COVE

The New Woman’s Commentary:

I remember reading this and it brought tears to my eyes.  For this was one of the first times that members of the parliament had outright said that they supported the movement that had spread throughout Westminster, London and the rest of England.  I remember the day like it was yesterday, reading this clipping from the Times and running through the streets of London and yelling "my suffrage is almost here" over and over again.  I remember running into my friend and fellow new woman, Martha's house and showing her the newspaper; she yelled with so much joy that it almost burst my eardrums.  But I did not care for this was what I felt was the beginning of the end for the disenfranchisement of women.  We were finally going to truly be able to have our voices heard. While I do not usually find pleasure by the comments of men that help to further our push for individualism, because I do not enjoy having to rely on the words of men; these comments by the members of the parliament is something that I enjoy to hear.  I hope that these comments only further motivate my fellow New Women and inspire more women to join our movement, so that we push forward with a goal to have the majority of the parliament back our suffrage movement.  This pure bliss that the excerpt has brought me reminds me of the reason I fight for my freedom and individualism that I hope to expand upon.

Editorial Commentary:

This excerpt from the Times shows the change in thinking of some of the parliamentary members in Victorian England in regard to Women’s Suffrage. As seen from the New Woman’s writing, these words from the parliamentary members gave new confidence and hope to the women of the New Woman movement.  They not only thought that it would motivate their current members, but also inspire women not part of this movement to join.  Ironically, men’s actions and words are helping the New Woman movement; a movement to give women their own freedom as well as self fulfillment without the help of men.  The New Woman clearly recognizes this irony, but surprisingly thankful for the action of the parliamentary members.  I found it interesting that while Mr. Bottomley supported suffrage for women; he still felt that they should not sit in the parliament.  I also found it interesting that the New Woman did not comment on this matter, as this would restrict the number of careers that women would be able to pursue.  Her not commenting on this may have just been an oversight due to her “pure bliss” after reading this quote and running through the streets yelling.  The New Woman does not acknowledge this, but running by women was generally frowned upon by the general public; her running is just another example of the freedom that is pushed forward by the members of the New Woman movement.  This woman’s flair for dramatics shows her freedom that she has already acquired and that more freedom may soon be on the way. While this woman was filled with joy from these statements, little did she know that it was not until 1918 when the first women could vote (women over the age of 30), and it wasn't until 1928 when women were granted the same voting rights as men. (BLL)\

Citation:

“Britain 1906 to 1918.” National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/britain1906to1918/g3/cs1/images/g3...