Superfluous Women Identity, ideals and female imperialism in Victorian women’s emigration societies 1862-1919

Abstract

This thesis examines the systematic mass-emigration of unmarried British women through what was known as women’s emigration societies in Great Britain between the years 1862-1919. These organizations were active for a number of decades under the supervision of a number of educated women, who came to be well regarded for their work. My aim is to analyze the ideological motivations that allowed for these women’s emigration societies to maintain their relevance and activities throughout the decades, as well as the manner in which these societies interacted with and strategically made use of existing Victorian discourses regarding gender, class and separate spheres for feminine and masculine work in order to maintain their reputations as respectable philanthropic women’s organizations. Applying the lens of postcolonial and feminist theories, such as Homi Bhabha’s theory of cultural mimicry and Trinh T. Minh-ha’s analyses of power regarding migration, this thesis will present the similarities between historically discursive representations of the so-called ‘superfluous women’ and the colonies they were exported to. I will also argue for a connection between the increasingly popular conception of separate sex spheres as a sign of the progress of civilization and the discourse surrounding women’s superfluity.