Käthe Edler as a Feminist

Women in Science  

Marie Curie (1867 – 1934) Polish-born French physicist and chemist best known for her contributions to radioactivity.

Elizabeth Blackwell  (born 1821) First woman to graduate  in medicine in the United States.

Maria Goeppert Mayer Nobel prize for physics in 1963   

Find out more about these three and other female scientists.

How does their experience compare with Käthe’s?  

What may have prevented women from being scientists in Käthe’s day?  

Find out what you can about Einstein’s wife, Mileva Marić Do you think she needs recognition as a scientist?  

First female to get a driving license

Note:  

·         Cars were heavier then.

·         You were tested on car repairs.

·         You were tested on map-reading. 

·         You had to “double de-clutch” .

Käthe startled taxi-drivers by opening the bonnet and fiddling with the spark-plugs. Do you think modern drivers should be tested on car repair and navigation?   

Women and university

·         Even as late as 1910 women could attend lectures but could not be awarded a degree.

·         Studious women were labelled “blue stockings”.  

·         In Käthe’s time, women were expected to marry and bring up children.

·         Käthe combined both roles: she married her university professor.  

·         One of her friends had to behave like a man in order to be taken seriously.   

Pretend you are Käthe and write a letter to the head of the university.  Explain:

·         Why you think it unfair that you cannot be awarded a degree

·         What you think of the term “blue stocking”

·         Why you should be allowed to continue studying even though you have married  

Pretend you are Käthe’s friend.  Explain why you behave like a man and what that entails.