COVE

The New Woman’s Commentary:

Another political cartoon that tries to disenfranchise the movement that me and my sisters are trying to spread throughout the British Isles.  The Punch magazine is once again looking down on us and like their name is trying to punch the New Woman down a level.  I have news for Punch Magazine; this will only motivate us to cause more havoc in the London streets and across the Isle.  My so called sisters and I have even decided to adopt this name for ourselves.  While I am on the topic, the shrieking sister is what I believe to be the epitome of the New Woman movement that I joined once I had become of age.  My sisters and I face much criticism from not only men, but ‘Sensible Women,’ who are not true suffragists in our eyes.  The ‘Sensible Woman’ may say that she wants suffrage, but at her pace we will not get suffrage until we are able to ride in a buggy from England to France; which we know will never happen.  The ‘Sensible Woman’ just follows along with the normal ideals of Victorian women, and will listen if any man tells them to do something. The ‘Sensible Woman’ expects our suffragette voices to be heard by the men who have no keen interest in allowing us to participate in elections by showing that we can be respectable to their wishes.  They are wrong.  Without us, the Shrieking Sisters to give these men frustration and headaches; then there will be no progress made in our all out war to gain the suffrage that we rightfully deserve.  The sisterhood will soon show the sensible women, the men in power and Punch Magazine that we are here to stay.  We will impose our New Women values on England, and inspire women to be independent and to achieve self fulfillment.

Editorial Commentary:

This political cartoon from the Punch Magazine was published in 1906 during a time where the fight for Women’s Suffrage was beginning to heat up.  During this fight, two factions fighting for women’s suffrage arose. On one side you had the ‘Sensible Women’ and the other side you had the ‘Suffragettes’ which we found the New Women to be part of.  Before 1906, the Suffragettes adopted a motto “Deeds not Words” which is why we see the New Woman taking part in militant actions.”(BLL)  The New Women was a movement where women began to practice individualism and self fulfillment.  They looked to establish their own identity in Victorian Society, and show that they were able to provide and think for themselves.  During the women’s suffrage movement, we saw a small portion of the “New Women” begin to call themselves the Shrieking Sisters as to give lip to the establishment.  The Shrieking Sisters soon became well known throughout the British Isles as they caused a headache for the men who were in charge.  They did this by committing crimes such as vandalism and other militant like actions to make themselves heard.(BLL)  This woman clearly decided to adopt the name and become part of the “Shrieking Sisterhood” and most likely exhibited many of the New Women traits. Interestingly, Sarah Grand commented on the relationship between the Old and New Woman by saying “It is the Old Woman who shrieks. Her most prominent characteristic is disloyalty to her own sex.”(Grand) This quote shows the evolving dynamic in the Victorian society. While it does not say in her excerpt, I would fully expect this woman to be unmarried, part of the workforce, and very outspoken.  Without people like this woman, many historians have felt that Women’s Suffrage would not have come as early as it did in both Victorian England and the United States of America.  This woman and the Shrieking Sisters most likely exhibited individualism that was very rare for women during this time, which includes the Queen Victoria herself.

Citation: Punch Magazine. “The National Archives, Britain 1906-18.” The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/britain1906to1918/g4/cs3/g4cs3s1.h...