outlining and criticizing their use in

1558-442: Is confined by an unjustifiable restriction of... education... As women have none of the objects in life for which an enlarged education is considered requisite, the education is not given... The choice is to either be 'ill-educated, passive, and subservient, or well-educated, vigorous, and free only upon sufferance. The publication of Martineau's Illustrations of Political Economy found public success. So much success that, "by 1834,

1640-406: Is not totally absent as the "average" individual in society has "a real potential for freedom". Individuals have adapted to the rationalization of society. Mills believed in the individual's autonomy and potential to alter societal structures. The individual who does not exercise reason and passively accepts their social position is referred to by Mills as "The Cheerful Robot" in which the individual

1722-446: Is often conflated with freedom. Greater rationality in society, as understood by Mills, results in the rationalization of every facet of life for the individual until there is the loss "of his capacity and will to reason; it also affects his chances and his capacity to act as a free man" (170). This does not mean that individuals in society are unintelligent or hopeless. Mills is not suggesting determinism. Under Mills' conception, freedom

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1804-523: Is part of her doctrine. I much doubt whether it will be equality in practice. The Darwins shared Martineau's Unitarian background and Whig politics, but their father Robert was concerned that, as a potential daughter-in-law, she was too extreme in her politics. Charles noted that his father was upset by a piece in the Westminster Review calling for the radicals to break with the Whigs and give working men

1886-582: Is so very plain; otherwise I should be frightened: She is a wonderful woman. Martineau wrote Deerbrook (1838), a three-volume novel published after her American books. She portrayed a failed love affair between a physician and his sister-in-law. It was considered her most successful novel. She also wrote The Hour and the Man: An Historical Romance (1841), a three-volume novel about the Haitian slave leader Toussaint L'Ouverture , who contributed to

1968-442: Is thought to be his vision of Sociology. He writes of the need to integrate the social, biographical, and historical versions of reality in which individuals construct their social milieus with reference to the wider society (Mills, 1959, 132-134). He argues that the nature of society is continuous with historical reality. In doing so, Mills writes of the importance of the empirical adequacy of theoretical frameworks. He also writes of

2050-529: The Monthly Repository , a Unitarian periodical. Her first contribution was "Female Writers of Practical Divinity," and in 1823 she published Devotional Exercises and Addresses, Prayers and Hymns . The year 1823 was the same year that Harriet's brother James introduced her to one of his friends from school, John Hugh Worthington. The two were engaged, however never married as Worthington fell ill and died. Martineau later reveals in her autobiography that she

2132-605: The Gurney family of Earlham Hall , Norfolk . Harriet's father, Thomas, owned the leasehold of the Gurney's home, Gurney Court, Harriet's birth place. The family's wealth remained intact until around 1825–26 when the stock market and banking system collapsed. As previously mentioned Harriet and her mother's relationship was quite hostile early on. It was a traditional gesture for mothers to hire wet nurses for their children, especially if they could not nurse their child by themselves. However

2214-526: The Lake District , where she designed herself and oversaw the construction of the house called The Knoll, Ambleside (made a Grade II Listed Building in 1974 ), where she spent the greater part of her later life. Although she was single and had no children she believed that: "No true woman, married or single, can be happy without some sort of domestic life; – without having somebody's happiness dependent on her: and my own ideal of an innocent and happy life

2296-541: The Review recommended that patients follow "unconditional submission" to the advice of doctors. They disagreed with the idea that Martineau might hold any sort of "authority to Britain's invalids". Expecting to remain an invalid for the rest of her life, Martineau delighted in the new freedom of views using her telescope . Across the Tyne was the sandy beach "where there are frequent wrecks — too interesting to an invalid... and above

2378-696: The abolitionist movement has seen Martineau's celebrity and achievements studied world-wide, particularly at American institutions of higher education such as Northwestern University . When unveiling a statue of Martineau in December 1883 at the Old South Meeting House in Boston , Wendell Phillips referred to her as the "greatest American abolitionist". Martineau's statue was gifted to Wellesley College in 1886. Born in Norwich , England, Harriet Martineau

2460-538: The voyage of the Beagle , Charles Darwin went to London to stay with his brother Erasmus . He found him spending his days "driving out Miss Martineau", who had returned from her trip to the United States. Charles wrote to his sister: Our only protection from so admirable a sister-in-law is in her working him too hard." He commented, "She already takes him to task about his idleness — She is going some day to explain to him her notions about marriage — Perfect equality of rights

