Tag Archives: women’s fiction

Content & Context of World War I: Ideology, Gender, and Ruth Fielding

© Copyright 2014 Kira Metcalfe, Ryerson University

(Fig. 1) Hardcover printed illustration of Ruth Fielding at College found in Ryerson University’s Children’s Literature Archive.                           Source: Emerson, Alice B. Ruth Fielding at College, or, The Missing Examination Papers. New York: Cupples & Leon, 1917. Children’s Literature Archive, Ryerson University Library and Archives.

 Introduction

By 1917 America dissolved any illusions of neutrality, and joined World War One (1914-1917) (Knock). Alice B. Emerson’s Ruth Fielding At College (1917) was published in the United States that same year. The subject matter and plot have no relation to the war. However, the ways in which the early 20th century was shaped by the Great War are mirrored in the text. The novel entertains many ideological parallels between its narrative content and its historical context. Ruth Fielding at College‘s production history displays this well.  As the product of the Edward Stratemeyer syndicate, the text shows  that relationships such as author/ reader, institution/ student, and even nation/ soldier were shifting at an increasing rate.

Throughout the text one sees gender, ideology, and power come together in the socio-economic structures experienced by the characters. This is notable considering that the Ruth Fielding series as a whole is marketed for young girls. Confoundingly, the concepts present in both content, and the history, all appear to not only be in transition, but rest upon a threshold. With this in mind the text could be easily seen as a potential response to the war efforts. However, if one is speaking of the actual impact of Ruth Fielding at College current gleanings need to be set aside.

Ruth Fielding At College

The 11th volume in the Ruth Fielding series, Ruth Fielding At College, or, The Missing Examination Papers continues the tale of orphaned filmmaker Ruth Fielding. Before arriving at Ardmore college for her freshman year, a lost girl named “Maggie” washes ashore at Ruth’s home. Little does Ruth know this is the same girl, Margaret Altoff, who went missing from Ardmore the year before—along with an Egyptian vase containing examination papers. After a hazing ritual “Maggie” had run away, causing the school’s sorority to close its doors.

The copy of the text located in Ryerson University’s Children’s Literature Archive is presented in Hardcover with a printed illustration on its front (fig. 1). Preceding the narrative is an illustrated page by R. Emmett Owen (Johnson “Alice B. Emerson” 119) (fig. 2). The illustration depicts a poignant moment in the text, where Ruth is caught in a storm. This eventually leads to the revelation of Maggie’s identity and discovery of the missing exam papers. Although the next page states that the novel is illustrated it is otherwise not; nor is the artist credited other than his signature on the illustration itself. A list of the Ruth Fielding volumes to date follows the title page. Several pages at the end of the book are dedicated to various advertisements for series books published by the publisher responsible for most of the Ruth Fielding series, Cupples & Leon.

 The Literary Syndicate and The Single Author

A literary syndicate produces books through a group of writers, usually under a pseudonym. Those writers are paid a flat rate for each series/ book they write (Herbert 189-190). The establishment of the literary syndicate coincides with other “efficiency” seekers of the early 20th century, such as Henry T. Ford and his factory assembly line (Stoneley 91). The Edward Stratemeyer literary syndicate produced the Ruth Fielding series under the pseudonym Alice B. Emerson. Between 1913 and 1934 a total of thirty volumes were commissioned for the series (Johnson “Alice B. Emerson” 119).

Edward Stratemeyer has become synonymous with children’s series literature (Johnson “Introduction: The People Behind the Books” xiii). He operated under at least eight pseudonyms at a time, quickly producing staggering amounts of written work (xvi). After ghostwriting for the late Horatio Alger, Stratemeyer officially established his Literary Syndicate in 1905 (xviii, xx). For Stratemeyer’s syndicate he would develop the concept of a series, along with chapter outlines for the syndicate writers to complete (xxviii). The completed chapters would be reviewed to see if they were up to Stratemeyer’s high standards (xxviii). Once a writer became part of the syndicate they would usually go on to write many Stratemeyer series books (xxi, xxviii). However, contracts signed by authors forced them to not only use pseudonyms, but also remain completely anonymous (xxviii).

