‘We are not so old as the ladies used to be when I was a girl’. Time, atemporality and female ageing in Cranford

A talk by Dr Sara Zadrozny, University of Oxford, Department for Continuing Education

The census of 1851, the year in which “Our Society at Cranford” first appeared in Household Words, provoked concerns in society about the rising numbers of “old maids”: unmarried middle-class women who were unlikely to find husbands. Cranford challenges these concerns, and the gerontological thinking of the time, by presenting a positive depiction of the experience of female ageing. The independent older ladies of the town form a resilient community where spinster status is not socially ruinous. In addition, Gaskell’s writing works in part to reverse time and its meaning, rejuvenating Lady Glenmire into a blushing bride, returning Miss Matty to the long-lost love of her youth, and even revivifying Miss Betty Barker’s pet cow.  Sara’s talk will show just how Gaskell’s use of atemporality operates to counter mid-Victorian categorisations about aging females and to expose the limits of contemporary medical and literary opinions about the older woman.

London meetings take place at Francis Holland School, 39 Graham Terrace SW1W 8JF (Tube: Sloane Square). Doors open from 12.45 and you are welcome to join us for lunch (not provided – bring a packed lunch) before the talk. Tea/coffee and refreshments will be provided after the talk. Places are £10.00, payable in cash on the day. Booking is not necessary, although it would help our planning if you could let us know that you hope to come. Contact Jenny Keaveney 07791 309784 –