The Princess
1847
In 1847, Alfred Tennyson composed something radical: a comic narrative poem that dared to ask whether women deserved the same education as men. The result is The Princess, a ferociously witty tale that follows Prince Arthur to the fortress of Princess Ida, who has founded an all-female university and sworn off men entirely. What unfolds is part fairy tale, part philosophical debate, part farcical battle as Arthur and his friends attempt to rescue their comrade and win Ida's hand. Tennyson layers songs, asides, and a framing device that treats the whole legend with affectionate absurdity. But beneath the laughter lies a genuine provocation: can women be both educated and beloved, both independent and whole? The poem provoked outrage upon publication, and its gender politics remain tantalizingly unresolved. Is Tennyson mocking feminist ambition or defending it? The answer, perhaps, is both.
