Benigna Machiavelli by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860 - 1935) cover art

Benigna Machiavelli by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860 - 1935)

Benigna Machiavelli by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860 - 1935)

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In between "The Yellow Wallpaper" (1892) and Herland (1915), feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) wrote and published this delightful fictional autobiography, Benigna Machiavelli (1914), in her monthly magazine, The Forerunner.

The narrator, young Benigna MacAvelly, decides as a child that she intends to emulate her ancestor Niccolò Machiavelli but dedicate her machinations to doing good rather than evil. She starts her ingenious plotting very early in life (for example, as an 11-year-old, she enlists her classmates in an elaborate money-raising scheme to buy a new watch for an impoverished teacher), and moves on to larger goals as she gets older. Her most significant challenge is her domineering father. Determined to liberate her downtrodden mother from his verbal abuse, Benigna concocts an elaborate plan to deal with him and restore her mother's self-confidence. (Summary by Winnifred Assmann)Copyright Audiobooks, Podcasts and More
Episodes
  • Chapter VIII

    Chapter VIII
    Jul 1 2026
    29 mins
  • Chapter V

    Chapter V
    Jul 1 2026
    28 mins
  • Chapter VII

    Chapter VII
    Jul 1 2026
    30 mins
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