2542-459: The Sickroom is considered to be one of Martineau's finest works. It upset evangelical readers, as they "thought it dangerous in 'its supposition of self-reliance'". This series of essays embraced traditional womanhood. Martineau dedicated it to Elizabeth Barrett , as it was "an outpouring of feeling to an idealized female alter ego, both professional writer and professional invalid- and utterly unlike

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2624-475: The air comes in through my open upper sash brisk, but sun-warmed. The robins twitter and hop in my flower-boxes... And at night, what a heaven! What an expanse of stars above, appearing more steadfast, the more the Northern Lights dart and quiver! During her illness, she for a second time declined a pension on the civil list , fearing to compromise her political independence. After publication of her letter on

2706-462: The breakthrough ideas for his nascent theory of evolution. In April 1838, Charles wrote to his older sister Susan that Erasmus has been with her noon, morning, and night: — if her character was not as secure, as a mountain in the polar regions she certainly would lose it. — Lyell called there the other day & there was a beautiful rose on the table, & she coolly showed it to him & said 'Erasmus Darwin' gave me that. — How fortunate it is, she

2788-581: The characteristics of their author's style. Tory paternalists reacted by calling her a Malthusian "who deprecates charity and provision for the poor", while Radicals opposed her to the same degree. Whig high society fêted her. In May 1834 Charles Darwin , on his expedition to the Galapagos Islands , received a letter from his sisters saying that Martineau was "now a great Lion in London, much patronized by Ld. Brougham who has set her to write stories on

2870-404: The construction of milieu in relation to social research and how both theory and research are related (Mills, 1959, 65-68). The idea has drawn criticism, with Stephen J. Kunitz writing that "Abstracted Empiricists embraced a philosophy based upon what they considered natural science, emphasizing, according to Mills, the significance of Method over substance", with quantitative survey research being

2952-548: The current sociology of the day. In 1998 the International Sociological Association listed the work as the second most important sociological book of the 20th century. Mills drafted the book during 12-month Fulbright visit to University of Copenhagen over the period 1956-1957. In chapter two, Mills seems to be criticizing Parsonian Sociology, directly addressing The Social System , written by Talcott Parsons . In The Social System , Parsons describes

3034-513: The direct influence of one mind on another mind. Mesmerism was designed to make invisible forces augment the mental powers of the mesmeric object." Martineau eventually published an account of her case in 16 Letters on Mesmerism , which caused much discussion. Her work led to friction with "the natural prejudices of a surgeon and a surgeon's wife" (i.e., her brother-in-law, Thomas Michael Greenhow and her sister, Elizabeth Martineau Greenhow ). In 1845, Martineau left Tynemouth for Ambleside in

3116-453: The emerging schools for the education of girls. Her support of abolitionism , then widely unpopular across the U.S., caused controversy, which her publication, soon after her return, of Society in America (1837) and How to Observe Morals and Manners (1838), only fueled. In Society in America , Martineau angrily criticized the state of women's education. She wrote: The intellect of women

3198-443: The favored practice, for which "large teams, budgets, and institutes were required, leading to the bureaucratization of scholarship and transforming it from a craft to an industrial process". Another critique by Nigel Kettley states that the method "seeks to perfect the art of number crunching, while setting aside the cognitive processes involved in theory building as a form of morbid introspection". In chapter seven Mills sets out what

3280-554: The free-market ideas of Adam Smith and others throughout the British Empire . Martineau then agreed to compose a series of similar monthly stories over a period of two years, the work being hastened by having her brother James also work on the series with her. The subsequent works offered fictional tutorials on a range of political economists such as James Mill , Bentham and Ricardo , the latter especially forming her view of rent law. Martineau relied on Malthus to form her view of

3362-538: The handling of methodological tools. This can be seen as a reaction to the plethora of social research being developed from about the time of World War II. This can thereby be seen as much a criticism by Brewer that Mills may have been critical of the research being conducted and sponsored by the American government. As such Mills criticizes the methodological inhibition which he saw as characteristic of what he called abstracted empiricism . In this he can be seen criticizing

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3444-426: The idea of domestic realism . Martineau's ideas in the novel were inspired by the works of David Hartley . This novel in particular was different from her other works as her development was evident. Her development included both her improvement of fictional writing, but also showed mastery of the theories she wrote about. In the early 19th century, most social institutions and norms were strongly shaped by gender, or

3526-678: The idea that social order can indeed be seen as a whole. He writes that every individual cannot simply be fully integrated into society and internalize all its cultural forms. Furthermore, such domination may be seen as a further extension of power and social stratification. He further criticizes Parsonian Sociology on its ability to theorize as a form of pure abstraction that society can be understood irrespective of its historical and contextual nature without observation. He argues that society and its cultural symbols cannot be seen as self-determining and cannot be derived without reference to individuals and their consciousness. All power according to Parsons