(fig. 2)
(fig. 2) The frontispiece and the title page of Ryerson University’s Children’s Literature Archive copy of Ruth Fielding at College. Source: Emerson, Alice B. Ruth Fielding at College, or, The Missing Examination Papers. New York: Cupples & Leon, 1917. Children’s Literature Archive, Ryerson University Library and Archives

The presumption of a single author remains largely unquestioned in spite of producers like the Stratemeyer Literary Syndicate. It is obvious that, simply from the system of the syndicate, many more “authors” are involved. Also, the person most responsible for the content is often left unacknowledged. Fan mail was addressed to “Alice B. Emerson,” while the “real” author W.B. Foster is only attributed to the series as a result of Stratemeyer’s records (Stratemeyer Syndicate; Johnson “Appendix D – Series Contributors” 307). Little to no other information is available about Foster himself.

Series Books and Advertising Literature

Throughout his long career Stratemeyer did not go without his detractors. Notably the Chief Scout Librarian of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), Franklin K. Mathiews expressed caution. There was great concern about what was produced by the syndicate. Primarily the works were not in line with what children should be reading (Johnson “Introduction: The People Behind the Books” xxiv). In other words, series books were essentially frivolous and fruitless (xxiv-xxv). Other adults, and parents alike, questioned the effect of series fiction on adolescents. This barely dented the influence Stratemeyer, and other series fiction producers, had already established (Baxter Introduction 10).

The acknowledgement of series fiction’s apparent place in literature could be seen in its marketing. In 1917 Ruth Fielding At College, the newest volume in the Ruth Fielding series, is announced in a New York Tribune Article (“Choice Gleanings From the Publisher’s Spring Catalogues” 9). On the same page of the article is an advertisement for an arguably different “type” of book. My Unknown Chum’s advertisement (fig. 3) mimics what Mathiews would prefer to any Stratemeyer series book (Johnson “Introduction: The People Behind the Books” xxiv). The advertisement even references soldiers, stating that the book “Should be the Chum of Every Soldier—Officer or Private” (My Unknown Chum by Henry Garrity). This reference points to the purveyance of war at the time, and how service was the measure of society. Another smaller advertisement is for a book titled Woman (fig. 4). Although the book appears to be progressive, its exampled reception maintains a downgrading of women’s abilities. The advertisement states, “No woman could have written such a book ” (Woman by Vance Thomas). This thinking falls in line with the use of female pseudonyms for series fiction, as it was a lesser form of fiction. In the process, women are solidified in their respective place; that is, until effects of  World War I.

American Women during WWI

My Unknown Chum
(fig. 3) An advertisement for a book called The Unknown Chum that appeared on the same page as an announcement for the release of Ruth Fielding at College.                                                   Source: “Choice Gleanings From the Publisher’s Spring Catalogues.” New York Tribune 14 April 1917: 9. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Lib. of Congress.

American women made themselves a part of the war effort, even during the years leading up to 1914. The demographics consisted of high school educated, lower middle class women. (Hamilton-Honey “Two Miles Forward, One Mile Back” 135-139). From the Red Cross to car factories, women made their mark (159, 150). Ruth herself went on to work for the Red Cross in subsequent volumes of the series (167). The war had women enter many other areas of the otherwise male-dominated workforce (166). The opportunities of contention from their male counterparts made women increasingly aware of their position in the world (137). A symptom of these “gender wars,” the Great War became just as politically charged on the home front as the actual battlefield (145). At the time government authority figures both helped and hindered the progress of women’s involvement in the war (144, 150). Positions of power were held both by male detractors as well as champions of women’s active role (150). The tug-of-war that ensued results in a transitional mentality within women’s rights. Women found themselves in a peculiar place; a place where there was an opportunity to hold a potential position of potential power. On the other hand, even this potential meant that women were viewed as attempting to take the place of men. Literally, “their presence became an open threat” (162).

Power Plays

The character Ruth Fielding shows that the early 20th century heroine is just as much in transition as the girl reading their exploits (167). Ruth and her friends have access to a level of education that was still scarce for women at the time (139). Simultaneously the same pressures, stresses, and taboos remained. Like the women of her time Ruth never attempts to take on the male role (Hamilton-Honey “Running the Gamut and the Gauntlet” 181-182). Ruth maintains a primarily passive personality. It begs the question, whether or not these attributes make Ruth simply another cog in the wheel, or a liberator. After all, despite Ruth’s passivity she is referred to as a “dynamic figure of command” (Stoneley 94). More importantly Ruth exemplifies an ability to adapt. She was not always well off and successful; rather she always rose to the occasion (Baxter “Teen Reading at the Turn of the Century” 140). As Hamilton-Honey states, “Women were not always simply ‘placeholders,’ nor did they always see their work that way” (“Two Miles Forward, One Mile Back” 162). Women were essentially forced to “pick their battles.” Therefore, through the text much of the framework of many conditional freedoms experienced by young women is constructed. Women’s roles and “place” become increasingly apparent once shifted by the war.

