Representations of the New Woman in "The Irish Times" and "The Weekly Irish Times". A Preliminary Approach

María Jesús Lorenzo Modia,María Begoña Lasa Álvarez

doi:10.37668/oceanide.v13i.41

Abstract

This article presents a preliminary approach to the study of the images of the New Woman in the publications "The Irish Times" and "The Weekly Irish Times" at the turn of the twentieth century. From the theoretical framework of women’s studies the concept of New Woman is analysed in relation to that of New Journalism, which arose at the same time. Additionally, the aetiology and features of the two publications, plus the criteria for corpus selection, are described, and the corpus texts are compared to similar English publications of the period. The complex political situation in Ireland at the turn of the century is also considered. The role of women and the various perceptions of them are analysed, both in the sections of letters to the Editor and in essays. The roles of women in "The Irish Times" and "The Weekly Irish Times" are also compared to those depicted in journals and newspapers addressed to a female readership. The study concludes with excerpts of the two publications in question and the analysis of the contradictory opinions on the lives and roles of women in the nineteenth-century fin de siècle.

Highlights

This article presents a preliminary approach to the study of the images of the New Woman in the publications The Irish Times and The Weekly Irish Times at the turn of the twentieth century
Those engaged in the study of the controversial and complex figure of the New Woman tend to agree that a significant part of the discussion about women took place in the journals and magazines of the period (Ledger 1997, 16; Heilmann 2000, 16, 34; Richardson and Willis 2001, 13; Green 2016, 73–4)
If we look at the “Editor’s Letter-Box” section in The Weekly Irish Times over the following months, this is seen to be very true as the section would be entitled “The New Woman” and the number of letters would increase, to the extent that the writers established a kind of dialogue on the topic, mediated by the newspaper

Summary

The Irish Times and The Weekly Irish Times

During the mid-nineteenth century, journalism as a profession was enjoying a growing reputation in Britain and Ireland; Irish journals could not rival the great British periodicals. Apart from the tense political setting, other significant elements were instrumental here, such as the growing number of readers and the reduction in taxes on the price of books and newspapers (Morash 2010, 88) It was within this context that The Irish Times was established in 1859, and today is the only surviving newspaper of those published in that period. Its target audience was the Dublin Protestant upper and middle classes, yet “judiciously balancing its views” in order to attract and retain a large readership and maintain its revenues (Morash 2010, 119–20) Throughout their histories, the newspaper and Irish society have undergone significant transformations, and today the Times is a respected and progressive journal for the multicultural and secular readership of Ireland As for the main topics covered, “nationalism, religion and sex were [...] the basic ingredients of Sunday newspapers and the emphasis given to each dictated the differences between titles” (n. pag.)

The New Woman and New Journalism

Discussing the New Woman

Conclusions

Findings

Works Cited