The Journals of Martha E. McMillan

Fanny R.’s hand; however, Martha writes her own two lines afterwards. Just like Sorby’s research shows, Martha felt a sense of ownership of Fanny R.’s poem; also, the mysteriousness of Fanny R. shows how periodicals did not give full credit to the real authors of poems and essays. Although Fanny R.’s poem applied to an essay about the home, Martha uses it to comment on her own biography; although she was alone at home, she felt like a girl again thinking of James and their first year of marriage. The newspaper clipping of “Between Two Years” in Martha’s journal does not feature author Weiss’ name, but “N.Y., Independent. ” This shows the lack of copyright that Victorian newspapers gave to authors, producing the complicated reader/writer relationship. Sorby writes that “many nineteenth-century poems celebrate […] babies,” which is evident in Martha’s journal (424); on Fannie’s birthday, Martha quotes Allen’s poem “Little Feet:” “who may read the future? / For our darling we crave all blessings sweet-- / And pray that he who feeds the crying ravens-- / Will guide our daughter’s feet.” In Allen’s original poem, the last line reads, “Will guide the baby’s feet.” However, Martha intentionally changes the phrase to “our daughter’s” to fit her own life and the birth of Fannie. Again, Martha reflects her culture’s attitude of individual poetry authorship, and her position as a reader transforms into a writer as she includes sentimental poetry in her journal entries. In response to Kirkland’s proposal that women who write journals can be literary, McMillan’s journal gives a resounding affirmation. The religious, domestic periodicals that Martha would have read gave her subjectivity as a woman and offered her power over her home. Her status as a reader also contributed to her position as a writer, and Martha’s integration of sentimental poetry with her own life events shows that she had creative energy and an emotional connection to words. Martha McMillan: the literary woman of Cedarville, Ohio. 52