Gender and Authority

(fig. 4) A book titled Woman was advertised alongside one for The Unknown Chum, as well as an announcement for the release of Ruth Fielding at College.                   Source: “Choice Gleanings From the Publisher’s Spring Catalogues.” New York Tribune 14 April 1917: 9. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Lib. of Congress.

Much of what occurs around Ruth and her friends is a result of being stuck in this sort of transitional state. The different sides of the transition are illustrated in a variety of ways. First, in how Rebecca Franye, one of Ruth’s classmates, is positioned through Ardmore’s social and academic circles. Both girls’ assumptions or evaluations of college and college life are problematic. Ruth was enchanted by the concept of college and Ardmore prior to attending. Ardmore becomes elevated as a sort of exotic wish fulfilment for Ruth—almost a “touristic experience” (Stoneley 94). In this case Rebecca, who is more worried about how she is perceived by classmates than her studies, contrasts Ruth’s personality. Rebecca’s expectations of school as only being for the wealthy are not the case. Rather than being ostracized for being poor, her fear, she is shunned for not following the rules (95-97).

According to Ruth Fielding at College, there is no good outcome from pretending to be part of a class you are not (97). The novel perpetuates the “knowing of one’s place,” which is one side of the threshold experienced by women in the early 20th century. Ruth herself is quite aware of both the freedoms and downfalls of being a girl, a woman, in early 20th century America. She expresses disdain for those who perform to be someone other than who they are. In this respect Ruth Fielding could be the ideal transitional female adolescent (Baxter “Teen Reading at the Turn of the Century” 140). She achieves this in relation to Rebecca and Maggie; both contrastingly, but also conditionally. The relationship is conditional because, without the contrast, Ruth’s idealilty would not necessarily be as apparent (Baxter Introduction 19).

Institution and Power Structures

How the characters of this text are treated, and seen as transitional characters, is a result of the systems they are placed into. Therefore, apart from gender role’s, the text aligns itself with these other transitional sentiments of the early 20th century. This is accomplished through the framework of power plays, consequences, and the submission to a higher authority. Ruth Fielding At College employs power and authority in two ways, and displays the transition between the two. Instantly the reader is shown how power structures can operate through the consequences of corruption and displaying the extremes of authority. In the text a failed sorority hazing leads to missed opportunities. Now both new and old students are not able to become part of a sorority due to its consequential dismantling. Misunderstandings and hardships surrounding this situation, and one sees it carry over into the next school year.

However, a second exercise of authority takes its place, that was arguably always present: the senior class. The removal of the sorority makes the presence more apparent. Throughout the remainder of the text the “regular” politics and dynamics of the college are framed as appropriate and justified. Initially one sees rejection and hostility on part of the “freshies” forced to wear specified coloured hats by the seniors (Emerson 39). Despite this initial rebellion the freshmen eventually obey the rule. The exercise of power is justified as a means of unifying each student-body class. These overarching sentiments of class distinctions can be seen as an affect of World War I, and the adjacent acceleration of industry (Hamilton-Honey “Running the Gamut and the Gauntlet” 181; Baxter Introduction 16). Ardmore, in this respect, represents a “social-industrial matrix” through the tension that arises within its hierarchy; made increasingly visible by the transition from the old “regime” (Stoneley 93). Transitional roles in Ruth Fielding at College, which consist of the positioned individual, positions the reader to make the most of their given situation (Baxter Introduction 13). It is through transitional states that the narrative of Ruth Fielding At College presents its contemporary and future readers with the ideology that became apparent with the advent of World War I.

