Journal article
Recasting Scottish Fisherwomen in Song: Baroness Nairne's "Caller Herrin'"
Women's writing : the Elizabethan to Victorian period, Vol.27(4), pp.484-497
10/01/2020
DOI: 10.1080/09699082.2020.1776003
Abstract
During the Victorian period, Carolina Oliphant (Baroness Nairne) was instrumental in revising negative stereotypes of Scottish fisherwomen circulating in contemporary literary works, such as Walter Scott's The Antiquary (1816), Robert Tannahill's "Caller Herrin" (1808/1876), and Charles Reade's Christie Johnstone (1853). Her art-trade song "Caller Herrin'" (ca. 1821-24), which she wrote to accompany Nathaniel Gow's air (1798 or 1799), elevates empathy over parody and deflects ridicule of Newhaven's working fisherwomen. This article argues that Nairne's song influenced audiences far beyond the insular community it portrays, both empowering the voices of these Scottish working-class women and underscoring the rich plurality of female experience. Building upon recent scholarship about Nairne and the significance of the song tradition in imagining the Scottish nation, I contextualize a close reading of "Caller Herrin'" by exploring work by British reviewers, contemporary writers and musicians, and innovative photographers Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill, whose sociological documentation of the Newhaven community informed fictional portrayals of fisherwomen. The abiding representation of these forthright Scottish women and their recognizable song counters more dominant narratives about Scotland and leaves an enduring musical legacy that expands understandings of Newhaven's vibrant fisherwomen.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Recasting Scottish Fisherwomen in Song: Baroness Nairne's "Caller Herrin'"
- Creators
- Anne McKee Stapleton - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Women's writing : the Elizabethan to Victorian period, Vol.27(4), pp.484-497
- Publisher
- Routledge
- DOI
- 10.1080/09699082.2020.1776003
- ISSN
- 0969-9082
- eISSN
- 1747-5848
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/01/2020
- Academic Unit
- English
- Record Identifier
- 9984397926402771
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