ABSTRACT
By the mid-nineteenth century an increasing number of periodicals had appeared that were directed at the female reader. The first selection, “The Education of Women,” which appeared in Panorama de las Senoritas Mejicanas, presents itself as correspondence between “Angelica” in Mexico and Madame Josefina Bachellery in France. The epistolary genre, including published letters, opened a space for women to speak about topics normally beyond their authorization. The letter, which was one in a series, addresses questions debated among the educated classes in Mexico at the time: women’s education, domestic responsibilities, beauty, and workforce participation. There was a time in Mexico when woman was completely happy doing nothing in her home, spending days, years, unoccupied, in tedium. Since independence, education and customs have changed notably, and the fair sex, whose dignity and importance have been appreciated since that time, occupies herself with that which is useful and agreeable.
