Nuorten miesten kirjeitse ohjailemat seurustelusuhteet 1800-luvun lopun sisäsuomalaisella maaseudulla

Authors

• Pasi Saarimäki

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30666/elore.79151

Abstract

The article examines how courtships between young men and women developed towards marriage and how these intimate relationships ended in the District Court of Keuruu in rural Central Finland in the late 19th century. The main source material for the article was twelve personal letters sent by men to their companions, which mothers of illegitimate children presented to the court in the course of child maintenance cases in order to proof their claims about sexual activity. The article is linked to the interdisciplinary field of historical research that examines texts produced by common, uneducated people. These texts make it possible to investigate their own actions, thoughts and emotions. The article argues that by way of these letters men seek to govern their relationships. First, the article discusses how men contributed to courtships towards marriage with the help of emotional expressions and by arranging personal appointments. Furthermore, it is possible to examine the phenomena related to courtship culture: appointments, person-to-person engagements, promises of marriage and sex. In the final part of the article, examination is focused both on the causes for the termination of courtships and men’s reactions to pregnancy and childbirth. Men’s confusion was expressed by way of romantic emotional expressions, comments on the child’s illegitimate origin, and jealous outbursts.