SOURCE: "Ruskin's 'Womanly Mind,' " in Essays in Criticism, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 4, October, 1988, pp. 308-24.

In the following essay, Birch argues that while Ruskin's work has enraged feminists, his thinking was often "Womanly" and not antagonistic to some of the tenets of modern feminism.

Ruskin's reputation survives, but in a fragmented form. His writings are voluminous, demanding, and often out of print. The books, lectures, or passages that do retain currency are usually studied in specific contexts. For students of Victorian literature, 'The Nature of Gothic' and, more recently, 'Traffic' have gained solid status as classics of social thought. Unto This Last has comparable prestige for those concerned with political history, while contemporary interest in forms of autobiography has guaranteed a readership for Praeterita. Art historians may have a more or less respectful acquaintance with Modern Painters and The Stones of Venice. The rest has nearly disappeared from...