The poverty of mothering : a case study of women in a Newfoundland community

Benoit, Cecilia (1981) The poverty of mothering : a case study of women in a Newfoundland community. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This study explores the position of labouring women in Stephenville, a southwestern Newfoundland community, from 1900 to 1980. It is a case study concerned with the interaction of mothering and women's oppression. The particular focus of the study has been on the implications of rapid urban and industrial development on the lives of rural women. In essence, by exploring the contradictions of mothering in both a rural and urban context, the study attempts to draw attention to the much-neglected area of reproduction within male oriented studies of Newfoundland society. -- The research was carried out mainly by means of tape recorded, informal interviews with Stephenville women from May to September, 1980. The analysis has focused on the qualitative aspects of the oral history gathered and is, therefore, descriptive rather than conclusive in character. -- Part 1 deals with some of the theoretical and historical problems encountered in conceptualizing Newfoundland labouring women. Chapter One concentrates on some of the limits of the existing theoretical perspectives of women's position in Newfoundland society. Chapter Two attempts to fit the experiences of labouring women into the Island's history. -- The second part of the study, the case study itself, has two chapters. Chapter Three examines the lives of rural Stephenville women, from 1900 to the onset of World War II. Chapter Four describes the particular problems of Stephenville women in the past forty years as their community developed into an industrial growth center. -- The overall theme of the study concerns the conjunction of poverty and mothering in Newfoundland society. It is hoped that this study, as a description of a particular community of Newfoundland women, adds an additional dimension to the existing research on social class.

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