Pioneer women in education of the blind and the myth of motherhood

Authors

• Kari Huuskonen Helsingin yliopisto

Abstract

The article studies the public images of the pioneer blind-school teachers Mathilda Linsén (1831–1872) and Hanna Ingman (1845–1916) during the 1910s and the 1920s. The main primary sources used are two journals, Suomen Aistivialliskoulujen Lehti [Journal of the Finnish Schools for the Deaf and the Blind] and Sokeain Airut [The Herald of the Blind], which was published in Braille. The author approaches the public images of the pioneer teachers from three perspectives, analysing the myths produced and maintained in everyday life by the community of the blind. An essential concept in the analysis is the metaphor of motherhood, which depicts pioneer teachers’ roles in boarding schools as Christian, societal and martyr mothers.