The Icelandic Canadian - 01.05.2008, Blaðsíða 27

Vol. 61 #2
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
117
(Wolf, 1996, p. 10). Benedictsson’s
Unitarian affiliation promoted the inherent
worth and dignity of every person and the
unique concept that “we believe that we do
not need to think alike” (2004, First
Unitarian Church of Winnipeg) and the
need for children to develop their own reli-
gious beliefs. Unitarians encourage social
improvement, individual freedom, toler-
ance, and a belief in the unity or oneness of
God.
On February 2, 1893, Benedictsson
gave her first lecture on women’s rights to
the Winnipeg Icelandic community
(Johnson, 1994, p. 121). Together, the
Benedictssons established a printing press
in Selkirk, Manitoba, and in 1898 began
printing the magazine, Freyja, which
means woman (Kinnear, 1998, p. 31; Thor,
2002, p. 260; Wolf, 1996, p. 9). By the sec-
ond year of publication, the magazine had
500 subscribers, including both men and
women in Manitoba, throughout Canada,
and the United States (Johnson, 1994, p.
122). It featured serial stories, biographical
sketches of prominent people, poetry, liter-
ary reviews and a children’s corner. “Freyja
also published lectures and letters” (Thor,
2002, p. 261). Several historians (Kinnear,
1998, p. 143; Thor, 2002, p. 261; Treble,
2000, p. 77) noted the importance of the
creation of Freyja. Wolf (1996), in particu-
lar, wrote:
“The Benedictssons’ contribution to
the cause (provincial suffrage) finds its
most concrete expression in the founding
of an Icelandic women’s suffrage society in
Winnipeg in 1908 and in the publication of
Freyja (1898-1910), the only women’s suf-
frage paper published in Canada at the
time. (p. 9)”
Benedictsson became a well-known
women’s suffrage speaker and organizer.
She took the famous American suffragette,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902), as her
ideal; she also carried on a sporadic corre-
spondence with Dr. Stowe-Cullen, the
leader of the Ontario suffrage movement
and read the works of the head of the
American Woman Suffrage Association,
Lucy Stone (Kristjanson, c. 1965, p. 372;
Skulason, Winter 1975, p. 44; Weiss &
Rinear, 2002, p. 204-205, 209). Because of her
daytime household duties and childcare
responsibilities as a wife and mother,
Benedictsson usually lectured on women’s
rights in the evening and pursued her writing
late at night (Kristjanson, c. 1965, p. 373).
Weiss and Rinear (2002) stated the impor-
tance of women’s initiatives to improving tem-
perance, working conditions, and that of the
poor and the less fortunate:
The work these women conducted during
the nineteenth century on behalf of the less-
fortunate and to cure society’s ills resulted in a
great deal of change. It also changed the
women themselves. As they came together to
form societies, build settlement houses, and
rally support for various causes, they also
developed new organizational skills as well as
increased levels of self-esteem, self-worth, and
independence. No longer were their identities
based solely on their roles as wives and moth-
ers. Their successes showed them that they
were capable of doing more and gave them the
courage to keep moving forward on the one
issue that had the potential to create change
beyond belief, the right to vote. (p. 199)
The 40-page publication, Freyja, focused
on matters pertaining to progress and rights of
all women. To this end, it supported
Prohibition and activities/movements that led
to the betterment of social conditions. As well,
Sigfus and Margret held meetings in their
home for poets at the Verse-Makers Club,
Hagyrdingafelagid (Kristjanson, c. 1965, p.
372). Sigfus commented about his wife’s liter-
ary ability:
She was a good speaker, even eloquent,
especially when she spoke of things that were
of interest to her. She wrote numerous short
stories, but she rarely attached her name to
them. Accordingly, I am the one who knows
best what she composed and wrote which may
be considered poetry and fiction. In addition
she was an excellent translator after she
became good at syntax, which was in the
beginning her weakest point. (Wolf, 1996, p.
38)
She often wrote stories under pen names.
Three such stories (translated from Icelandic)
are in Writings of Western Icelandic Women
(Wolf, 1996, p. 74); the articles and pen names