Jane Robinson ed. Unsuitable for Ladies

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Jane Robinson (ed.) Unsuitable for Ladies
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Women travellers

• Ida Pfeiffer (1797-1858)
• several journeys round the world
• Fanny Bullock Workman (1859-1925)
• woman mountaineer
• an early feminist
• Map-maker, geologist, geographer
• Alexandra David-Néel (1868-1969)
• first western woman to enter Lhasa, the Forbidden
  City of Tibet
• Freya Stark (1893-1993)
• Journeys to inaccessible parts of Arabia

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Structure

• Introduction, followed by short extracts on
• The Continent (Crossing the Channel, France,
  Spain, Germany)
• The Alps and Italy
• Scandinavia, Eastern Europe
• The Near (Middle) East
• Africa
• Asia
• The Americas
• Coming home

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The genders divided

• Mens travels are to do with What and Where, and
  womens with How and Why (xiv)
• Riding man-fashion as opposed to side-saddle (74)
• Clothing is also a great hindrance, but so are
  feminine mannerisms (169)
• Do women respond to new environments in a more
  poetic way than men? See Karen Blixen on African
  air (190-1) can you find other examples?

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The genders united

• When asked about the dangers Weighing the
  intense thirst and burning heat, the fever and
  mosquitoes, the not being able to take off
  clothing for days on end, even the shortage of
  food, I can truthfully answer Yes. For I was
  not the same being sex had disappeared (Lady
  Richmond Brown, 1924 17)
• I used to pray every night that I might wake up
  and find myself a boy Many years afterwards
  I was pitchforked into the Serbian Army and
  for seven years lived practically a mans life
  (Flora Sandes, 105)

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Difficulties the traditional view

• Needs greater protection
• Her constitution not necessarily suited to
  enduring hardship
• Menstruation and childbirth
• Duties at home such as managing children,
  parents, housework
• (xv)
• Stay and mind the babies, or hem our rugged
  shirts (3)
• Samivel, LAmateur dabîmes (1940) True women
  are too tender for the rigours of the mountains
  (51)

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Psychological

• Here lie the greater obstacles
• Lack of a competitive spirit
• Unable to see the point of pushing oneself to
  extremes
• Unwilling to spend large sums of money on
  something that serves no obvious purpose
• Focus on the home rather than on distant places

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Prejudice

• Even Spain must be considered a semi-civilised
  country, so long as a respectable,
  quietly-dressed woman, walking quietly alone, is
  subject to insult and outrage in the streets
  Even accompanied by a guide, I was yet subjected
  to hooting and insult (Mary Eyre, Over the
  Pyrenees into Spain, 1865, 27)
• And of course, some women travellers do seem just
  interested in home-making, cookery and social
  visits (80 177-8)

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Women pilgrims

• In early mediaeval times, there were many famous
  women pilgrims
• In 327-8, Empress Helena, mother of the Emperor
  Constantine, visited the Bethlehem, Jerusalem and
  Sinai, identified Mount Sinai, found the true
  cross, decided where churches should be built,
  and established the cult of the Cross (written up
  by Eusebius of Caesaria)
• In 381-4, a Spanish nun, Egeria, went to Mount
  Sinai, Jerusalem and Constantinople, in the
  footsteps of the prophets, of Christ, - and of
  the Empress Helena (fragmentary manuscript
  survives see 152-155)
• The Roman matron Paula and her daughter
  Eustochium undertook a pilgrimage in A.D. 385 to
  the Holy Places, to Africa, to Israel, before
  settling down with St. Jerome in Bethlehem,
  financially supporting him and assisting his
  labours with translating the Bible from Hebrew
  and Greek into Latin (letter to Marcella,
  published by Jerome)

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Ida Pfeiffer (Vienna 1797-1858)

• After freeing herself from family obligations,
  she travelled down the Danube to the Black Sea,
  Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Cairo
• Visit to the Holy Land, Egypt, and Italy 1846
• Journey to Iceland, and Travels in Sweden and
  Norway.
• 1846 sailed round the world via Brazil, Tahiti,
  Macao, Canton, India, Iraq, Iran
• A Lady's Voyage Round the World
• Second trip round the world in 1851-5, Cape Town,
  Borneo, Sumatra (among Batak tribe, cannibals),
  San Francisco, South America
• A Lady's Second Journey Around the World
• Third trip to Madagascar

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Ida Pfeiffer in 1842

• My friends and relations attempted in vain to
  turn me from my purpose by painting, in the most
  glowing colours, all the dangers and difficulties
  which await the traveller in those regions. Men
  were obliged to consider if they had physical
  strength and strength of mind bravely to face
  the dangers of the plague, the climate, the
  attacks of insects, bad diet, etc. And to think
  of a womans venturing alone, without protection
  of any kind, into the wide world, across sea and
  mountain plane it was quite preposterous (5)

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Fanny Bullock Workman 1859-1925

• Early champion of bicycling in Spain, Algeria,
  Ceylon, Java,  Sumatra, India and Vietnam
• Then took up mountain-climbing, explored the
  Himalayas with her husband but also travelled
  alone as a pioneer geographer
• Set womens climbing record of 21,000 ft (1903),
  and 23,300 ft (1906)
• Undertook mapping work in the Himalayas,
  especially in the Karakorum Range (7 visits)
• an early feminist who had occasion to complain of
  "sex antagonism" from male scientists and
  climbers
• A supporter of higher education for women and
  perhaps the first woman ever to have lectured at
  the Sorbonne

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Alexandra David-Néel (1868-1969)

