Imperialism, Labour and the New Woman: Olive Schreiner's Social Theory

Abstract

Olive Schreiner (1855-1920) was the best-known feminist theorist and writer of her time. Her writings spanned a number of conventionally separate genres (including the novel, short story, allegory, political essay, polemic and theoretical treatise), which she crafted to produce a highly distinctive feminist and analytical 'voice'. A feminist who was contemporaneously an internationally-renowned social commentator, Schreiner's developing political analysis was - and still is - highly original. She developed a materially-based socialist and feminist analysis of 'labour' which led her to theorise