Norwegian American Women: Migration, Communities, and Identities

by Betty A. Bergland (Editor), Lori Ann Lahlum (Editor)

The history of Norwegian settlement in the United States has often been told through the eyes of prominent men, while the women are imagined in the form of O. E. Rølvaag’s fictionalized heroine Beret Holm, who made the best of life on the frontier but whose gaze seemed ever fixed on her long-lost home. The true picture is more complex. In an area spanning the Midwest and rural West and urban areas such as Seattle, Chicago, and Brooklyn, Norwegian American women found themselves in varied circumstances, ranging from factory worker to domestic, impoverished to leisured. Offering a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach, Norwegian American Women: Migration, Communities, and Identities considers the stories of this immigrant group through a gendered lens.

Nine noted scholars situate these women in the history, literature, politics, and culture of both their ancestral home and the new land, interpreting their multifarious lives and the communities they helped build. pieces on wide-ranging topics by Betty A. Bergland, Laurann Gilbertson, Karen v. Hansen, Lori Ann Lahlum, Ann M. Legreid, Odd S. Lovoll, Elisabeth Lønnå, David C.
Mauk, and Ingrid K. Urberg are bookended by Elizabeth Jameson’s lively foreword and Dina Tolfsby’s detailed bibliography, comprising a collection that enlightens at the same time that it inspires further investigations into the lives of women in Norwegian America.

Betty A. Bergland is professor of history at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls. Lori Ann Lahlum is associate professor of history at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Scandinavian Literature

356 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2011

Reviews

[Chelsea Grieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this anthology. It speaks to the areas that have been missed in traditional scholarship, because women's lives weren't considered important. It also speaks to the areas that are still missing and in need of exploration, such as the lives of lower class women.

[Audrey Webster · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rough going through whole book. Didn’t read last chapter. Whole book group felt the same book. Felt maybe good for research.

[Shell Ballenger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read. I wish I would have had the time to read it a little quicker and less fragmented. I will most likely read this book again so that I can understand some of the concepts better. There were some parts where things were repeated or some of the information got a little dry but then there were also pages that I didn't want to tear my eyes away from. It provided a great read to get away from my studies and gave me a lot of wonderful information about my Norwegian ancestors and their struggles, successes and daily activities.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to read about what our ancestors' lives might have been, filling in the picture of why they left Norway.