• The first western woman to enter Lhasa, the
  Forbidden City of Tibetin 1924
• In 1914 she met the young Aphur Yongden, whom she
  later adopted. They retired to a hermitage in a
  cave, 3,900 metres above sea level, in northern
  Sikkim

See Alexandra David-Néel, La Femme aux Semelles
de Vent (CD)
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Permanent Runaway

• One of the worlds most passionate travellers
• Aged 15 to England
• Aged 17 to Switzerland
• Aged 18 Cycled to Spain
• Sang at the Athens opera, composed a lyrical
  drama
• 1890 spent a year in India
• 1899 wrote an anarchist pamphlet
• 1900 Year in India
• 1904 Marriage to Philippe Néel
• 1911-1916 in India and Sikkim twice entered Tibet

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Philippe Néel and his railway
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Lhasa 1924

• She arrived here finally in 1924, dressed as a
  beggar, having walked across China and crossed
  the Himalayas

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Freya Stark 1893-1993

• Famous for her expeditions to Arab countries and
  the Orient, Central Asia, Turkey and Persia
• 1912 Bedford College, London. Studied English and
  History, then acquired a knowledge of Arabic
• 1927 visited Damascus, Lebanon, Transjordan,
  Palestine and Egypt
• 1929 Made Baghdad her base

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Publications

• Documented her travels in 30 books
• Her first major book was
• The Valley of the Assassins (1934)
• This was followed by
• Southern Gates of Arabia (1935)
• Baghdad Sketches (1937)
• Winter in Arabia (1940)
• Later life spent largely in Italy and Cyprus

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Coping with adversity

• Lady Duff Gordon enjoys her meat and beer in a
  gale at sea while most of the soldiers on board
  are utterly sick (20)
• Lady Mary Montagu and others gain access to
  Turkish harems and baths where they can observe
  local women and customs (109-114)

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Setting themselves limits

• Then do you, my dear young lady, know nothing of
  politics?
• English ladies are not interested in politics.
• I beg your pardon. I get more letters on
  politics from English ladies than from men.
• I fear then, that I must plead ignorance, said
  I, and there the matter ended.
• (Ethel Howard, Potsdam Princess, 1916, 40)

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Sentiment(ality)?

• A vulgar parade of a mans power against brute
  endurance, the animal blooded to weakness without
  defence, a man full of strength with all possible
  defences and determined to preserve not only his
  skin, but his limbs, his dainty clothes and
  resplendent stockings. I call it dastardly, I
  never went again! (Frances Elliot, Diary of an
  Idle Woman in Spain, 1884, 35) See also Karen
  Blixen on Elephants (219)

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Clothing

• The Turkish dress which, if female envy did
  not spoil every thing in the world of women
  would be graceful (109)
• Advantages of a veil for Turkish women (113-4)
• I had been wandering around the landing with a
  towel round my head when I remembered that Muslim
  women sometimes do this to indicate that their
  husbands have just made love to them I
  retired discreetly to my room (June Emerson,
  1987, 136)
• Conversely, Sarah Hobson goes to great lengths to
  dress as a man in Iran, only to become the victim
  of homosexual advances (167)

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Clothing, 2

• Florence Bakers diary ends with a long list of
  items (gloves, handkerchiefs) that she needs in
  Africa (205-6)
• Only a woman will comprehend what the loss of the
  last hat-pin means in Africa! (213)
• Lady Sale, imprisoned in Afghanistan, 1841-2 We
  luxuriated in dressing, although we had no
  clothes but those on our backs (290)
• Mary Stopes in Japan Mrs D had another lovely
  frock (332)

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Food

• Im not sure if women pay more attention to food
  than male travellers but see
• Lady Anne Blunt on how to cook locusts (178)
• Oha Johnsons Christmas menu (197)

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Lucile Duff-Gordon, 15 April 1912

• I remember that I teased Miss Francatelli about
  the weird assortment of clothes the poor girl had
  flung on before leaving the ship, for she was
  generally fussy over her clothes."Just fancy,
  you actually left your beautiful nightdress
  behind you!" I said, and we all laughed as though
  I had said something very witty..."
• "Never mind, madam, you were lucky to come away
  with your lives," said one of the crew members.
  "Don't you bother about anything you had to leave
  behind you." "You can afford to buy new ones when
  you get ashore. What about us poor fellows? We
  have lost all our kit, and our pay stops from the
  moment the ship went down. (Lady Lucile Duff
  Gordon, Discretions and Indiscretions, 1932)
• Charles Hendrickson, a leading fireman, said
  that No. 1 boat left the ship with only twelve
  people on board. Lady Duff Gordon was among them.
  The two women in the boat, he said, told the crew
  not to go back to attempt rescues, and the boat
  did not go In reply to Lord Mersey,
  Hendrickson said that it was the women passengers
  who objected. The men passengers said nothing.
  (Daily Sketch, 12 May 1912)

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Sacrifice

• Mary Seacole (1805 - 1881)
• Born in Kingston, Jamaica, to a Scottish soldier,
  and a Jamaican woman who kept a boarding house
  for invalid soldiers
• visited other Caribbean islands, including Cuba,
  Haiti and the Bahamas, as well as Central America
  and Britain
• Determined to nurse British soldiers, rejected by
  Florence Nightingale, she went out to the Crimea
  to do her bit (83-87)
• The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many
  Lands, 1857

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Links

• On women as pilgrims
• http//www.umilta.net/egeria.html
• Ida Pfeiffer, Alexandra David-Néel
• http//www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/pfei
  ffer.html
• http//www.alexandra-david-neel.org/anglais/acca.h
  tm
• Dorothy Middleton, Victorian Lady Travellers.
  Trade Paperback, 1985. CT 3203