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Liberty and Love? Dora Black Russell and Marriage

2011; University of Toronto Press; Volume: 46; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3138/cjh.46.2.247

2292-8502

Deborah Gorham,

Historical Gender and Feminism Studies

This paper explores modernist marriage in interwar Britain through an examination of the experience and the writings of the feminist activist Dora Black Russell (1894-1986). Dora Black’s marriage in 1921 to the philosopher Bertrand Russell is well known. She took Russell’s name; she and Russell had two children together, and she is often remembered as “Bertrand Russell’s second wife.” This marriage ended in a bitter divorce. Dora Russell did marry again. However, her second marriage is usually overlooked in the Dora Russell literature. Its significance is examined in this paper, as is the significance of her other relationships with men, including Griffin Barry, the father of her two younger children. Dora Russell considered herself to be an exemplar of modernism, especially in the areas of sex, marriage, and childrearing. The author examines secondary and primary literature on sex, gender and modernism in relationship to Dora Black Russell herself, and to sex and modernism more generally.