Milli mála - 2023, Qupperneq 105

MILLI MÁLA
Milli mála 15/2/2023 105
Abstract
Dearest Fríða:
Arnfríður Sigurgeirsdóttir and Icelandic
women’s migration to North America
Many Icelandic women poets and writers migrated to North America
in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, some with larger
family groups and others as single women who pursued independent
careers, mainly as domestic workers and caregivers. However, few
documents survive on women’s individual migration decisions or how
and why they navigated the migration process.
This article examines the poet Arnfríður Sigurgeirsdóttir (1880–
1954) and her correspondence with her aunt Petrína Guðmundsdóttir
(1855–1928) in Canada. Petrína and her husband, Steingrímur
Þorsteinsson, emigrated to North Dakota in 1893 with their sons Jón,
Þorsteinn and Pétur. Petrína wrote several letters to her brother
Sigurgeir, encouraging him to emigrate with Arnfríður. Petrína’s ini-
tially positive messages were followed by years of silence. Rather than
describe her most difficult experiences as a migrant, she severed com-
munication with her family in Iceland until her situation improved.
After moving to Saskatchewan in 1905, Petrína began correspond-
ing directly with her now-adult niece. Although Arnfríður was a tal-
ented and well-received poet, who published her poetry under the
name Fríða, neither she nor Petrína had received a formal education.
Arnfríður describes in her autobiography how she was treated as a so-
cial inferior in her home community as a child due to her father’s status.
Petrína’s letters suggest that Arnfríður seriously considered emigrating
to Canada immediately after the loss of her father in 1911. Her aunt
offered to assist her in the migration process and to send the fare for the
transatlantic crossing. Ultimately, Arnfríður decided to remain in
Iceland after becoming romantically involved with her future husband,
Þorlákur Jónsson. However, her family network connections remained
a source of emotional support. The poet and her aunt continued to cor-
respond until Petrína’s health declined, and their later letters served to
reinforce their close emotional bond across the Atlantic.
KATELIN MARIT PARSONS