A sisterhood of suffering and service : women and girls of Canada and Newfoundland during the First World War Cover Image

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A sisterhood of suffering and service : women and girls of Canada and Newfoundland during the First World War / edited by Sarah Glassford and Amy Shaw.

Shaw, Amy J. (Amy Jeannette), 1972- (Added Author). Glassford, Sarah Carlene, 1978- (Added Author).

Summary:

"The First World War demanded sacrifice from all levels of society, and the degree to which citizens at home were expected to "do their bit" was made explicit in national propaganda. Women and girls in Canada and Newfoundland were indelibly affected by, and were integral parts of, their countries' war efforts. Yet their varied responses and myriad activities are not recognized in our memory of the war. A Sisterhood of Suffering and Service actively engages in redressing that absence and in exploring why the retelling of women's stories meets such resistance. Drawing upon a multidisciplinary spectrum of recent work -- studies on mobilizing women, paid and volunteer employment at home and overseas, grief, childhood, family life, and literary representations -- this collection brings Canadian and Newfoundland women and girls into the history of the First World War and marks their place in the narrative of national transformation. Recognizing women's active and emotional responses to the First World War is a crucial step towards understanding how that war shaped Newfoundland and Canada both during and after the conflict. This volume is therefore essential reading for anyone interested in the history of women, the First World War, Newfoundland, or Canada."--Pub. desc.

Record details

ISBN: 9780774822565
ISBN: 0774822562
ISBN: 9780774822572 (pbk.)
Physical Description: viii, 345 pages : ill. ; 24 cm.
Publisher: Vancouver : UBC Press, c2012.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [323]-329) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction: transformation in a time of war? / Sarah Glassford and Amy Shaw -- 1. "In defense of the Empire": the six nations of the Grant River and the Great War / Alison Norman -- 2. The unquiet knitters of Newfoundland: from mothers of the regiment to mothers of the nation / Margot I. Duley -- 3. Freshettes, farmerettes, and feminine fortitude at the University of Toronto during the First World War / Terry Wilde -- 4. Gendering patriotism: Canadian volunteer nurses as the female "soldiers" of the Great War / Linda J. Quiney -- 5. "Such sights one will never forget": Newfoundland women and overseas nursing in the First World War / Terry Biship Stirling -- 6. Patriotic, not permanent: attitudes about women's making bombs and being bankers / Kori Street -- 7. An honour and a burden: Canadian girls and the Great War / Kristine Alexander -- 8. Supporting soldiers' wives and families in the Great War: what was transformed? / Desmond Morton -- 9. Marks of grief: black attire, medals, and service flags / Suzanne Evans -- 10. Verses in the darkness: a Newfoundland poet responds to the First World War / Vicki S. Hallett -- 11. "'Twas you, mother, made me a man": the motherhood motif in the poetry of the First World War / Lynn Kennedy -- 12. "Mother, lover, nurse": the reassertion of conventional gender norms in fictional representations of disability in Canadian novels of the First World War / Amy Tector -- Conclusion: a "sisterhood of suffering and service" / Sarah Glassford and Amy Shaw.