Women's History Then & Now - Women and Travel
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Women and Travel

During the 19th century, the women of the Victorian period traveled very differently than the women of today travel. “Women used to travel with their families or their husbands to set destinations or on orchestrated tours. Now more and more women are interested in getting off the beaten track and wandering the globe, either on their own or with other women” (Bond). It was considered immoral for a woman to travel alone in the Victorian period and only a few brave ones ventured into the unknown. The most prominent women travelers of the Victorian time period are Harriet Martineau, Isabella Bird, Gertrude Bell and Mary Henrietta Kingsley. Two prominent women travelers of today are Marybeth Bond and Evelyn Kaye. There fails to be extensive information on modern solo women travelers, but many modern day women have formed traveling groups and clubs.

Exigesis

Women of the Victorian time were unable to travel unless they were the extremely wealthy or unless they wished to be different and challenge the status quo. If wealthy women did travel, she rarely traveled alone. If a woman did decide to travel alone, her motive was usually to escape gender oppression, seek adventure or to further a certain cause. Women of the Victorian period traveled with their husbands or family, but never with groups of friends. It was unheard of and unacceptable. The actual dress wear of the Victorian time period played an important role in hindering women from traveling. Women wore binding corsets, high-heeled boots, ankle-length skirts and long sleeved shirts with jackets. Almost every aspect of the Victorian era contributed to the suppression of traveling women. The men believed a woman’s place was at home and they wished for it to remain that way. They saw no reason for a woman to travel and therefore set an extremely negative stigma on any woman who did so. In avoiding this negative stigma, most women of the Victorian time period were never allowed to experience the world beyond their personal towns.

Harriet Martineau

Harriet Martineau was a feminist traveler of the Victorian era. She was more rigorously and formally educated than most women of her time. After making a career of writing, Martineau became wealthy. She then decided to spend two years traveling in the USA. Upon her return, she published a book that critiqued America's failure to live up to its democratic principles. She was especially concerned about the treatment of women and called one chapter The Political Non-existence of Women. Martineau argued for an improvement in women's education, so that "marriage need not be their only object in life." She continued to write pamphlets and articles on women's rights until her death from bronchitis in 1876.

Isabella Bird

 Isabella Bird was another respected woman traveler of the Victorian era. She was born into a well-to-do Evangelical family. Bird accompanied her father, a minister in the Church of England, on his clerical rounds through the English countryside. It was here that she began to love the outdoors and have a passion for traveling. As she grew older she left her home in Scotland and traveled alone through the United States, Japan, China, Korea, Persia and Tibet. During her travels, she claims to have eaten “meals of rice and beans and to have spent far too many nights in flea-ridden inns.” She rode horse-back along primitive roads and lived a very different life than most of the refined women of the Victorian era. After many difficult challenges Bird faced in Japan, she stated that "Only strong people should travel in northern Japan!" This confirms the notion that travel for women in the Victorian ear was not leisurely, but instead, it was hard work and very demanding. Bird was the first woman member of the Royal Geographical Society, and she was a precursor to modern anthropologists/sociologists. “She died in Edinburgh after returning from her final trip, a thousand-mile tour of North Africa at age 70, much of it on horseback” (UNC). Having been sick most of her life, Isabella Bird overcame physical debility to achieve greatness as a respected woman travel writer.

Gertrude Bell

Gertrude Bell was another well know Victorian woman who traveled extensively. She traveled Europe and completed two ‘around the world’ trips. While she stayed in Mesopotamia, “she studied Arabic and rode sidesaddle across the Arabian Desert.” The Arabs pronounced her a "daughter of the desert." She was also an experienced climber and her exploits in the Alps earned her the nickname as a mountaineer.

Mary Henrietta Kinsley

 Mary Henrietta Kinsley was born in London and was the daughter of a medical doctor who traveled extensively. She was a British explorer of West and Central Africa. She conducted scientific research on fish, bugs and African religious practices. After sailing, traveling by steamboat, canoeing, trekking and climbing into the Great Forest Region, she reached territory that was then seldom visited by Europeans. Kingsley was also a mountaineer and she climbed Mount Cameroon (4095 m/14,435 ft), the area's highest peak. Kingsley wrote several books about her experiences in Africa, her most well successful being “Travels in West Africa.”

Summary of Victorian Women Travelers

 From these women’s stories, there are obvious patterns of certain lifestyles of the Victorian women who traveled. For the most part, the women were more formally educated than most of the women of their time. These women were wealthy, grew up in a traveling family and usually bore no children. They lived a very different life than the average Victorian woman. There life did not revolve around pleasing their husband, acting as a proper lady or attending to children and regular house hold duties. Instead, these audacious women filled their lives with adventures of foreign countries. They conducted research interestingly, many were remarkable mountain climbers. At that point in time, these ladies were not socially accepted and were considered immoral. In retrospect, today’s society now applauds these women for their courageous efforts.

Intro To Modern Women Travelers

 It is socially accepted for the women of today to travel, be it alone, with friends or with family. They enjoy many more luxuries and comforting accessories. The newly developed modern world has created a new outlook and new concerns for women travelers. Because women have been outspoken about their needs, many in the travel industry have risen to the challenge of addressing security concerns. “Some hotels, car rental agencies, airlines and travel providers have developed marketing programs aimed at a female clientele, not just because their numbers are increasing, but also because their allegiances are still forming” (Aziza). Hotels are now accommodating women’s rooms with special security features and allowing women to rent or request a bodyguard to accompany them on morning jogs or trips downtown. Women of today look forward to leaving their stressful lives behind when traveling. Taking trips or vacations is now much easier and leads to a more pleasurable and relaxing experience then vacationing in the Victorian era.

