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Abstract
This article considers for the first time the progressive Portuguese periodicals A Voz Feminina and O Progresso (1868–69) from a transnational perspective, with particular reference to contemporary debates about women’s suffrage in England as well as the wider emergence of transnational women’s networks around that time. It discusses the epistolary contact of the Principal Editor, Francisca Wood, with key radical figures such as Lydia Becker in England, Marie Goegg in Switzerland and André Léo in France, through an analysis of relevant editorials, articles and correspondence received from abroad and published in the pages of the journals. Furthermore, it casts light on how Francisca Wood and her enlightened husband, William Thorold Wood, invoked the ongoing support of prominent men such as John Stuart Mill for the cause of women’s rights. Such a pioneer early feminism in Portugal was particularly remarkable in the 1860s – a context preceding the socio-political and cultural debates staged publicly in the 1871 Casino Lectures by the “Geração de 70” – which, furthermore, all but sidelined the “Woman Question.” The article concludes with a brief discussion of whether, notwithstanding Wood’s invisibility at the point of her death in 1900, she may have been behind a symbolically significant cultural intervention: the (unsigned and incomplete) first translation of Jane Eyre into Portuguese, published in instalments from 1877 onwards in O Zoophilo.
disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 Their neglect may have been compounded by the fact that the first full-length book to examine the relationship between women and the Portuguese press was published only subsequently (Lopes, Imagens) – even if it built on previous research showcasing the extent to which A Voz Feminina marked a significant moment in the public visibility of women as intellectuals in nineteenth-century Portugal (Leal; Ildefonso).
2 For further details, see Smith; Pugh.
3 Monday 8 June 1868: Dundee Courier, Angus, Scotland; Birmingham Daily Post, Birmingham. Tuesday 9 June 1868: Western Daily Press, Bristol. Wednesday 10 June 1868: Liverpool Mercury, Liverpool (repeated 12 June). Thursday 11 June 1868: Hull and Eastern Counties Herald, East Riding of Yorkshire. Friday 12 June 1868: Newcastle Courant, Tyne and Wear; Tipperary Vindicator, Tipperary, Ireland. Saturday 13 June 1868: Sheffield Daily Telegraph, South Yorkshire; Lancaster Gazette, Lancashire; Leicester Chronicle, Leicestershire; Kentish Mercury, London; Berkshire Chronicle; Birmingham Journal, West Midlands; Tower Hamlets Independent and East End Local Advertiser, London; Manchester Times, Manchester. Saturday 11 July 1868: Pall Mall Gazette, London. Tuesday 14 July 1868: Southern Reporter and Cork Commercial Courier, Cork.
4 My breakthrough came with a visit to the British Cemetery in Lisbon. I wish to thank Andrew Swinnerton, Honorary Administrator of the Cemetery, for verifying Church records which register Francisca's death on 27 November 1900. She was buried with her “darling husband” William Thorold Wood (1816–88). His dates do not feature on their tombstone (though records indicate that he passed away on 22 April 1888), but hers are inscribed as 1802–1900. For the sake of completeness, her date of birth was checked in the Torre do Tombo Archives against baptism records, narrowing the search to the parish of Santos-o-Velho, according to A Voz Feminina (no. 35: 1), where she was born and christened. There were several Franciscas born in 1802, but only one had a father whose name matched that of Narciso Martinz (the name that appeared on the Woods' marriage records). The relevant entry stated that Francisca was born in October 1802 (day of the month illegible).
5 This information transpires from A Voz Feminina (editorial in no. 35: 1, and open letter penned by William Wood in no. 73: 4).
6 For further details about his maternal grandfather, see Purcell.
7 The words to “The Peoples' Anthem” were written by Ebenezer Elliott, an anti-Corn Law poet, and can be seen at <http://www.hymnary.org/text/when_wilt_thou_save_the_people>.
