In An Only Child (1963), Frank O'Connor comments on the social distinction
between '"hatties" and "shawlies"--the poorest of the poor' during his
childhood in Cork (1903-ca.1917). He hated to see his mother in a shawl,
and the photgraph of her (with him as an infant on her lap) which is the
frontispiece for the book, shows her in a hat. But when times got rough
because of his father's drinking, she might wrap herself up in a shawl when
she went to get drink for him (a better option than letting him go to the
pub himself). She could hide in the shawl and would not be readily
identifiable to the neighbours.
The brief passage is in the first chapter of the book.
Ruth Sherry
At 08:51 18.05.2005 +0930, you wrote:
>If anyone has done any study on Irish women's dress in the nineteenth
>century, I would appreciate some feedback on the apparently strange sight
>of Irish women in South Australia in 1845 ' without bonnets and their
>cloaks thrown over their heads'.
>Slán
>
>Dymphna
Ruth Sherry
Professor of English Literature
Department of Modern Languages/Institutt for moderne fremmedsprĺk
Section for English/Engelskseksjon
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)/
Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet (NTNU)
7491 Trondheim
Norway/Norge
phone +47 73596783 direct line/direkte innvalg //73596778 Section
office/Kontor for engelskseksjon
fax +47 73596770
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