—the idea that evolutionary change is driven by choice, competition, and "charms" rather than just survival. 1. The Historical Context (1871–1926) In 1871, Darwin published The Descent of Man
Authors used evolutionary theory to justify women’s increasing autonomy, framing their choices as vital to the progress of the "race" or society. 3. Essential Authors and Works William Dean Howells: Often focused on the "economy of courtship." In works like The Rise of Silas Lapham —the idea that evolutionary change is driven by
: Unlike natural selection (survival of the fittest), sexual selection focuses on the "struggle for mates". Bender posits that this theory provided American writers with a "naturalistic" language to describe the complexities of human attraction. explored how the "survival of the fittest" had
explored how the "survival of the fittest" had morphed into the survival of the wealthiest, leading to the disillusioned tone of the Jazz Age. 5. Why It Matters She had cited bowerbirds
: Discusses the history of Darwinian thought in American literary criticism since 1950. Why It Matters
Clara’s hand paused over a label. She had written them two years ago—a quiet rebellion against Wallace’s insistence that female choice was an illusion. In her margins, she had argued that the female’s “aesthetic sense” was not a lesser instinct but a precise engine of lineage. She had cited bowerbirds, widowbirds, and the slow, patient refinement of the Argus pheasant’s eye-spotted wing. She had not dared to apply it to people.
In The Descent of Love: Darwin and the Theory of Sexual Selection in American Fiction, 1871–1926