Evelyn Kaye

 120 years later after Isabella Bird traveled to Japan, modern day Evelyn Kaye retraced Bird’s exact footsteps. Kaye was inspired by Bird’s writings and wanted to experience her same adventures, but Kaye’s journey was decidedly different. In Kaye’s book, Adventures in Japan, Kaye shares her experiences as she “zipped around on fast trains, stayed in quaint hot springs inns, and enjoyed Japanese noodles and other traditional cuisine.” Kaye did not have to ride 100’s of miles on horseback and wonder where she was going to sleep for the night. Her experiences in Japan do not come close to comparing with Bird’s. This exemplifies perfectly how times have changed from the Victorian era. The same footsteps were followed by two different women, only 120 years difference made each journey exclusively different.

Marybeth Bond's Background

 Marybeth Bond is a modern day traveler who is very well known for her writings on her traveling experiences. She is “an innovative and energetic speaker, consultant and award-winning author .” As a professional speaker , Marybeth has entertained audiences across the USA and internationally and has appeared on Oprah, NBC, CBS and CNN. She is a travel expert for CBS/Evening Magazine. Her articles have appeared worldwide and she is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers . She has hiked, cycled, climbed, dived and kayaked her way through more than 70 countries around the world.

Marybeth Bond

 Mary Beth’s traveling experiences and concerns differ tremendously from those women of the Victorian period. Mary Beth has the privilege of wearing hiking boots, t-shirts, sunglasses and casual, comfortable traveling gear. On her personal website, Bond offers many interesting travel tips for women. A few interesting ones include, “1) Try to sit or stand next to other women or family groups in restaurants, on trains or buses, and in other public places. 2) Consider wearing a wedding ring, if you don't already. 3) Always carry enough money at all times in your shoe or money pouch for a cab. 4) If in doubt, take a self defense course.” If a woman of the Victorian period had been given this advice, it would have been humorous. They knew no such thing as a self defense course, cabs or feeling the need to wear a fake wedding band for protection. Today, along with Bond, society’s main concern is for the safety of women, primarily physical and emotional safety from men.

Summary of Modern Women Travelers

 Although there are few modern women who are famous for their traveling efforts, there are many groups and clubs that have been specialized specifically for women. The women of today who love to travel have created traveling journals, guide books, magazines and online web pages. Many of these are “filled with caution, sending the message that women are crazy to embark on such journeys because they make themselves vulnerable to harassment and other attacks,” Heather Gibson, a professor in UF’s recreation, parks and tourism department stated. The Victorian period was never concerned with women’s safety while traveling. There were too few women who traveled to have had a problem. Today, so many women travel alone for business and pleasure purposes, women’s main concern is safety.

Conclusion

 While Victorian women travelers were the exception, today thousands of average women can take off to see the world. “It's a result of better health care for women, more education, time for travel, and financial independence” (Kaye). It is also a result of the Victorian women’s courageous efforts. For the first time, these generations of women are highly educated and often earn enough money to afford to pay for a personal vacation. Today, not only does society accept women who travel, but society is beginning to conform to women’s concerns and every day needs when they travel. Women are discovering the joys of adventurous vacations, alone or with friends and without husbands, families, or responsibilities. The revolution is only beginning. In the years ahead, more and more women will seek to travel the world. The opportunities are endless. "A woman's place is wherever she wants to go" (Kaye).

Bibliography

1. Lady Blessington. Biography. Website

2. Esslemont, Cameron; Roggenkamp, Karen; Wadsworth, Sarah. Women’s Travel Writing, 1830-1930: Biographies. Website

3. STUDY SHOWS WOMEN FIND SOLO TR>VEL LIBERATING RATHER THAN DANGEROUS. March 11, 2002. Website

4. Meet traveling Women. Biography. Website

5. Harriet Martineau. Biography.Website

6. Borman, Laurie D. Business Travel: The Smart Woman's Guide to Business Travel. Career Press, 1999.

7. Harriet Martineau. Biography.Website

8. University of Northern California (UNC). Isabella Bird. Website

9. Bond, Marybeth. Travelers Tales: Gutsy Women.Website

10. Webster’s Dictionary. Victorianism. Springfield, Massachusetts. 1986.

11. McCoy-Ullrich, Dawn. American Woman Road & Travel: Alone on the Road. Website

12. Reviews. Monterey County Post, Blue Panda Publications 3031 Fifth Street Boulder, CO. Website

13. Women of the Klondike. Spostswood, Ken. Dawson City, Yukon. Website

14. Victorian Women Travelers in the 19th Century. Ahmed, Aziza, Fall 1998.Website

15. Kaye, Evelyn. Active Women: Vacation Guide. Blue Panda Publications. Boulder, CO, 2000.

16. The CEA Forum. Old Maids Travel Alone: Isabella Bird, Mary Kingsley, and Marianne North. Website

17. Intrepid Travelers: Women on the Road 1850 - 1950.Website

This page was written by Alexis Shumpes, and is maintained by Melanie Ulrich.

This page was last updated Saturday, 18-May-2002 08:28:12 CDT