'If only I shall have the right stuff': Unmasking the narrative of women one story at a time.

摘要

Recent work in the integrated fields of feminist biography and history support the importance and power of uncovering the stories of ordinary yet ambiguous women who have refused to accept the narrative society laid out for them. These stories when told authentically require an approach to biography which recognizes gender as an overarching category, and not only acknowledges but celebrates the interrupted and unique pattern that permeate women's lives (Bateson 1989). The record of these women is rarely public, but rather found in private letters and diaries. Pealing away the layers of these personal documents often reveals a remarkable untold narrative that transforms evidence which heretofore has hidden the leadership of women from the cultural, social, and economic history of our world.;In this study Maud's letters are the centerpiece for uncovering her ambiguity and telling her story in a way that acknowledges the facts and objective conditions of her life, but also breaks through to her subjectivity and discovers what really rang true for her both as a women and an individual. (Barry 1998) I also explore the context of Maud's life and ascertain how the rhythms of her story both echoed and countered the social, economic and cultural themes of her time. In studying Maud's life I cannot claim to have found a universal truth, but rather an amalgam of paradoxes held together by a clear sense of purpose and an ability to adapt as her reality changed shape. It is in Maud's clear sense of purpose and adaptability I discovered a powerful way of leading replete with both personal and professional applications.;In 1991 I discovered a notebook of letters written by my great aunt, Maud Fitch Hilsdale. The letters tell the story of a thirty-six year old prefeminist, post-Victorian woman, who in spite of their grave misgivings, convinced her parents to finance her dream to become an ambulance driver on the French Front. Maud spent the better part of 1918 working for the war effort, and her letters tell a remarkable story of adventure, courage, determination and leadership.