Categories and the Growth of Industrialization

The relationship between exercises of power, agency and authority in the real world were experiencing a transition–Ruth Fielding is a product of that. These are notions that mirror themselves not only from the text itself, but through the producer, and the consumer. For one, the novel was increasingly seen as a commodity (Stoneley 104). Syndicate writing shows these changes in the book market throughout the 20th century (Baxter Introduction 13, “Teen Reading at the Turn of the Century” 142). It was “not uncommon” to work in movies at the time (Hamilton-Honey “Taking Advantage of New Markets” 205). Movies, and technology subsequently provided a “pull” for series fiction’s younger audiences (Stoneley 90). The content of material being published reflects an ever-changing world. Notions of consumerism, and nationalism meet artistic freedom, and escapism. Whether pertaining to the production of a book or the receiving of education, the goal becomes more about enabling a student body—a force—a body of work as a whole, than the work of one student or one writer. The individual soldier makes way for the nation, and the individual student does so for the institution’s hierarchy. Triumphantly the literary syndicate takes over for the single author.

Conclusion: Submission or Omission?

Another well-known girls’ series fiction brand, the American Girl series, was eventually styled into dolls that reflected different battles or moments in American history (Silvey 408). Along with Ruth Fielding one sees the establishment of series books as playing a prominent historic role in the formation of patriotism and ideology in America. The reader is not only positioned in the shift of a book’s production, but through it. The system and the person, the creator and the reader, the soldier and the country are in the process of converging–an affect exacerbated by Ruth Fielding At College in the climate of War.

In considering the power structures presented in the text, their subversive nature comes into question. When situated with the rest of the series, Ruth Fielding At College is a subversive text insofar as it represents another step closer, a transition, to gender equality (Hamilton-Honey “Taking Advantage of New Markets” 221). However, as a stand-alone novel the volume provides a snapshot for how women were still greatly operating “within patriarchal boundaries” at the turn of the 20th century (182). Therefore, the text will never become completely subversive. Series fiction was used as a means to define a problem and then provide the “possible solution” (Baxter Introduction 11). Instead it leaves readers and characters caught in a liminal space.

Works Cited

Baxter, Kent. Introduction. The Modern Age: Turn-of-the-Century American Culture and the Invention of Adolescence. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2008. 1-20. Print.

—. “Teen Reading at the Turn of the Century (Part II): Edward Stratemeyer.” The Modern Age: Turn-of-the-Century American Culture and the Invention of Adolescence. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2008. 136-154. Print.

“Choice Gleanings From the Publisher’s Spring Catalogues.” New York Tribune 14 April 1917: 9. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Lib. of Congress. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Emerson, Alice B. Ruth Fielding at College, or, The Missing Examination Papers. New York: Cupples & Leon, 1917. Children’s Literature Archive, Ryerson University Library and Archives.

Hamilton-Honey, Emily. “Two Miles Forward, One Mile Back: Gender Battles During the Great War.” Turning the Pages of American Girlhood : The Evolution of Girls’ Series Fiction, 1865-1930. North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2013. 135-168. ebrary eBooks. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.

—. “Running the Gamut and the Gauntlet: World War I Series Fiction as a Catalyst for Change in the Cultural Landscape of American Girlhood.” Turning the Pages of American Girlhood : The Evolution of Girls’ Series Fiction, 1865-1930. North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2013. 168-200. ebrary eBooks. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.

—. “Taking Advantage of New Markets: Ruth Fielding as a Motion Picture Screenwriter, Producer, and Executive.” Turning the Pages of American Girlhood : The Evolution of Girls’ Series Fiction, 1865-1930. North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2013. 201-222. ebrary eBooks. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.

Herbert, Rosemary. “Syndicate Authors.” Whodunit?: A Who’s Who in Crime and Mystery Writing. Cary: Oxford University Press, 2003. 189-190. ebrary eBooks. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

Johnson, Deidre. “Introduction: The People Behind the Books.” Stratemeyer Pseudonyms and Series Books: An Annotated Checklist of  Stratemeyer and Stratemeyer Syndicate Publications. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1982. xiii-xxxvi. Print.

—. “Alice B. Emerson.” Stratemeyer Pseudonyms and Series Books: An Annotated Checklist of  Stratemeyer and Stratemeyer Syndicate Publications. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1982. 117-122. Print.

—. “Appendix D – Series Contributors.” Stratemeyer Pseudonyms and Series Books: An Annotated Checklist of  Stratemeyer and Stratemeyer Syndicate Publications. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1982. 307. Print.

