Character (The New Woman): May 24th, 1887
I found this parchment today. I hear she will be speaking late tonight. My husband is in the room near me, but I am sure once he lays to rest that I will be able to sneak out without a trace. If it were easy in this world, I wouldn’t even have a husband to worry about. I would rather be on my own like Mrs. Georgina fights for. She is the strongest woman I have heard of. She is fearless. I have only heard of her lectures on our rights as women and on the lunacy acts. My dear cousin was in the institution. They called her crazy for defying marriage but Mrs. Georgina fought for that title to be changed. She is simply a woman, like myself. My husband seems to be settling for his late night drink. This usually puts him out till morning. Tonight my goal will be fulfilled. Mrs. Georgina Weldon as I live and breathe. I have heard of her voice and heard of her intention but I have yet to see her speak. If anyone in London can free myself and other women from the shackles of drunken men, it is to be Mrs. Weldon. My husband is snoring now, and I can smell his breath even from across the room. He seems to have drunk two glasses tonight, maybe three. I can tell from the clearing of the bottle. After hearing Mrs. Weldon tonight, I may know just how to put him out for good and not just till the morning.
Researcher:
Mrs. Georgina Weldon was often noted to be a strange woman due to keeping her hair short and being a vegetarian (Martin, 576). But more than that, she was a campaigner against Britain's lunancy laws. She was only ever married as a way to escape her strict father in an attempt to run away and become a performer (Porter, Nicholson, Bennett, 3).Weldon's husband, Harry, wanted to 'put her away' in an asylum in an attempt to pursue a relationship with another woman. Finding work by Mrs. Weldon has proved to be very difficuilt, and it is clear why she was one of the most famous women in England. This piece of writing from the Victorian era about seeing Mrs. Weldon was a true large risk, a risk that was typically followed by violence if she were to be caught sneaking out late at night. The last line of this journal suggests that the woman wouldn’t push away the idea of “putting out” or killing her husband for rights to live and breathe her own way. Britain's lunancy laws at the time were harshly aimed towards women, most notably women who would speak up (Martin, 576). The 'New Woman' was a concept starting to arise during this time as well which resulted in a multitude of women starting to speak up against the patriarchy. However, women who spoke up were at risk of being put in insane asylums or mental institutions. This journal entry has provided a real and personal anecdote on the Britain lunacy laws and the effect of them on the women of the era. “Crazy for defying marriage” is not a phrase heard often today. Despite the attempt of her husband to institutionalize her for her resilience, Weldon made differences to the way that mentally ill persons were categorized. She changed the title from 'mentally ill' to patients. In this journal, it is shown first hand with the writer’s cousin.
Citations:
“Georgina Weldon.” London Picture Archive, www.londonpicturearchive.org.uk/view- itemkey=SXsiUCI6eyJ2YWx1ZSI6Imdlb3JnaW5hIHdlbGRvbiIsIm9wZXJhdG9yIjoxLCJmdXp6eVByZWZpeExlbmd0aCI6MywiZnV6enlNaW5TaW1p bGFyaXR5IjowLjc1LCJtYXhTdWdnZXN0aW9ucyI6MywiYWx3YXlzU3VnZ2VzdCI6bnVsbH0sIkYiOiJleUowSWpwYk1WMTkifQ&WINID=16958 48759589#-S5zIFjM-vgAAAGK2FF62A/291857.
Boydell and Brewer. “Book Details - Boydell and Brewer.” Boydell and Brewer - Boydell & Brewer Is an Academic Press Based in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England That Specializes in Publishing Historical and Critical Works., 10 Aug. 2023, boydellandbrewer.com/9781783275823/georgina-weldon.
Gregory, Fiona. “Joanna Martin. Georgina Weldon: The Fearless Life of a Victorian Celebrity. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2021. Pp. 488. $39.95 (Cloth).” Journal of British Studies, vol. 62, no. 2, Cambridge UP, Apr. 2023, pp. 576–77. https://doi.org/10.1017/jbr.2023.59.
“Women, Madness, and Spiritualism: Georgina Weldon and Louisa Lowe.” Google Books, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=fX6PLVwCwJIC&oi=fnd&pg=PP11&dq=Georgina+weldon&ots=eGuq4SnZrH&sig=CrTIg93JTXOFhWFjRJkiv60ag2U#v=onepage&q=Georgina%20weldon&f=false.