3608-621: The immediate milieu of jobs/family/neighborhood with the wider formations of the social structure , highlighting in particular a distinction between "the personal troubles of milieu" and the "public crises of social structure". Emile Durkheim took a wider view of the social environment ( milieu social ), arguing that it contained internalized expectations and representations of social forces/social facts: "Our whole social environment seems to be filled with forces which really exist only in our own minds" – collective representations . Phenomenologists contrast two alternative visions of society, as

3690-402: The immediate physical and social setting in which people live or in which something happens or develops. It includes the culture that the individual was educated or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom they interact. The interaction may be in person or through communication media, even anonymous or one-way, and may not imply equality of social status . The social environment

3772-438: The individual has not because the individual does not have the time or means to exercise reason. Mills differentiates reason and rationality. Reason, or that which is associated with critical and reflexive thought, can move individuals closer to freedom. On the other hand, rationality, which is associated with organization and efficiency, results in a lack of reason and the destruction of freedom. Despite this difference, rationality

3854-530: The island nation's gaining independence in 1804. In 1839, during a visit to Continental Europe , Martineau was diagnosed with a uterine tumor. She several times visited her brother-in-law, Thomas Michael Greenhow , who was a celebrated doctor in Newcastle upon Tyne , to try to alleviate her symptoms. On the last occasion she stayed for six months in the Greenhow family house at 28 Eldon Square. Immobile and confined to

3936-411: The larger social structure. Individual function that reproduces larger social structure is only one of many possible roles and is not necessarily the most important. Mills also wrote of the danger of malaise (apathy), which he saw as inextricably embedded in the creation and maintenance of modern societies. This led him to question whether individuals exist in modern societies in the sense that "individual"

4018-606: The money to build a house of her own rather than pay for something she did not love. The next place Martineau was brought to look at was the land of a minister at Ambleside called the Knoll. She ended up getting a great deal for the original plot of land and a bonus plot. The next task she took on was actually planning the layout of the house, which found very enjoyable. When the actual act of constructing came around, she and her contractor were on very good terms and understood each other's expectations, in terms of payment and time commitments. It

4100-478: The monthly sales . . . had reached 10,000 in a decade in which a sale of 2,000 or 3,000 copies of a work of fiction was considered highly successful." Her article "The Martyr Age of the United States" (1839), in the Westminster Review , introduced English readers to the struggles of the abolitionists in America several years after Britain had abolished slavery . In October 1836, soon after returning from

4182-461: The nature of the structure of society and the creation and maintenance of a culture through the socialization of individuals. Mills criticizes this tendency in sociology on several grounds. He argues for a more heterogeneous form of society in that he challenges the extent to which a single uniformity of society is indeed possible. Mills criticizes the Parsonian formulation of social order, particularly

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4264-439: The notion of a unified social sciences. This he believes is not a conscious effort but is a result of the historical problem-based discourses out of which the disciplines developed, in which the divisions between the disciplines become increasingly fluid (Mills, 1959, 136-140). Thus, Mills sets out what he believed to be a problem-based approach to his conception of social sciences (140-142). Mills opens "On Reason and Freedom" with

4346-415: The perception of what was appropriate for men versus for women. Writing was no exception; non-fiction works about social, economic and political issues were dominated by men, while limited areas, such as romance fiction, and topics dealing with domesticity were considered to be appropriate for women authors. Despite these gendered expectations in the literary world, Martineau strongly expressed her opinions on

4428-432: The physical world and the way people relate to each other and their communities. Where a child grows up and goes to school has a big impact on who they become friends with and how good those friendships are. Most of the time, kids make friends with people in their family or neighborhood. So, where parents choose to live, work, and send their kids to school can affect how healthy and happy their children are. People with

4510-409: The poor Laws " and recommending Poor Laws and Paupers Illustrated in pamphlet -sized parts. They added that their brother Erasmus "knows her & is a very great admirer & every body reads her little books & if you have a dull hour you can, and then throw them overboard, that they may not take up your precious room". In 1834–36, after completing the economic series, Harriet Martineau paid

4592-506: The process. All these man-made components are included in human cultural environment, Erving Goffman in particular emphasising the deeply social nature of the individual environment. There are still many people living in villages and this is their social environment. A village is a township with production, living, ecology and culture. The state is trying to solve the problem of integrated rural development, which includes construction, expansion, and road building. C. Wright Mills contrasted

4674-424: The rocks, a spreading heath, where I watch troops of boys flying their kites; lovers and friends taking their breezy walks on Sundays..." She expressed a lyrical view of Tynemouth: When I look forth in the morning, the whole land may be sheeted with glittering snow, while the myrtle-green sea swells and tumbles... there is none of the deadness of winter in the landscape; no leafless trees, no locking up with ice; and

