Damsels Relieving Distress: The Role of Maritime Women in Relief Efforts Following The Halifax Explosion of 1917
Date
2025
Authors
Bates, Katie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Mount Saint Vincent University
Abstract
Historically, the figure of the ‘Maritime woman’ has been one portrayed in a singular
dimension that is informed by conflated middle-class eurocentric narratives. In reality, Maritime
women have always resided in a multi-dimensional space and, as such, were faced with societal
paradigms in which to grapple and live with. This element of multi-dimensionality is specifically
noted in analysing the roles which Maritime women held in the relief efforts following the
Halifax Explosion. This crisis invoked a suspension of societal norms in order to address and
minimize the harm inflicted on the Halifax population. Though relief efforts were informed by
pre-existing social networks that were influenced by class-dynamics, women nonetheless were
able to meaningfully participate in both the facilitation and organization of these relief efforts.
The variety of positions that women held in the relief efforts following the Halifax Explosion of
1917— in the context of both female collectives and female individuals— demonstrates the
multidimensionality and influence of twentieth-century Maritime women and the influence of the
social structures that informed their lives.