A Real Vexation: Student Writing in Mount Holyoke’s Culture of Service, 1837-1865

Examines hundreds of compositions from 19th-century students at Mount Holyoke and other institutions. Finds that the first generation of women to attend United States colleges negotiated competing demands of service (to family and community) and of individual intellectual performance. Contrasts women’s compositions to men’s. Illustrates effects of gender on service, both as a concept and as an activity.