The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2002, Side 40

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 57 #1
Manitoba.” As a result, Icelandic women
were the first to petition for women’s
rights and to battle for women’s suffrage in
Canada. An Icelandic feminist who had an
extraordinary impact on the Manitoba and
Canadian suffrage movement was Margaret
Benediktsson who emigrated from Iceland
in 1887, at the age of 21.
As Kristin Wolf points out, “Western
Icelandic women commanded an impor-
tant role in the development of the early
settlement and beyond, displaying a strong,
indomitable spirit that matched well the
pioneer ethos that helped shape the foun-
dations of their community.”
Although Icelandic women have been
minimized in Icelandic history, their
importance was recognized within their
communities. When the colony of New
Iceland was founded, it was written into
law that widows be supported by the
colony. This illustrates the respect and high
regard the Icelandic community had for
women. As the law stated, Under Article
IV: Duties of The Public, Section 5:
Support of Widows and Orphans, states,
“The inhabitants of each district shall be,
obliged to support widows and orphans in
accordance with such rules as the majority
of the district residents approve; further-
more, those, also, who for special reasons
cannot maintain themselves.”
This respect is also shown in the peti-
tions for women’s suffrage that circulated
throughout the Icelandic districts in 1910.
The petitions contain many male signa-
tures, from a variety of vocations.
Although there was a high regard for
women, it was in the context of their roles
as wives and mothers, not as women. In a
sermon to the Lutheran congregation of
New Iceland, Preacher Fridrik Bergmann
discussed the ‘importance for women to
receive education, so that they can liberate
their souls, participate in community talks,
keep out of poverty, attract a man, raise
intelligent children, and make their homes
attractive.’ However, he goes on to state,
“the most important role of a woman in
making her home is to take care of the
wounds her husband comes home with
fighting to make a living.” This contradic-
tory issue of gender equality within the
Icelandic community continues to cause
controversy, and is perhaps best under-
stood by a speech given to the Icelandic
National League by anthropologist John
Matthiasson. When discussing the topic,
Matthiasson stated: “My own conclusion,
based upon my reading of literature on
women in societies around the world, is
that while there may never have been true
equality for women in Iceland, their social
position was much higher than the world
average, and certainly more so than that of
other European women, whether in ancient
times or more recent ones.”
The importance of an accurate and
complete history of our community’s roots
is vital in our understanding of our nation’s
existence. As Wilhelm Kristjanson wrote in
a letter to celebrate Manitoba’s centennial
in 1970, “The pioneers built the foundation
for our way of life today.” This is why it is
important for historians to re-approach
past histories which have neglected the
importance of women’s work, based on
their gender. Although there has been
extensive work done on Icelandic women
and their impact on their communities, lit-
tle of this work details their experiences in
a context that is fitting. A context which
portrays them in their own right, and not
as ‘supporting roles’. As historian Richard
Tomasson states, “Once we leave the world
of the old Icelanders, we could speak of the
silent women of Iceland . . .The absence of
women from written Icelandic history
before the twentieth century is remarkable
in its near totality; women apparently were
only wives and mothers, concubines and
mistresses, housekeepers and doers of all
sorts of work.” This has diffused the histo-
ry surrounding the survival of the strong
Icelandic identity that remains in Manitoba
to this day. By highlighting the essential
role Icelandic women played in the survival
of their communities, this article will hope-
fully be a valuable contribution to the
study of women’s immigration history. It
also hopes to add to and enrich the numer-
ous studies that have been done on
Icelandic immigration, emphasizing the
history of Icelandic women.