Caroline Norton
Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton (22 March 1808 – 15 June 1877) was a British feminist, social reformer, and author of the early and mid-nineteenth century. Caroline left her husband in 1836, following which her husband sued her close friend Lord Melbourne, the then Whig Prime Minister, for criminal conversation. The jury threw out the claim, however Caroline was unable to obtain a divorce and was denied access to her three sons. Caroline's intense campaigning led to the passing of the Custody of Infants Act 1839, the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 and the Married Women's Property Act 1870. Caroline modelled for the fresco of Justice in the House of Lords by Daniel Maclise, who chose her because she was seen by many as a famous victim of injustice.
Read more about Caroline Norton: Youth and Marriage, Separation and Melbourne Scandal, Political Activity, Later Life, Family and Descendants
Famous quotes containing the words caroline and/or norton:
“I have eyes to see now what I have never seen before.”
—Anonymous, U.S. correspondence student. As quoted in The Life of Ellen H. Richards, ch. 9, by Caroline L. Hunt, quoting Ellen Swallow Richards (1912)
“The question has been asked, “What is a woman?” A woman is a person who makes choices. A woman is a dreamer. A woman is a planner. A woman is a maker, and a molder. A woman is a person who makes choices. A woman builds bridges. A woman makes children and makes cars. A woman writes poetry and songs. A woman is a person who makes choices. You cannot even simply become a mother anymore. You must choose motherhood. Will you choose change? Can you become its vanguard?”
—Eleanor Holmes Norton (b. 1937)