Knock, Thomas J. “World War I.” The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press, 2001. Oxford Reference. 2004. Date Accessed 8 Mar. 2014

Silvey, Anita. “Series Books.” The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. 407-8. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

Stoneley, Peter. “Serial Pleasures” Consumerism and American Girls’ Literature, 1860-1940. Ed. Ross Posnock. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. 90-104. Print. Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture no. 134.

Stratemeyer Syndicate. Fan mail to Alice B. Emerson. 1919-28. Box 31. Stratemeyer Syndicate Records 1832-1984. Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.

My Unknown Chum by Henry Garrity. Advertisement. New York Tribune 14 April 1917: 9. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Lib. of Congress. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Woman by Vance Thomas. Advertisement. New York Tribune 14 April 1917: 9. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Lib. of Congress. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

The Probationer: Women and Romance in the Edwardian Era

© 2014, Christina Anto, Ryerson University

Probationer01 - Cover
Fig. 1. P.B. Hickling’s cover illustration and design for The Frantic Misfortunes of a Nurse, or, The Probationer, by A. M. Irvine

Introduction

Amy Mary Irvine’s The Frantic Misfortunes of a Nurse, or, The Probationer is a romance novel published in 1910 by S.W. Partridge in London, England. Illustrated by the prolific, but little-known, artist Percy Bell Hickling (see fig. 1), it follows the story of a young woman’s ascent from the position of graceless and spoiled probationer to assistant nurse at a children’s hospital.

1910 also signals the end of the prosperous Edwardian era, an (approximate) decade of peace characterized by its shift away from Victorian morality and featuring the beginnings of Modernism. Britain’s entrance into the First World War in 1914 dramatically changed British economy and industry, and the roles of women changed with it. Both authors and readers of the Edwardian era were straddled between two perspectives, and the Great War changed this perspective into the Modern era.

The Probationer reflects Victorian ideas of femininity, maternity and romance. The novel is characteristic of popular Edwardian romance as it reinforces the ideal, but mandatory, behaviour of a woman as she enters adulthood. However, the novel also shows characteristics of the Modern, anticipating women’s rights by portraying an independent and gifted female protagonist’s professional and personal coming-of-age. The novel, like the Edwardian Era, straddles the past and the future and combines seemingly opposing sensibilities that reconciles the fantasy and the real.

The theoretical and historical context reflects on the reader of the novel. The Probationer had a young female readership a decade after its 1910 publication. The front inscription of the CLA’s copy indicates that the book was given to a young woman on her completion of

Fig. 2. Inside cover inscription. "Presented to Hilda Stebbins for Attending + Prep. of Lessons. March 14, 1919"
Fig. 2. Inside cover inscription. “Presented to Hilda Stebbins for Attending + Prep. of Lessons. March 14, 1919”

prep school lessons (see fig. 2). The societal context of the reader in post-war Britain would affect a reading of the novel, allowing a re-interpretation of the female protagonist that would foreshadow medical fiction, women’s rights and the rise of literary feminism.

The popularity of romance novels continued into the Edwardian era in their Victorian era form, and Edwardian perspectives of femininity were continuing Victorian ideas (Kullman 74). The Probationer, while a traditional Victorian formula romance, appears to have had a continued readership throughout the 20th century due to the copy’s inside cover inscription. The post-war reader differed greatly from the Victorian or Edwardian, and this longevity allows the book to be reinterpreted as a Modernist romance.

Summary of Contents

Probationer005 MESS TWO
Fig. 3. P. B. Hickling, “I whirled round at a muffled shriek from her” p. 57

The Probationer follows the story of an idle young woman from a wealthy family as she attempts to become a nurse. She envies an older family friend’s nursing occupation, and so she decides to become one herself. Her fantasies of rewarding, glamourous work are immediately dispelled upon her arrival, and the work proves to be gruelling and difficult. Her previous idleness is reflected in her ineptitude, and she drops pans, burns lunch, and endures all other sorts of mishaps that initially cause her to feel shame but contribute to her growing humility (see fig. 3). During these mishaps she begins to receive the teasing attention of the hospital’s leading doctor, Mr. Fleming. A fellow probationer tells her that Mr. Fleming is her fiancé, and Agnes is heartbroken until he refutes this claim. He confesses his love for her, and they decide to become engaged once she finished her term. The pro eventually receives the glowing compliments of her superiors, and decides to stay on at the hospital (fig. 4).

