Free Soul, Free Woman?

In their lifetime, Hedwig Dohm (1831-1919) and Helene Bohlau (1856-1940) earned the praise of women's rights activists such as Minna Cauer and Helene Stocker for their contributions to modern women's literature. Dohm engaged in debates on the women's movement with Lou Andreas-Salome, Ellen Key, and Laura Marholm. Bohlau shocked the reading public with her novel "Halbtier ," in which a woman triumphs after killing an abusive man. On the other hand, Isolde Kurz (1853-1944), who distanced herself from the women's movement, seems the odd woman out. Yet boundaries among these writers are more fluid than expected, especially in their portrayals of sexuality and spirituality."