Aoife Hamill

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The depiction of femininity in Emily Lawless Grania and Edna OBriens Country Girls

It seems to me that much Irish Womens writing, from all parts of the twentieth century,
implicitly or explicitly deals with women trying to find a place for themselves within the narrative of the
Irish nation.

(Ingman 1)

Often writing by women seems to be considered unworthy of consideration in the Irish public
sphere because it is viewed as lacking in universality and as being too particularist and concerned with
the lesser issues of the private self or of the domestic sphere (Fogarty 2).

Contemporary female Irish writers have sought to address hundreds of years of invisibility in
Irish writing. Although strong active women were very much part of the canon of Celtic mythology, the
patriarchal Christian ethos that became embedded in Irish Literature reduced the female to passive
maternal creatures, objects of reverence or lust, and lacking any agency or vibrant representation.
Women were to be passive embodiments of Irish virtue; men were Mother Irelands sons who were to
sacrifice their lives for her. These stereotypes of male and female behavior held sway in Irish literature
far into the twentieth century (Ingman 7).
The depiction of femininity in contemporary Irish Womens writing often reveal strong,
independent- thinking and free willed individuals. Frequently, they are at odds with their environment,
and driven to find a space that will accommodate their agency. The new environments they encounter
provide an antithesis to their childhood homes, and often present new and complex challenges that leave
them torn between the influences of their upbringing and the desire to transgress boundaries and find
expression and identity that has not yet been mapped out.
Emily Lawless character Grania is an immensely headstrong character that weathers a turbulent
and dangerous upbringing, and appears unaffected by cultural or social pressures of conformity. Caithlin
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in Edna OBriens Country Girls escapes to the city, from the ghost of her mother and abusive to the
liberating new world of the late 1960s. Caithlins investments leave her in a self-sufficient space,
whereas Granias space is always mediated by the realities of the mainland. Claire Gilroys Eva travels
from a pre-Celtic Tiger Dublin to the melting pot of New York City. Each of these girls has to cast off
the spectres of difficult fathers and absent mothers and carve out room for self-expression. They are also
connected with mysterious or problematic suitors, who interfere in complex ways with their instinct
towards fulfillment.
Caithlin, Eva and Grania seem to be different, resisting familial and societal pressure to
conform, but these qualities are the manifestation of a desire to express themselves truthfully and
negotiate a new authority in a changing Ireland (Housten 8). Evas transposition from Dublin to the
anarchic drama of New York City is symbolic of the emerging paradigm of radical change which began
in the 1980s and began to express itself in womens writing (See Fogarty, 62).
The name Grania OMalley identifies Lawlesss protagonist with the
legendary Gaelic woman chieftain. Grania refuses to learn English and is
passionately attached to her home island of Inishmaan and her intensely
religious, invalid sister, Honor. Throughout the novel there is a tension
between the representation of Grania herself as proto-feminist heroine and
doomed epitome of traditional Irish identity (Meaney, 164).
Grania, The Story of an Island was published in 1892. Grania lives on the isolated island of
Inismaan. Life is difficult on the island, and many of the conventions of the mainland are rendered
impractical or, in the case of marriage, for example, much more a matter of practicality than romance
(Callahan 32). In the novel we learn that, despite being born on the island, she is considered as an
outsider by her few neighbors. She is an early portrayal of the hard-working, free spirited Irish woman. It
is even suggested that she could be a gypsy, if gypsies could exist in Ireland. Could the child by any
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chance, you might have asked yourself, be a gipsy? (Grania 6). Grania ignores the uncomfortable lack
of trust between the islanders. She has a sort of rough motherliness (72) and a sense of expectation that
she could exercise some type of agency
a look of vague expectation, undefined but unmistakable; a look of
suppressed excitement, which seemed to pervade her whole frame.
What there was to expect, or what there was to be particularly excited
about, she would have been puzzled herself to explain. There the
feeling was, however, and so far it had survived many
disappointments (72).
Grania is aware that she does not have a language that adequately expresses how she feels. She is
distrustful of Murdough, and understands that his control of the boat and his control of language establish
his dominance and limit her agency. She becomes bored of his pouring (83) of babble and resents him
for his authority ( Matthews-Kane 230). Her femininity is aware and active, rather than passive, and she
understands that this is the way in which heterosexual boundaries are established then crossed.(Jeffers
49). Grania knows that language is connected with agency, and significantly connects this ability with a
reference to the flood- the territory of ocean, which is the only place that can accommodate her. I wish I
knew all the languages that ever were upon this earth since the days of King Noah, who made the flood.
Yes, I do, and more too, than ever there were on it! Then I could talk to all the people and hold my head
high with all the best in the land (131-32).
It is interesting to compare Grania with Synges Pegeen Mike, also an islander, limited to a dearth
of suitors, a life of duty to her father and a tough brash exterior that alienates her from other women. The
Widow Quin is her enemy, not her ally, and comes drenched in much of the symbolism of the
witch/spinster/wise woman who has learned to manipulate circumstances in order to make the most of her
