“In zopet kliče domovina ženo na pomoč”

SUBJECT: humanitarian aid | women’s organizations | Goriška | Italy | Slovenia
COBISS-ID: 244641027

“And once again, the homeland calls on women for help” provides valuable insights into the role of women in the 19th century, when society was facing major changes, yet still strongly adhered to traditional notions of femininity and women’s place in public and private life. The author has included many sources and carefully analyzed them to offer the reader the most authentic insight possible into the everyday experiences and limitations that women faced. The work therefore provides a comprehensive insight into the issue, as it goes beyond superficial descriptions and reveals internal tensions, as well as the creative ways in which women expanded their sphere of activity.

Women’s charity work in the 19th century was not just a pastime. The author convincingly shows that it was much more than that: charitable work enabled women to develop organizational skills, education, networking, and influence on society at a time when direct access to political decision-making was still closed to them. This gave women’s charity a deeper meaning, as it gave women a sense of self-confidence and power that they could not otherwise gain in strictly limited private settings.

Dr. Robert Devetak’s research is also valuable because it raises questions about the beginnings of women’s activism and reveals how these experiences of charity laid the foundations for the later movement for equality and women’s rights. With precision, a wealth of sources, and a sense of historical context, the author has created a work that is an important contribution to understanding 19th-century social history and the role of women in it.