If Hilary Clinton were a Spinster I'd vote for her!

So it's been awhile since my last post, but I just found out today that I have readership! Exciting! So I thought I better get cranking out a few more posts, so my readers don't get bored and stop visiting my blog. I should probably say here that my posts aren't in any particular order and don't follow any agenda except to be an outlet for my thoughts on spinsterhood and anyone else's who would like to comment. I hope to shed light on the pros and cons of spinster life and look at how society views us and how we view ourselves. It's really a complicated topic, but I intend to look at it with some serious reflection, but also a good deal of humor. So dear readers please let me know how I'm doing and make comments. Thanks! Now on to the topic of the night. Famous Spinsters.

No doubt you know many unmarried woman. Everyone it seems has an aunt in their family who never married and did all of their genealogy work (really would any genealogy get done if it weren't for spinster aunts?) or were a part of some noble cause. I wish I knew their names and could tell their stories. Spinsters have always been in good company and some have become famous to history. Here is a very incomplete list of famous spinsters that I have complied (note some are fictional). If you find any more names please send them along.

Jane Austen (she heads the list because she is very well known for being a spinster and perhaps is a hero to single unmarried women everywhere)

Louisa May Alcott-writer of Little Women (she is probably my favorite spinster)

Emily Dickinson-poet

Emily and Anne Bronte-Emily wrote Wuthering Heights, they were sisters to Charlotte Bronte

Harper Lee-wrote To Kill A Mockingbird

Beatrix Potter (until the age of 47)

(It looks to me that spinsters make great authors.)

Miss Havisham from Great Expectations (spinsterhood gone very wrong)

Elizabeth I-ruler of England, daughter of Henry VIII.

Florence Nightengale and Clara Barton -both famous nurses

Susan B. Anthony-Women's rights advocate

Helen Keller

Joan of Arc

Mother Theresa- obviously she was a nun.

Mary Cassatt-artist

Janet Reno

Condoleeza Rice

Also some actresses of note: Sarah Bernhardt-early actress of the stage; Diane Keaton; Jodie Foster; Oprah Winfrey

And what of famous LDS single women? Well no list would be complete without Sheri Dew- the role model for all single LDS women everywhere. Also, Barbara Thompson is unmarried at the age of 55 and is the new 2nd counselor in the General RS presidency. Then we have Ann Osborn Poelman, a prominent cardiologist, who was a spinster for a long time before marrying Ronald Poelman, an emeritis general authority. She wrote a book about her story titled, The Simeon Solution, a very good read. And I've mentioned before Wendy Watson, a professor at BYU, who was single until her 50's when she married Elder Nelson. (Jenn do you know her?)

This famous spinsters list is quite interesting. Although all of the women found in the list were unmarried, they were not all the same. Some had torrid love affairs, some harbored unrequited love for unattainable men and some were quiet spinsters. But all in all they were strong women, who tried to make a difference with whatever talents they had been given. We are not alone.

for a more complete list of famous spinsters visit the following sites:

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=320630

http://spinsterchronicles.wordpress.com/info/fame/