unfortunate circumstance. Pegeen is offered a glimpse of the possibility of an alternative life of romance,
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constructed for her from the poetic effusions of Christy. However, her liberation can only be realized if
she swaps Christy for Sean Mahon, and her father it is Hobsons choice. Future women writers would
take this model of the feisty young woman and look for alternatives that did not depend on a myth of
rescue, or a slick romanticization of a dysfunctional environment.
Bridget Matthews- Kane examines the significance of the contrast in landscape in which Grania is
set. The turbulence and chaos of the ocean contrasts with the restriction of the mainland, with its indoor
spaces mapped and allocated for specific functions. Grania, like her namesake Grainne Mhaol, is
comfortable on the Ocean, where the blurring between ocean and sky symbolizes a place where
constructed social expectation is overturned (226). Grania can celebrate strength rather than foreground
vulnerability, and negotiate with Murdough as an equal. She knew that she was strong, and took an
immense pride in her own strength (84). Other female characters have a less developed agency, but they
still understand the limitations of the female position. But tis the real born fool she will be if she does
marry him (88) remarks one of the older ladies on the island, understanding that Murdough will
undermine Granias innate sense of power.
Granias sister, who inhabits the domestic, feminized spaces of the mainland house, is a foil to the
chaotic restlessness of Grania. She is ill, symbolic of the decline of the spirit in such limiting
circumstance. Honors work is dutiful and debilitating. As long as it had been possible she had gone on
working, long indeed, after she ought to have ceased to do so (97). Grania admires her sister. She
respects her and is prepared to be taught by her, but she rejects the priests who she doesnt know or have
any need for. I dont want none of them to be learning me, only you, Honor so, I do not, she said
irritably. I couldnt bear to be driven or bid by any of them (100). ). Granias altruism is her ultimate
downfall: she searches for the priests for whom she has no respect because she knows it will make her
dying sister happy.
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Grania rejects traditional chivalry and has no truck with outward displays of frailty, decorum or
traditional feminine mores. When Phelim, the young boy with vivid dreams is in the house, Grania
instinctively gives up her bed and looks out for the young boy. Grania accordingly made him lie down
close to the wall, upon the sort of make shift of a bed which filled the corner where she herself slept
(171). On a trip to Galway, Murdoch deserts her promising to return soon. She was not frightened by
the crowd, for that was not her way (233). Despite being entirely out of her usual surroundings Grania is
concerned not by the new place and people but the rude shovingthe pushing of people about her all
offended her dignity. Once she reached the mainland she had to conform to the lack of manners and the
lack of space she was granted on her island and she begins to feel dehumanized in this abrupt society.
Even though Grania has met only a handful of eligible husbands through her life, she knows that
she deserves to be with someone who is of a decent standard. She argues with Murdoch and explains that
the man she will marry will work hard, and not drinkIt is a good man and a faithful man, and a man
that will love me, and care me, that is the sort of man that I want (263). Without having had particularly
strong role models, Grania appreciates her own worth. Later in the story, Grania decides that she does
love Murdoch, but questions the maternal instinct that is assumed to be innate and natural to the female.
Why, above all, should they marry and bring more wretched creatures into the world, if this was to be
the way out of? (118-19). As Meaney observes, such dark thoughts would have seemed unnatural in
the 1890s (164). Granias drowning is the symbolic expression of her choice of the ocean as the only
location that can accommodate her. The Island is dominated by the archaic Murdough and offers her no
room, the mainland and its domestic spaces are also alien to her nature. While her death is tragic, and also
shows the hostility of a patriarchal church which refuses her, her own refusal to submit to the limited
choice between the island and the mainland is an act of rebellion.
In Edna OBriens Country Girls Caithlin paves her own path from a small lackluster village to
an independent life in the city. Caithlin is an only child and her mother mysteriously disappears,
presumed dead while Caithlin is still in school. Caithlin becomes the focal point of her fathers bullying
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and she learns that his approval or guidance is neither forthcoming nor necessary. She leaves her home
and moves in with Baba, who also is over- powering and domineering. Despite Babas attitude, Caithlin
remains loyal, conscious of Babas manipulative nature, but calm and measured in her dealings with her.
Babas plan to abandon boarding school is equally manipulated by Caithlin. Caithlin knows that Baba
will be blamed for leading both of them astray - Babas father even apologizes for his daughters
troublesome nature and expresses his longing for a daughter more like Caithlin.
Caithlin exchanges school for the irresistible lure of the exotic world of the city. Like Granias
experience of the ocean, the complications and restrictions of social order are blurred in a space where
more freedom and agency is permitted. Caithlin swaps the stresses of her fathers alcoholism, her
mothers suspicious demise and the general claustrophobia of rural Ireland for a life of clothes, cosmetics
and cigarettes. Baba and Caithlin begin to realize the power of their own sexuality, as they flirt and
celebrate their bodies and their youth. Caithlins emerging sense of self is also tempered by a healthy self-
