“Wretched” or Respectable: Judging Women in Late-Victorian London Courts Sira Sidibe Faculty Adviser: Andrew August History, Penn State University, Abington, PA Findings: Newspaper reports of petty trials in London reveal the complex gender expectations that faced women who appeared in the courts. Reporters enforced dominant ideas of femininity: women were expected to be deferent, respectable, attractive and clean, and committed to their maternal and domestic duties. The newspaper reports used these criteria to judge women, either positively or negatively, often independently of the evidence involved in the case at hand. These women not only confronted the legal process (as defendants or victims), they also needed to live up to these restrictive gender roles to avoid ridicule and condemnation in the newspaper. In response to these pressures, some women tried to perform appropriate femininity, while others deliberately defied them and accepted the consequences. Feminine Roles Women were evaluated on their behavior as mothers and wives. Women’s “proper” sphere was private and domestic. Some women appealed to these roles to gain sympathy: A woman accused of theft appealed to “my four poor children”. A victim of domestic violence appeared “accompanied by her child”. Others were condemned for failing in these roles: The paper described one woman as “A DISREPUTABLE MOTHER” whose husband appeared in court “carrying a child in his arms … had not seen her since Saturday night”. East London Observer, December 26, December 5, Physical Appearance The newspaper commented on women’s appearance, either to express approval or to create hostility toward the women among readers: The paper described three different women as “respectably dressed”. Another woman appeared in the paper as “good looking”. But one woman was described as “wretched, dissipated looking”. These comments focused attention on the women’s appearance and away from the issues that brought them to court. East London Observer, December 12, December 19, December 5, Respectability The newspaper described some women as dishonorable and failing to live up to standards of ladylike behavior. Women appeared in the paper as: “very drunk … disorderly … made use of filthy language” “brought home by a man in an intoxicated state” “a shocking woman” “a drunken and dissipated woman”. East London Observer, December 19, December 5, Deference Women were expected to be obedient to authority. Those who were not deferent were made out to be wild and uncontrollable. The newspaper and judges referred to these women as: “A Virago!” “ a perfect pest to the neighborhood” “Daring”. East London Observer, December 12, December 19, December 26, In this case, a woman who might be expected to receive approval as a wife and mother was instead condemned by the newspaper. The woman fell far short of expectations for these roles, appearing “drunken and dissipated” and neglecting her husband and children. As a result, the reporter clearly judged this woman negatively. East London Observer, December 5, In this case, the newspaper and the court judged the woman to be acceptable. Despite carrying on a relationship with her married employer for months, the woman fulfilled appropriate feminine roles as a mother and domestic servant. Her appearance, described as “good-looking”, reinforced this appropriate femininity. By successfully performing these feminine roles, the woman won the sympathy of the newspaper and the magistrate. He judged that she had been seduced, and therefore she was not held accountable for her behavior. The court ruled in the woman’s favor, ordering child support from the defendant. East London Observer, December 5, In this case, a female defendant did not even attempt to live up to expectations of proper femininity. She appeared bold and defiant, making a joke of the court’s rituals and her punishment. The magistrate, though, was unamused and condemned her violent behavior. East London Observer, December 26, Methodology: This research began with an examination of the records of the Thames Police Court from December of Data from all 1,157 cases from the court notebooks were coded. Variables included: victim/prosecutor, defendant name, defendant sex, defendant age, charge, punishment, and magistrate. The next phase of the project focused on December 1885 issues of the East London Observer, a local newspaper that presented more detailed descriptions of selected cases. The analysis of gender representation presented in this project used cases from the newspaper that included women in prominent roles (as victims/complainants, defendants or interested parties). These newspaper descriptions reveal judgements of these women’s femininity. Examples: “Mr. Saunders ‘An Old Toff’” “A City Tradesman’s Baby” “A Disreputable Mother” Images of Women:: Female defendants taken into the women’s cell at Thames Police Court. Source: The Graphic, August 27, 1887 These images present graphic examples of positive and negative evaluations of female defendants. In the first image, a woman accused of theft is presented as appropriately feminine, respectably dressed, young, vulnerable, and sympathetic. In the second image, a woman associated with a murder case appears masculine, threatening, and unemotional. Source: Illustrated Police News, February 28 and May 1, 1880.