P.B. Hickling illustrates the six black-and-white plates included at key moments in the book. Each one shows Agnes Atherton at various moments in her journey from probationer to signed nurse.

Edwardian Era and Romantic Fiction

Fig. 4. P. B. Hickling, "I gazed at the fateful paper, and scrawled my name in the space indicated."
Fig. 4. P. B. Hickling, “I gazed at the fateful paper, and scrawled my name in the space indicated.” p. 177

The Edwardian Era is not exactly a literary era, and romance is not exactly a literary genre (Hynes 1). Critics are rarely in agreement to the definition of either, as the Edwardian Era extends to either 1910 or 1914 (Hynes 1), and definitions of romance are often reduced to a collection of features (McCracken 79). Virginia Woolf explains Edwardian literature as existing as a genre between genres (Hynes 9), and Edwardian romance novels straddled Victorian ideas of womanhood with the early shadows of Modernity (Hynes) and, ultimately, feminism. An Edwardian romance novel contained features of both prescribed Victorian propriety and the reinterpretation of femininity and womanhood of the war years and Modernity.

The Probationer quintessentially represents the features of a romance novel. Agnes is the perfect misunderstood heroine (the femme incomprise) (McCracken 78). Her object of desire (her fabula) is seemingly unattainable (barriers, or sjuzet). Only her ultimate acceptance of subordinate feminine to masculine authority allows her to overcome the barriers and receive her object of desire (McCracken 86), and she achieves this when she transforms into the idealized woman.

Agnes desires the love of Mr. Fleming, but it is also apparent that she desires acceptance and success in her profession. While her desire of the masculine authority figure is characteristic of the formula romance, Agnes’ self-actualization occurs outside of her romantic interests and this ultimately allows for a re-interpretation of the novel beyond Victorian tropes.

“Outer” Barriers to Love

Probationer03 - mr fleming
Fig. 5. P. B. Hickling, “He regarded me much as a naturalist might examine a new sort of animal” p. 160

The “outside” barrier to Agnes achieving her object of desire, Mr. Fleming, is Agnes’ fellow probationer Nurse Cotteril. Agnes’ peer confides in her that she is engaged to Mr. Fleming and this revelation sparks Agnes’ jealousy and passion for Mr. Fleming. Nurse Cotteril forbids Agnes from revealing this secret, citing a loss of position and stature for both herself and Mr. Fleming should their secret be exposed. Agnes’s jealousy thus has no outlet, and she translates this discontent into passive aggression towards her friend and Mr. Fleming (see fig. 5). Women are thus seen as competitive and spiteful, according to Victorian theories of biological determinism that explain the “natural” differences between men and women (Tanenbaum 60). Agnes, as the romantic heroine, is a representation of the typical, but imperfect, Victorian woman, and this imperfection is her sjuzet.

Agnes is also indiscriminate in her feelings, and these feelings translate into giddy and consuming preoccupation with her male object of desire. Rafford Pyke, in a 1901 treatise on “What Women Want in Men” explains that young, inexperienced women “flutter and blush” when the object of their affection is nearby, and that this is a distinctly British trait (46). Moving through her early years of maturity, the young woman is attracted to men of distinction, who inspire deference and admiration in their peers, rather than good looks (Pyke 47). As Agnes rarely comments on the attractiveness of her object of affection, her love for him appears to stem from his unattainability as both an engaged man and a learned doctor. The unattainability of Mr. Fleming underlies the conflict in the novel, and this conflict is mirrored in Agnes’ failure to be a proper, domesticated probationer.

Agnes’ Inner Conflict

Agnes’ “misfortunes” are also a feature of romantic fiction, as these represent an “inner” barrier to achieving her object of desire. She is the femme incomprise (Pyke 47), an identifiable and pitiable figure to the reader of a romance novel (McCracken 90). Agnes casts aside the traditional conventions of both the hospital and femininity by speaking her mind and displaying her ignorance. At first, these frank utterances are laughable, and her demands for the comforts of her previous life are juxtaposed with her domestic failure in the new setting of the remote children’s hospital. As she grows to be less demanding and more competent, her tactlessness becomes an endearing feature to the characters and the reader. By the end of the novel she receives praise from the head doctor, the head nurse, and her Mr. Fleming. This is the result of her transformation into the ideal woman while retaining her status as femme incomprise, the misunderstood woman that the reader identifies with.