respect, and although her language suggests innocence and naivety, the city becomes a playground where
both girls can mediate and consider opportunities for relationship s without the darkness and secrecy
suggested in their domestic experiences (Callahan 57). Even though Mr. Gentleman appears to have
Caithlin under his spell, she senses his guilt and discomfort, and his awareness of his sexual exploitation
of a young girl is as palpable as her awareness of her sexuality. In a powerfully charged scene, the two
undress in the sitting room of her boarding house. She stands proud of her curvy feminine shape and
aware of her power: he becomes self-conscious. She is enthusiastic about traveling to Vienna with Mr.
Gentleman and even models a nightdress for her landlady while packing. There is no reluctance in
Caithlins character; she chases what she thinks will make her happy. Even when Mr. Gentleman does not
meet her to fly to Vienna, we are confident Caithlin will quickly pick herself up and move on. Though
the city and society is harsh, it has toughened her and taught her that other opportunities will present
themselves.
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In each of these novels, the protagonist has significant emotional baggage that has been
delivered courtesy of a dysfunctional family. This inheritance, from de Valeras insular and priest-ridden
construction of Ireland in 1939 is always present, though vigorously resisted. Rural Ireland is seen as the
bastion of these old-fashioned values, and a connection between the nostalgic or mythical Ireland and
female oppression is clearly implied. In order to create a new paradigm for female agency, the mythology
of rural Ireland must be unpacked, and revealed for what it was: a misogynistic and unhappy platform that
could only offer a repetition of history. Rural Ireland is inert, insular and suffocating. Grania does not
escape from it, but the passage from Island to mainland symbolizes that travel, distance and movement
are her only hope. Caithlin and Eva relocate to the city, and experience a place where the past can be
rejected for a new present. The new present is not idealized, however, and the narratives focus on their
struggle to resolve the influences of the past with the new realities open to them. In a literary sense,
women writers also had to move into a new territory, and begin to challenge the literary frameworks
constructed by male authors and poets. Irish womens writing has too often been subsumed and thereby
swallowed up, in an Irish literary canon and an Irish critical tradition constructed by male scholars
(Ingman 2).
The conflicts of the female characters reflect the same desire of women writers to flex a muscle in
a space where they were expected to accede to a male hegemony. This must include female sexuality,
gender constructions and a space that can explore the female condition without using a male gaze. As
Jeffers says, Irish novels in the last decade of the twentieth century push the heterosexualist culture to
see its inbuilt gender identifications, and needless to say; this is not a comfortable or easy process. Irish
religious, gender, sexual and material precedents in fiction that overtly challenge heterosexual culture and
regulation are basically nonexistent. Jeffers also draws attention to the problems inherent in addressing
that the master narratives of Irish experience, such as revolution, political upheaval, religious oppression
and high politics are already couched in a gendered language. When women attempt to unite as a
gendered political group, they face the situation that both sides of the political debate are equally invested
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in patriarchal status quo and, of course, this status quo has established a priori its political, religious, and
racial allegiance (Ingman 25).
The difficult and slippery wrestling of Grania, Caithlin and Eva with the relationships that haunt
or threaten their futures become a metaphor for the difficult task of female Irish writers to take on those
very visible male forefathers, those almost invisible women whose work was ignored, and the challenge
of making a comfortable space in which their own talent and creativity will be acknowledged. It is not
enough to be on the margins of the 21
st
century, or to be included as token women writers in anthologies
and collections. The space that womens writing occupies must also be accessible to the readers, not a
remote island or a chaotic metropolis of confusion. There is no doubt that the current generation of Irish
women respond to Grania-when it is made available to them-with a great sense of approbation, as a
realism which they missed in more canonical texts (Meaney 164). Like Eva and Grania, women writers
are pushing boundaries and looking to express the world in their own terms and with their own language.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Calahan, James M. Forging a Tradition: Emily Lawless and the Irish Literary Canon Colby Quarterly
27:1 March 63-1-1991
Fogarty, Anne Uncanny Families: Neo-Gothic Motifs and the Theme of Social Change in Contemporary
Irish Women's Fiction." Irish University Review 30.1 (2000): 59-81. Print.
Fogarty, Anne. "Deliberately Personal? The Politics of Identity in Contemporary Irish Women's Writing."
Nordic Irish Studies 1 (2002). Print.
Houston, Nains J. How Irish Women Writers Portray Masculinity (Wales: The Edwin Mellen Press Ltd.,
2006).
Ingman, Heather Twentieth-Century Fiction by Irish Women, Nation and Gender (Hampshire: Ashgate,
2007).
Kilroy, Claire Tenderwire (Orlando: Harcourt Books,2006).
Jeffers, Jennifer M. The Irish Novel at the End of the Twentieth Century, Gender, Bodies and Power
(Hampshire: Palgrave, 2002).
Lawless, Emily Grania The Story of an Island (New York: Macmillan, 1892).
Matthews-Kane, Bridget Making for the Open: Colby Quarterly 33: 3 September 59-1-1997
Meaney, Geraldine, Decadence, Degeneration and Revolting Aesthetics: The Fiction of Emily Lawless
and Katherine Cecil Thurston Colby Quarterly 36.2 (2000).
O Brien, Edna The Country Girls (London: Penguin Books, 1963).
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