8 Their relocation may have been as part of the movement towards the creation of a Lusitanian church, according to Lopes (“Religião”). Their Protestant ethos is attested to by the fact that William Wood's publishing press published the Bible in Portuguese translation: O Novo Testamento de Jesus Christo (Lisbon: Typ. Luso-Britânica, 1870); and O Novo testamento de Jesus Cristo (Lisbon: Typ. Luso-Britânica de W.T. Wood, 1873).
9 “a acquisição do saber humano; a superioridade espiritual; a perfectibilidade enfim; essa utopia grandiosa.” Portuguese spelling has been modernized. This and all subsequent translations from Portuguese and French into English are mine.
10
homens sensatos, tais como Mr Stuart Mill, que creem dever a mulher exercer em toda a amplura da esfera pública, a influência a que as suas faculdades inatas são adaptadas; que desejam vê-la analisar os grandes tópicos do bem e do mal público; enfim, lançar o peso da sua influência moral e intelectual na balança da justiça.
11
Num distrito ao noroeste de Inglaterra mil e cem senhoras, entre as quais se acham os nomes de Lady Elizabeth Drummond, da Sra. Berkley [sic] e de outras pessoas de distinção, requereram ser admitidas na lista de eleitores para Manchester, alegando que se achavam legalmente qualificadas, pois que como donas de casa e proprietárias contribuem para o estado. Noutros condados as senhoras hão reclamado os mesmos direitos, e nalguns já as autoridades civis das paróquias as têm admitido nas listas de eleitores.
12 Becker was secretary of the Manchester Suffrage Committee founded in February 1867, now often cited as a landmark for the start of the suffragette movement. That very same year, Becker had published an article on “Female Suffrage” in The Contemporary Review (1867). For further details, see Walker.
13 The slogan was first used by Francisca on 22 November 1868, in an editorial that highlighted progress in various European countries, including England (with an allusion to the fifth annual meeting of the Women's Medical Society). Her article closed with a call for men to embrace “A mulher livre ao lado do homem livre” (Free women by the side of free men) (no. 45: 1). The motto had featured as an epigraph in an earlier editorial in favour of women's instruction penned by F.A. de Mattos (no. 24: 1). The sentence was ascribed to another male contributor, Ferreira Farol, who wrote in defence of women's rights (see, for instance, no. 81: 127).
14 See Rappaport 259–61 for further details on Goegg.
15 “O Congresso reconhece, como princípio, que todos os direitos humanos, económicos, civis, sociais e políticos, pertencem à mulher, e decide estudar os meios mais apropriados a aproximar a época em que ela possa gozar pleno uso desses direitos.” It is probable that Goegg had written to Francisca in French, and that the latter would have translated her letter and speech into Portuguese, although she doesn’t say so specifically. Since most educated Portuguese women at the time would have been able to read French fluently, the decision to publish the article in Portuguese reflects the fact that Francisca thought it important enough to reach the widest possible audience.
16
autorizando o marido a lançar uma corda ao pescoço da mulher e levá-la à venda no mercado. Duas foram assim ignominiosamente vendidas entre os anos de 1830 e 1850 em diferentes datas, estando eu então em Inglaterra.
17 For further details about this novel, see Pazos-Alonso.
18 For further details, see Morse; Webb; Creese.
19 According to Webb, in fact for fourteen years, between 1852 and 1866.
20
A batalha poderá ser longa e renhida, mas por fim a causa da justiça há de triunfar assim como triunfou a causa do servo contra o poderoso senhor que se arrogava o direito de dispor até da sua vida e da honra de suas filhas.
21
Talvez haja quem ria de me ouvir dizer que as mulheres devem ter direito a escolher os seus representantes; mas o que importa isso! Também o Velho Mundo riu, quando ouviu o brado de Washington pela independência do Novo Mundo, e contudo o Novo Mundo é independente.
22 For further details about Philippine Kyllmann (1834–1916), see Rappaport 329–30. The entry clarifies that she resigned from the committee soon after, over a disagreement with Lydia Becker.
23
Quinze senhoras votaram em Finsbury [ … ] Em Manchester nove senhoras votaram e várias em Lancashire.