These two barriers represent Agnes’ struggle to find love, which create the conflict in the novel. The barriers stem from her non-idealized feminine immaturity, and her maturation reflects contemporary ideas of the ideal woman in Victorian society.

Female Children’s Literature

Agnes’ barriers in the novel highlight the Victorian and Edwardian conceptions of girlhood, maturation and femininity. Pyke refers to young, maturing women as “young girls” as the stage of “young adulthood” did not exist as we know it today.

But children’s literature was a popular and surging genre of the time due to the growing acceptance of the child as a life stage and the rights of children expanding beyond the idea of required duty (Darton 299) The Victorian era abounded with classic, canonical children’s literature (Darton 293). Contemporary belief held that girls read more literature (Darton 305), and gift books were more often given to female children as novels were thought to be more accessible to girls (Darton 305). Tales for girls were written about adults, as girls were seen as more mature (Darton 305), and the stories took place in “adult” spaces. Darton calls this the shifting of the age curve, arguing that that girls grew up quickly in the Edwardian era.

World War One and Women in Britain

The onset of World War One for Britain definitively changed the remaining Victorian values of the early 20th century and ended the Edwardian era, and this impacted how women and children read literature after 1914.

Women began participating on the home front by supporting the men who went out to fight. The growing unequal gender distribution on home impacted the lives of children growing up in the early 1900s. Patriarchal lineage and household organization was questioned due to the lack of male adults in the home. This experience of young readers mirrors the experience of Agnes for multiple reasons. Agnes is transplanted into an intimidating occupation, and she is surrounded by women who offer little sympathy for her ineptitude and unfamiliarity with her new situation. Young readers would be suffering the loss of the familiar leadership of brothers and fathers, and The Probationer’s heroine is relatable in both her sudden loss of contextual familiarity.

As a nurse, she also represents the new representation of women in the workforce. Agnes leaves her home for her fantasy of noble work as a nurse, and has this fantasy replaced by a realistic, but still rewarding, occupation. Young women who acted as nurses were revered and romanticized, and those who read the book would also relate to the difficult, exhausting work that it was. However the book would still act as escapist fiction, since the nursing involves ill children, not war-torn soldiers, and it is not bloody or gory in any sense. It combines what McCracken explains as the romantic realism, the combination of real life into a romanticized and idealized setting. In this sense the novel still offers the satisfying children’s entertainment, but readers post-war would have engaged with Agnes’ profession in a unique way to readers of the Edwardian period.

She leaves the comfort of home for the noble cause, and this mirrors the showing of literature that says women should work outside of the home to support the troops. She believes in the noble cause despite the initially hard, unrewarding work, and its ultimate role in her happiness acts as propaganda for helping the nation achieve its war goals.

Probationer04 - coverside
Cover spine, illustrated by P. B. Hickling

Nursing itself becomes an interesting position of the book, as nursing was a popular and gendered occupation in the war.  The detailed aspects of nursing shown in the book foreshadows the rise of the genre of medical fiction.

Conclusion

The Probationer, as an Edwardian formula romance published on the cusp of the Great War, can be read as both a Victorian and a Modern novel, which prompts unique readings. As a product of the Victorian era, the novel can be seen as an affirmation of what was deemed to be proper women’s behaviour and the general role of a working woman in society. However, as the book was given to a young women in 1919, it can also be seen as a wartime or post-war story championing the independent heroine as she grows in her profession as a nurse.


Works Cited

Allen, Walter. The English Novel: A Short Critical History. New York:

Dutton, 1954. Print.

Darton, F. J. Harvey. Children’s Books in England: Five Centuries of Social Life. 1932. Ed.

Brian Alderson. 3rd Ed. Newcastle: Oak Knoll, 1982. Print.

Hynes, Samuel. Edwardian Occasions: Essays on English Writing in the Early Twentieth

Century. London: Routledge. 1972. Print.

Irvine, Amy Mary. The Frantic Misfortunes of a Nurse, Or, The Probationer. London:

S. W. Partridge and Co., Ltd, 1910. Print.

Kullman, Thomas. “Constructions of History in Victorian and Edwardian Children’s

Books.” Ed. Anne Lawson Lucas. The Presence of the Past in Children’s Literature.

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