Freedom Bound 1

by Patricia Grimshaw

Over generations, Australian women have envisaged a world of freedom. This new collection of documents - letters, diary extracts, poems, public speeches - charts the visions that inspired women and the obstacles that confronted them.

Dealing with a period from colonisation to early Federation in 1901, Freedom Bound I shows how intertwined were women's public and personal lives, and how bound by custom, ties, affection and duties. The different meanings of freedom have been shaped by the nature of women's oppression, their quests given focus by their different points of departure. Convict women protested - often violently - at the indignities they endured; Aboriginal women protested at the cruelty of the frontier and the paternalism of the mission; and white middle-class women demanded the freedom to participate in the public world.

Together with its companion volume, Freedom Bound II, which deals with the twentieth century, this volume documents the dreams that inspired women, the pleasures and pain that informed their politics and the desires that enthralled them, even as they bade them to be free. It is an essential resource for students and teachers of Australian women's history.

Genres: History

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 1995

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title doesn't lie - this is basically a collection of letters, articles, records etc starting from 1788 to 1901. It's not comprehensive by any means but it does paint an interesting and varied picture of the times as experienced by women - or white settler women, at any rate.
The subject matter is pretty niche, I suppose, and the book (plus its sequel) basically seems to exist to be reprinted for university classes at this point. There are better places to be looking for settler women's history than here, really, unless you're a total die-hard.

I'm trying to think back on some of the more entertaining documents. I think my favourite one for sheer weirdness was a booklet a lady had published about her theoretical vision for a gender-equal society. The people in this gender-equal society were all very graceful and much better looking for some reason, like patriarchy is the only thing stopping society from suddenly becoming a retro scifi utopia filled with ubermensch and floaty harp music.

[Cass · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the set text for my gender studies class. Very interesting read set out in a great format too. I found the stories in the first 50 pages the hardest to get through. Can't wait to get started on the second volume!