4756-517: The same social environment often develop a sense of social solidarity ; people often tend to trust and help one another, and to congregate in social groups . They will often think in similar styles and patterns, even though the conclusions which they reach may differ. In order to enrich their lives, people have used natural resources, and in the process have brought about many changes in the natural environment . Human settlements, roads, farmlands, dams, and many other elements have all developed through

4838-492: The same time opposed female pedantics "with a sharp eye for feminine propriety and good manners. Her daughters could never be seen in public with a pen in their hand". Despite this conservative approach to raising girls, Harriet was not the only academically successful daughter in the family; her sister Rachel ran her own Unitarian academy with artist Hilary Bonham Carter as one of her students. Mrs. Martineau strictly enforced proper feminine behavior, pushing her daughter to "hold

4920-485: The self and society, it is necessary to develop new ways of making sense of reality as old methods for understanding associated with liberalism and socialism are inadequate in this new epoch. Enlightenment promises associated with the previous epoch have failed; increased rationality moves society further away from freedom rather than closer to it. Mills explains that highly rationalized organizations, such as bureaucracies, have increased in society; however, reason as used by

5002-717: The sociological imagination, to understand the state of freedom in this epoch. Mills concludes this section of The Sociological Imagination with a call to social scientists: it is the promise of the social sciences to analyze the individual's troubles and society's issues in order to not only evaluate freedom in society but to foster it. Social environment 1800s: Martineau · Tocqueville  ·  Marx ·  Spencer · Le Bon · Ward · Pareto ·  Tönnies · Veblen ·  Simmel · Durkheim ·  Addams ·  Mead · Weber ·  Du Bois ·  Mannheim · Elias The social environment , social context , sociocultural context or milieu refers to

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5084-440: The specific wet nurse that Harriet's mother had hired could not produce a sufficient amount of milk for an infant. This left Harriet starved for the first few weeks of her life, which is what Mrs. Martineau had attributed all of Harriet's future ailments to. Harriet's ideas on domesticity and the "natural faculty for housewifery", as described in her book Household Education (1848), stemmed from her lack of nurture growing up. It

5166-409: The subject, some of her friends raised a small annuity for her soon after. In 1844, Martineau underwent a course of mesmerism , returning to health after a few months. There was national interest in mesmerism at this time. Also known as "animal magnetism", it can be defined as a "loosely grouped set of practices in which one person influenced another through a variety of personal actions, or through

5248-469: The task of the social scientist. Mills goes on to situate the reader in the historically specific moment that he wrote the book, or what Mills refers to as the Fourth Epoch. Mills explains that "nowadays men everywhere seek to know where they stand, where they may be going, and what—if anything—they can do about the present as history and the future as responsibility" (165). To have a better understanding of

5330-456: The tendency of human population to exceed its means of subsistence. However, in stories such as "Weal and Woe in Garvelock", she promoted the idea of population control through what Malthus referred to as "voluntary checks" such as voluntary chastity and delayed marriages. One of Martineau's most popular works of fiction was Deerbrook (1839). The book drew much attention because it focused on

5412-519: The time, earned enough to support herself. The young Princess Victoria enjoyed her work and invited her to her 1838 coronation . Martineau advised "a focus on all [society's] aspects, including key political, religious, and social institutions". She applied thorough analysis to women's status under men. The novelist Margaret Oliphant called her "a born lecturer and politician... less distinctively affected by her sex than perhaps any other, male or female, of her generation." Her lifelong commitment to

5494-496: The tradition of the English Dissenters . According to the writer Diana Postlethwaite, Harriet's relationship with her mother was strained and lacking affection, which contributed to views expressed in her later writing. Martineau claimed her mother abandoned her to a wet nurse . Harriet's childhood was rather different compared to any other ordinary child. Her family was financially comfortable and they were close friends with

5576-589: The traditional roles of feminine propriety to earn a living for her family. Along with her needlework, she began selling her articles to the Monthly Repository , earning accolades, including three essay prizes from the Unitarian Association . Her regular work with the Repository helped establish her as a reliable and popular freelance writer. In Martineau's Autobiography , she reflects on her success as

5658-400: The two facets of the sociological imagination (history and biography) in relationship to the social scientist. Mills asserts that it is time for social scientists to address the troubles of the individual and the issues of society to better understand the state of freedom specific to this historical moment. According to Mills, understanding personal troubles in relationship to social structure is

