The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1994, Page 13

SPRIMQ, 1994
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
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quently discussed on the pages of
Freyja. Translated news reports
concerning new or revised divorce
laws were included. In an early
article, entitled “A philosophical
divorce”, an ideal way of divorce is
described: “My wife and have lived
together for fifteen years and have
been as compatible as most married
couples... But now we have dis-
covered that we have so many
differences that we have decided to
separate without bothering the Court
of Justice... and depart as friends.” A
few years later Sigfus argued for a
more liberal divorce law in Canada.
He described the situation of a couple
unable to divorce and forced to live
together: “He to support her forever,
regardless of how loathsome she
became, she to give him complete
authority over freedom of her body
and soul.” Not to be outdone, in a
subsequent article Freyja disputed
Sigfus’ portrayal of married women
as mere dependants. The article
argued that marriage was like a
company, which “has two depart-
ments. Both are of equal value to the
company. The money earned by the
foreman of the provisions department
does not belong to him only, but to
the company. In running the house-
hold, cooking his meals, mending his
clothes, serving him and performing
all the other jobs that are necessary
to make a house a home, and of
course raising the children as well,
the woman is doing her share for the
company.”
Sigfus’ interest in divorce was
indicative of the state of the domestic
relations of the Benedictssons which
had become increasingly strained
over the years. When Freyja ceased
publication in 1910, it was because
Sigfus put a hold on all mail
addressed to the paper and refused
his wife access to the printing press
which he owned. She then left him,
and in 1913 moved to the state of
Washington where she resided until
her death.
Women in the Icelandic com-
munity were not confined to the
home, but participated actively in
local community work. With this in
mind, Benedictsson in an early
article offered her view of how the
Ladies Aid Societies, based in the
local Icelandic churches, should
function. She felt that the Ladies Aids
should be less associations of a
charitable nature, and more akin to
life or health insurance organi-
zations. Life insurance was essen-
tially the domain of wealthy men; few
women at all held life insurance.
Furthermore, the executive members
of such a society would benefit from
the responsibilities of financial
administration.
Although Benedictsson never
dismissed woman’s role as wife and
mother, she wanted to see the
woman in the family accorded equal
partnership as in a company. She
also wished to see woman’s role
expand out of the home and into
public life. In support of her view that
woman’s role expand out of the home
and into public life, Benedictsson
included articles on women in non-
traditional roles and reported on the
activities of women’s rights org-
anizations, locally, nationally and
internationally (in particular, her
reading audience was kept up-to-
date on progress being made in
Iceland). Benedictsson was interested
in more than increased opportunities
for bourgeois women. Freyja stressed
the need to improve conditions for
working class women, including
domestic servants.
Freyja was published from 1898 to
1910 (from 1902 to 1910 in Win-
nipeg). The need was to convert as
many women as well as men to the
Cause, and through Freyja, public