Bad Bridget: Criminal and Deviant Irishwomen in North America, 1838-1918

当前流行的对移民邻居的厌恶表达，只不过是重复了当地新教徒普遍持有的历史观点，即与他们认为贫穷、无能、肮脏、酗酒、犯罪、不道德，更糟糕的是，天主教徒、爱尔兰移民生活在一起。社会和心理上的敌意和孤立充斥着历史记录。难怪爱尔兰人陷入困境、不幸和被视为离经叛道的道路。《坏布里奇特》是对19世纪和20世纪初三个北美城市——纽约、波士顿和多伦多——叛逆的爱尔兰裔女性的令人兴奋的研究，这三个城市是爱尔兰移民的主要目的地。拟议的项目首次将重点放在未能符合贞洁、道德和良好母性期望的爱尔兰移民身上，即从事婚外性行为的妇女、疏忽大意的母亲和罪犯。1838年至1918年间，超过565万移民离开爱尔兰前往北美。在19世纪末和20世纪初，女性乘客的数量超过了男性。这些爱尔兰妇女大多未婚，年龄在18岁到30岁之间，来自农村。他们的经历就像他们的个性和抱负一样多样化。一些移民把中产阶级的房子里看作仆人，而另一些人把妓院里看作妓女。一些人排队为丈夫和孩子购买食物，另一些人则作为被告站在法庭上。有些爱尔兰妇女自愿进入宗教修道院，有些则被迫进入监狱。因此，关注从事婚外性行为的爱尔兰移民妇女，忽视母亲和罪犯将为爱尔兰女性移民到北美的熟悉叙述提供一个新的视角。这一分析将突出“美国梦”的多方面经历。调查人员对爱尔兰女性性行为和犯罪行为进行的单作者研究突出了对这些主题进行详细研究可以获得的丰富见解。通过对流动妇女亲密生活的分析，可以揭示很多关于求爱、婚姻和婚外关系的问题（主题1）。拟议中的项目还将揭示移民网络和生存策略的迷人本质。一项关于“坏”母亲的研究（主题2）揭示了对私生子的态度，对父母角色和责任的期望，并指出了孕妇或母亲可以获得的国家、教会、私人和家庭支持（或缺乏支持）。对犯罪行为的探讨（主题3）将突出一些移徙者在经济上的脆弱性，特别区域，特别是移徙群体中的犯罪网络的力量，以及对从事非法活动的非本国嫌疑犯的态度。对犯罪和警方资料的分析也将揭示爱尔兰移民女性是否更有可能被怀疑犯罪，更有可能被带到法庭，或者更有可能被判处监禁，而不是出生在美国或非爱尔兰的同行。对在美国的未婚爱尔兰女性的研究通常集中在家庭佣人、儿童看护或宗教姐妹身上。对爱尔兰移民的其他研究集中在婚姻、生育和生育率上。对性活跃的女性、离经叛道的母亲和罪犯这三条交织在一起的线索的考察，将为爱尔兰女性移民经历提供一种迄今为止尚未尝试过的另类描述。虽然在整个19世纪和20世纪初，北美的就业和其他机会吸引了爱尔兰人，但这三个特别选择的城市的特点和文化也促进了一种富有成效的比较方法

The current vogue expressions of loathing for immigrant neighbours no more than repeat commonly-held historical views of native Protestants about living beside what they perceived to be poor, feckless, dirty, drunken, criminal, immoral and, worse still, Catholic, Irish immigrants. Stories of social and psychological hostility and isolation litter the historical record. Small wonder the Irish fell on hard times, misfortune and what were viewed as deviant paths. 'Bad Bridget' is an exciting study of deviant Irish-born women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in three North American cities, New York, Boston and Toronto, key destinations on the Irish emigrant landscape. The proposed project focuses for the first time on Irish migrants who failed to conform to expectations of chastity, morality and good motherhood, namely women who engaged in sex outside marriage, neglectful mothers and criminals. Between 1838 and 1918, more than 5.65 million emigrants departed Ireland for North America. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, females outnumbered males among the passenger figures. These Irish women were predominantly unmarried, between the ages of eighteen and thirty, and from rural backgrounds. Their experiences would be as diverse as their personalities and aspirations. While some migrants saw the inside of middle-class homes as servants, others saw the inside of brothels as prostitutes. While some stood in line to purchase food for their husbands and children, others stood in courtrooms as defendants. While some Irishwomen voluntarily entered religious convents, others were forced to enter prison cells. A focus on Irish migrant women who engaged in sex outside marriage, neglectful mothers, and criminals will thus provide a fresh perspective on the familiar narrative of Irish female migration to North America. This analysis will highlight the multifaceted experiences of the 'American dream'. Single-authored research by the investigators on female sexuality and criminality in Ireland has highlighted the rich insights that can be gained from a detailed study of such topics. Through an analysis of the intimate lives of migrant women, much can be revealed about courtships, marriage and extra-marital relationships (theme 1). The proposed project will also shed much light on the fascinating nature of immigrant networks and survival strategies. A study of 'bad' motherhood (theme 2) uncovers attitudes towards illegitimacy, expectations of parental roles and responsibilities, and indicates the state, church, private and familial support (or lack thereof) available to pregnant women or mothers. An exploration of criminality (theme 3) will highlight the economic vulnerability of some migrants, the strengths of criminal networks in particular regions, especially among migrant groups, and attitudes towards non-native suspects who engaged in illegal activity. An analysis of crime and police sources will also reveal whether Irish migrant women were more likely to be suspected of criminality, more likely to be brought to court, or more likely to be sentenced to terms of imprisonment than their American-born or non-Irish counterparts. Studies of unmarried Irish women in the US have frequently focused on the domestic servant, the child-minder or the religious sister. Other studies of Irish migrants have concentrated on marriage, reproduction and fertility rates. An examination of the three intertwined strands of the sexually active woman, the deviant mother, and the criminal will offer an alternative account of the Irish female migrant experience than has hitherto been attempted. While employment and other opportunities in North America attracted the Irish throughout the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, the characteristics and cultures of the three specifically selected cities also facilitate a fruitful comparative approach