Spinsters Abroad

Spinsters Abroad  .....

You may think that I am about to tell you about my trip to Spain with two other women, but that would not be the case. The other day I noticed this interesting title at the local library and decided to check it out. It's not a "good read" in a page turner kind of way, but the details are fascinating!

Dea Birkett's book, Spinsters Abroad, Victorian Lady Explorers outlines and examines the journeys of several women in the Victorian era who traveled on their own to far away places where western visitors were a rarity. At first I thought that the tales would merely be about adventurous women traveling to exotic places, and, that was true. However, the really interesting part was their motivation for traveling and the satisfaction they got from living abroad. 

As spinsters (unmarried women) in Victorian England, their lot in life was to look after sick parents or be companions to aging relatives. Without a husband, they had little authority, freedom, or money of their own. No wonder they "bolted" when their loving parents passed on, especially if they were left with an inheritance! One poor woman, after caring for her ailing father, who became mad in his old age and left her penniless by giving her inheritance to an orphanage, had to contest the will. She immediately celebrated her win by sailing to Bombay!

I can certainly understand their desire to escape the restrictiveness of Victorian society. But, what fascinates me is that they remained in foreign, remote places for extended periods of time and felt quite comfortable and happy there. So ..... here's the the thing. European imperialism was spreading throughout the world and these women were respected (or perhaps feared )because they were European. Oddly enough they were at times able to travel more safely because, as women, the "locals" did not worry that they were going to bring war or begin exploiting their resources. 

They may not have exploited resources but they did exploit the locals. For these women explorers, "setting up camp" meant having others do it for them, and climbing to a high summit mean that they were carried there! In other words, these spinster travelers who were exploited at home, were now exploiting others. They finally had some control of their own ,,, pretty hard to give all that power up and head back to "dullsville" in England! 

I would certainly not recommend this book as a "riveting" read, but it was definitely insightful and a great glimpse into the lives of women in Victorian Society!