Follow on Google News News By Tag Industry News News By Location Country(s) Industry News
Follow on Google News | Austrian Science Fund FWF: 100 years of love in lettersIn a project supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, historians have reconstructed a century in the "history of love" on the basis of letters.
By: Austrian Science Fund FWF "Letters are a great potential source of knowledge", says Christa Hämmerle from the University of Vienna. The historian has substantiated this claim in a multiannual FWF-funded research project, led by Hämmerle together with Ingrid Bauer from the University of Salzburg. Analysing love letters written between 1870 and the 1970s, the two historians and their team investigated a wide range of topics related to gender, cultural and social history. Between norms and ideals The researchers found most of their sources in a collection of estates containing women's biographical documents (Sammlung Frauennachlä Sexuality and the human body have a constant presence Amongst the oldest letters examined in the FWF project are those which date back to the time of the First Women's Movement of the late 19th century, whilst the most recent ones were penned in the context of the "sexual revolution" around 1970. All in all, the correspondence files cover a wide range of contexts, including messages sent via field post from prisoners of war in Russia, words of comfort and love in a concentration camp, bridal correspondence from both sides, despatches bemoaning ill-fated love, records of a secret affair and candidly discussed love triangles in the 1970s. "Contrary to current belief, sexuality was an issue in letters long before the 'sexual revolution'" Political clout and power relations Especially correspondence from the two World Wars clearly shows how much influence political realities had on private matters and the notions of love. "Emotional regimes" propagated by the context of war left a clear imprint on the letters. "In sum, the respective historical situation left significant traces in the written communications about love and gender relations", observes Hämmerle. The same, for example, can be said of the "Fin de Siècle"or the more secure living conditions afforded by the welfare state. As of the 1960s, these framework conditions represented the backdrop for a particularly dynamic restructuring of the social system and also coloured personal experience relating to love, gender roles and sexuality. Jealousy and conflicts – a male perspective The scientific exploration of the letters provides new insights into cultural and social processes from the intimate viewpoint of lovers – what includes a historical male perspective to be discerned, for instance in bridal correspondence from the 1860s and '70s: At this time, men describe their own feelings in detail – as was expected of them – and sometimes artfully stage the wooing process. A wealth of letters (from men) has been preserved particularly from the two World Wars. In these couple correspondences, jealousy and fidelity are frequent topics presented in highly diverse styles from the humorous to the patronising. There is a correlation between both wars in respect of the topics of love and violence. For the soldiers, the love letters served as mental support, helping them to come to terms with their daily experience of war and bloodshed. "A comparison of all couple correspondences we examined clearly shows that the hierarchical model of love and marriage was shaken to its foundations as of the 1970s. First suggestions of such a transformation can, however, be found as early as around 1900 and during the 1920s in specific milieus, a phase when gender relations were starting to change", the historians explain in summary. End
Account Email Address Account Phone Number Disclaimer Report Abuse
|
|