This essay considers two sides of Sarah Josepha Hale. On the one hand, Hale is regarded as widely influential in her work as an editor and social activist, and is recognized nationally for her work in the advancement of women's access to a higher education. On the other hand, Hale's poetry reveals a more complicated perspective where Hale seems to attempt to work through gender and class contradictions in the contexts of verse. Hale emerges as a woman who was constrained by class ideologies, and a conservative political agenda. At the same time, she succeeded in establishing important changes for women in relation to education, and she acted directly in producing recognition of women as domestic participants in the social and political realms of 19th century New England. 4 pgs, bibliography lists 7 sources.
