Title: ‘Do Not Let Anyone See This Ugly Scrawling’: Literacy Practices and the Women's Household at Hallfreðarstaðir 1817–1829
Abstract: In 1817 an 11-year-old boy, Páll Pálsson (1806–1877), left his childhood home in eastern Iceland, to be fostered and educated by a friend of the family in another part of the country. Immediately a correspondence started between him and his family. Most of these letters have been preserved and give invaluable insight into the literacy practices of Páll Pálsson's family and friends over 60 years. Pálsson's grandmother, mother, and two younger sisters played a central role in this correspondence during the time that they were all alive. This article focuses on the 104 preserved letters written by these four women in the period of 1817 to 1829. Grounding its argument in theories on correspondence and literacy practices this article addresses the complicated nature of letter writing, such as the indistinct lines between individual and collective letter writing. The article shows how the skill of writing was disseminated within the family and how it was utilised, not only to keep in touch but also to strengthen networks and power relations. Furthermore, special attention is paid to gendered aspects of learning to write, and of the writing of letters, in the 1820s.
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-01-30
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 4
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