Completing our research has left us with a more complex picture of the power of women’s voices and of feminism as a whole. In regards to the complexities of women’s voices, we noticed that it wasn’t exactly right to think of women, as a collective, fighting for a common goal, because humans are very complex so their thinking is also inherently complex. The differences in how these suffragettes got to their intended goal brought to light the social climate of both Britain and America in the mid 19th century, with debates over who gets what based on class, gender, and race. The historical context of this complex social climate during the time that Charlotte Bronte and Fanny Fern were writing their novels, shines through in their writing. With the knowledge of what feminism looked like in America and Britain during the 19th century, we have a clearer understanding as to why Jane Eyre and Ruth Hall seemed so different despite both being regarded as feminist texts.

Through our research, we’ve opened up many different areas of conversation regarding 19th-century women finding their voice. Through the use of primary and secondary sources, we’ve been able to discover how the emerging feminist movement allowed Victorian women writers to find and use their voice to fight against their oppressors, giving them a platform to defend themselves and share their views. 

Through our research, we’ve been able to refine our initial research question after discovering different sources. Using the process of research, we were able to define the ‘emerging feminist movement’ in our initial statement and realized that the suffragettes in America and the UK were fighting for different rights at the time. This led us to some deeper questions such as, “Which women were allowed to have freedoms?” and “How did the freedom and independence in the novels translate to the author’s lives?” These questions certainly reshaped and challenged our initial thesis, but helped us dive deeper into the world of transatlantic women authors.