5740-424: The vote "before he knew it was not [Martineau's], and wasted a good deal of indignation, and even now can hardly believe it is not hers". In early December 1836 Charles Darwin called on Martineau and may have discussed the social and natural worlds she was writing about in her book Society in America , including the "grandeur and beauty" of the "process of world making" she had seen at Niagara Falls . He remarked in

5822-401: The women in her own family". Written during a kind of public break from her mother, this book was Martineau's proclamation of independence. At the same time, Martineau turned the traditional patient–doctor relationship on its head by asserting control over her space even in sickness. The sickroom was her space. Life in the Sickroom explained how to regain control even in illness. Alarmed that

5904-421: The work of Paul F. Lazarsfeld who conceives of sociology not as a discipline but as a methodological tool (Mills, 1959, 55-59). He argues that the problem of such social research is that there may be a tendency towards "psychologism", which explains human behavior on the individual level without reference to the social context. This, he argues, may lead to the separation of research from theory. He then writes of

5986-412: The youngest of the eight, Ellen. The Martineau family was of French Huguenot ancestry and professed Unitarian views. Her uncles included the surgeon Philip Meadows Martineau (1752–1829), whom she had enjoyed visiting at his nearby estate, Bracondale Lodge , and businessman and benefactor Peter Finch Martineau . Martineau was closest to her brother James, who became a philosopher and clergyman in

6068-487: Was a fictional tutorial intended to help the general public understand the ideas of Adam Smith . Illustrations was published in February 1832 in an edition of just 1500 copies, since the publisher assumed it would not sell well. Yet it very quickly became highly successful, and would steadily out-sell the work of Charles Dickens . Illustrations was her first work to receive widespread acclaim, and its success served to spread

6150-433: Was a house of my own among poor improvable neighbours, with young servants whom I might train and attach to myself: with pure air, a garden, leisure, solitude at command, and freedom to work in peace and quietness". She began house-hunting and the first house she looked at was not entirely perfect and did not have everything that she needed and was looking for. Her friend, who went with her to view it, said it would be worth

6232-534: Was found that affection shown toward Harriet by her mother was quite rare. In fact, there have been findings that suggested that Harriet had imagined angels coming to take her away, which was thought to symbolize her wishing to find a way to escape her mother's reign through suicide. Although their relationship was better in adulthood, Harriet saw her mother as the antithesis of the warm and nurturing qualities which she knew to be necessary for girls at an early age. Her mother urged all her children to be well read, but at

6314-454: Was in a strange sense relieved in the long run that marriage was not an option, as their relationship was filled with stress and disagreements. Martineau remained unmarried in her life. Her earliest novels were also published during these years, beginning with Principle and Practice in 1827 and Five Years of Youth: or, Sense and Sentiment in 1829. In 1829, the family's textile business failed. Martineau, then 27 years old, stepped out of

6396-497: Was occupied with her brother James on the political economy series, as well as a supplemental series of Poor Laws and Paupers Illustrated and Illustrations of Taxation which was intended to directly influence government policy. About the same time, she published four stories expressing support of the Whig Poor Law reforms. These tales (direct, lucid, written without any appearance of effort, and yet practically effective) display

6478-613: Was often dominated by the three biggest insecurities in her life: her hearing disability, her poor handwriting, and the look of her hair. The next step in Harriet Martineau's education came when she received an invitation from the all-girl boarding school that her Aunt and Uncle Kentish ran in Bristol. Besides the standardized course she took at the school, Harriet began her lifelong self-directed research here. She dived deep into topics on her own, such as Latin, Greek, Italian, and even took

6560-403: Was taught French by her mother, which was the predominant language spoken by her father. Thomas, her father, taught her Latin, and her brother Thomas taught Harriet maths and writing. Unfortunately for Harriet, being taught at home especially by all her siblings often led to lots of mockery. When she was nine years old Harriet transitioned to a small school run by a man named Mr. Perry. Mr. Perry

6642-476: Was the sixth of the eight children of Thomas, a textile manufacturer. He served as deacon of the Octagon Chapel, Norwich from 1797. Her mother, Elizabeth (née Rankin), was the daughter of a sugar refiner and grocer. Harriet's five older siblings included two sisters and three brothers. In age order their names were, Elizabeth, Thomas, Henry, Robert and Rachel Ann. Harriet's two younger siblings were James and

6724-470: Was very special to Harriet, allegedly one of the first people in her life to provide her with a positive and non-judgmental learning environment. Later on in her life, Harriet claimed that Mr. Perry's school was the catalyst for her intellectual development and interest in education. As her education progressed she began to grow very fond of the following topics: Shakespeare, political economy, philosophy and history. Despite her love for all these topics, her mind

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