Lakehead University Knowledge Commons,http://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca Electronic Theses and Dissertations Retrospective theses 2001 "Omens of good and evidences of evil" : gender and respectability in the Thunder Bay Sentinel, 1875-1895 Gibbons, Carrie Elizabeth http://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/3166 Downloaded from Lakehead University, KnowledgeCommons INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. 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Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “Omens of Good and Evidences of Evil”: Gender and Respectability in the Thunder Bay Sentinel, 1875-1895 A thesis submitted to: Lakehead University Faculty of Arts and Science Department of History in partial fulfilment of the program requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Carrie Gibbons Thunder Bay, Ontario 2001 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. National Library Bibiioth&que nationale 1+1 of Canada duCanada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 385 WcMnglon Straw! 395. rua Waington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada fa u r m VWwiWWww Outm Natrtri ttrwncm The author has granted a non­ L’auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, preter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique. The author retains ownership of die L’auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither die droit d’auteur qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts from it Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes reproduced without the author’s ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. 0-612-70788-1 CanadS Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Our Strength and Weakness Port Arthur's Elements of Stability and Moral Turpitude Omens of Good and Evidences of Evil ...I have no desire to make little of our town. I have an unbounded faith in its future. But every rotten place in social, political and business life weakens our faith, and repels the right thinking people who come to sojourn amongst us... We have a capable and intelligent population. Houses and shops won’t do much for a town; don’t make a town without the right kind of people in them. I say nothing to flatter. I say what the past proves true, that the people of Port Arthur like the people in most of our western towns are capable, intelligent, progressive. They are not the kind who wait round comers for a boom, - for something to turn up. There are a few such characters, but we are for the most part those who take hold of things and make something turn up. The Weekly Sentinel, 22 April 1887. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgments I must begin by thanking Dr. Helen Smith, my thesis supervisor, for her guidance and support throughout my entire experience as a student in the History and Women’s Studies undergraduate and graduate programs at Lakehead University. Dr. Lori Chambers, as a second reader, offered valuable comments at several points during the whole process. Her assistance was much appreciated. Thanks also to Professor Victor Smith who answered numerous questions and edited one of the final drafts of my thesis. For his kindness and academic assistance, I also extend thanks to Dr. Ernie Epp. The folks in the Office of Graduate Studies have helped me to see that some people have found my examination of the Thunder Bay Sentinel interesting and even humourous. The support of my family has been incredible and I thank them for it (even though I know they wondered when I was going to finish!). I also thank them for giving me the confidence, space and freedom to follow an academic interest. I have been privileged to have the most amazing set of friends who continually inspire me. (They know who they are...) Their love, encouragement and patience are some of the reasons why this thesis has been completed. And of course Shawn Patterson - the man with whom I share my life - 1 dedicate this thesis to him. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Introduction............................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1 - Port Arthur and Beyond..................................................................... 10 Chapter 2 - Ideals of Sexual Conduct.................................................................. 32 Chapter 3 - Expectations of Paid and Unpaid Labour......................................... 63 Chapter 4 - Respectability and Leisure.............................................................. 105 Conclusion..........................................................................................................135 Bibliography........................................................................................................143 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Introduction The 1885 Masonic Ball was an event that represented all of the “youth, beauty, wealth and fashion” to be found in Port Arthur, Ontario. The local newspaper, the Thunder Bay Sentinel, boastfully records that: Ladies were present whose beauty would command admiration anywhere, and we hope we may be pardoned for saying there were many fine, handsome men there too. Port Arthur could not have made the astonishing progress that has made her famous were her men not men of vigor and intellect and amply endowed with the highest manly qualities. We may therefore say that Port Arthur may feel proud of the manliness of her men as well as of the beauty and regal virtues of her women.1 At the turn of the century, Port Arthur was on the periphery of the province of Ontario and endeavoured to contradict the perception by those outside of the community that it existed in a barbaric hinterland. One of the ways that it attempted to illustrate its degree of success and respectability was through monitoring the appearance and behaviour of the women and men of Port Arthur in the pages of the local newspaper. From 1875 to 1895, the Sentinel was printed on a weekly basis with the intention to “publish communications of a local or business interest, and to seek to draw out, some at least, of the well[-]known ability that exists in town and around this District."2 Articles in each edition of the newspaper demonstrate this proposed mandate and provide a mix of local, regional, provincial, national and international interests. In publishing the paper, numerous editors, journalists and contributors provided a public voice in the community and, by doing so, shaped and reflected community views on respectable womanhood and manhood. The resulting constructions of 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “vigourous" masculinity and “virtuous” femininity indicate the gendered nature of respectability and form the basis of this textual analysis of Port Arthur's Thunder Bay Sentinel.3 Drawing upon race and class constructions where relevant, I examine the Sentinel for its prescriptive gendering of respectability in Port Arthur in relation to community building and the broader context of Canada and the British Empire from 1875 to 1895.4 An important part of my analysis is the recognition that although the editors and journalists of the Sentinel clung to the ideals of respectable Victorian masculinity and femininity, there is also clear evidence in the newspaper of distinctive gendered identities specific to Port Arthur. In her analysis of the gendered images in the Halifax Herald at the height of the Maritimes Rights movement, Angela Baker finds evidence of unique and “regional” examples of masculinity and femininity.5 The Herald prescribed attitudes and actions that were intended to ensure the prosperity of the Maritimes. Baker argues that these constructions resulted in a “muscular