24 For further details about Léo (1824–1900), see Chauvaud.
25 This policy had been stated from the early numbers. In this issue, she seeks to provide a clarification about the cast of contributors, since there had been doubt about the authenticity of female contributors. Francisca acknowledged that at the outset there were two men writing under female pseudonyms, A.P. Carlota (who had written several of the early editorials) and A.P.G. Leonor, but she insisted that all other participants were female. This certainly seems to have been the case, since several of them continued to write, either for newspapers or in book form, after the demise of the magazine. The accusation shows how unusual the significant female make-up of the magazine was at the time.
26 For further information, see Kramarae.
27 Charles Wentworth Dilke (1843–1911) was elected Liberal MP for Chelsea in 1968 at the age of twenty-five and went on to become a major Victorian figure (Jenkins). According to Crawford, “Dilke, a Radical Liberal, closely associated with J.S. Mill [ … ] had in July 1869 spoken at the first public meeting of the London Society for [W]omen's [S]uffrage” (169).
28 The name of his younger sibling is not given but it is presumably Eliza Elliott, whose translation from English of the novel Cecília was serialized from no. 85.
29 Professor F.W. Newman (1805–97) was the younger sibling of Cardinal Newman. In 1868, he published Old England – Women's Right of Suffrage. See Crawford 449.
30 Girton College was established in 1869 by Barbara Bodichon and Emily Davies (already referenced as Mrs Davies in an earlier issue). See Rappaport 794. The creation of the college elicited another mention in the periodical, this time as Hitchins (no. 92: 172).
31 The problems experienced by non-married women, in particular in securing honest gainful employment, are highlighted more than once in the periodical (for instance, when Francisca rejoiced about British printers employing women).
32 “[A]s mulheres serão admitidas sob as mesmas condições e com os mesmo direitos que os homens.” Its aim, it was stated, would be the “formation of a federation of European states” (no. 88: 156). The pacifist newspaper Les Etats-Unis d’Europe had started publication in 1868.
33 “O socialismo é vasto, alcança todos os problemas humanos [ … ] proclama o direito da mulher, – essa igual do homem.” This is one of the few times that the word socialism appears in the periodical.
34 The imminent closure was reiterated in an open letter published in English addressed by Francisca to The Printers' Register (no. 95: 184).
35 Since some of the information overlaps with an article published in Le Droit des femmes a fortnight earlier, on 4 December 1869, there is a fair chance that the French periodical would have been one of the sources of information. See Anteghini 132–36 for a transcription of the relevant article.
36 In a letter addressed in English to Mme Goegg, Francisca thanked her for sending her a copy of Le Droit des femmes (no. 74: 4). The French periodical, co-edited by Léon Ritcher and Marie Desraimes, started in 1869. See Finch 247.
37 So far, I have been able to ascertain that the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal holds more than forty titles published by Tipografia Luso-Britânica between 1868 and 1877 on a wide range of subjects. Unfortunately, a thematic search “by publisher” is rather hit and miss, so the list is still evolving.
38 “O padecer de uma criatura fraca, e indefesa na sua mudez, é certamente um dos espectáculos mais aflitivos para a alma compassiva.” The citation can be traced back to Collins' famous sensation novel, The Woman in White (1860).
39 Clarimundo Martins (1835–95) was appointed to oversee the Banco Nacional Ultramarino in Cape Verde when it opened its first branch in Praia in 1865, according to information given on the website of the Banco de Cabo Verde (http://www.bcv.cv/vPT/O%20Banco/Historia/Paginas/Historia.aspx). After marrying Apolónia Ferreira Martins Burnay on 15 December 1871 in Lisbon, he returned to Cape Verde. See Burnay.
40 For further details about how she was criticized by both Oliveira Martins and Ramalho, see Lopes, Imagens, especially 511–31.
41 For a discussion of the extent to which Portuguese feminism remained anti-British, see Abranches.
42 During the Salazar dictatorship, Francisca Wood remained generally overlooked, save for some brief dictionary entries (see, for example, “Francisca Wood”). For increasingly in-depth attempts to reclaim the contribution of women to nineteenth-century print culture, see Leal; Ildefonso; Lopes, Imagens.