Amongst Women

Set in the mid-20th century, Amongst Women explores the aftereffects of Ireland’s War of Independence and the changes the country went through as the Republic of Ireland built its own nation.

Moran, the central character of the novel, is a veteran of the Irish War of Independence. This war was fought between 1919 and 1921 and ended with the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. The War of Independence was fought between the Irish Republican Army (IRA), a militia military, and the British Army. However, the War of Independence was complicated by a simultaneous civil war, as there were Irish people who fought on the side of the British. A militia nicknamed the Black and Tans was funded and supported by the British Army to wreak havoc on the IRA during the war. Thus, the Irish War of Independence was difficult and complex. When the IRA won the war, they brought an end to centuries of colonization and oppression at the hands of the British. However, many British loyalists in the North of Ireland wanted to remain part of Great Britain. This led to the official division of the island of Ireland into the Republic of Ireland (independent of Great Britain, consisting of 28 counties) and Northern Ireland (under British rule, consisting of eight counties). This decision was controversial and remains a source of tension in Ireland. The division of Ireland into two separate states led to decades of violence referred to as the Troubles, which officially ended in 1998 when the Good Friday Agreement was signed. Moran is bitter about the outcome of the war. He is a nationalist, but he is disappointed that Irish people continue to emigrate to England for work. He also feels rejected by his society, even though he sacrificed so much to help win Ireland’s victory.

While Ireland was under British rule, restrictive laws prevented the Irish from owning their own land. British systems made Irish farmers serfs and didn’t support them when a potato blight led to a famine that killed hundreds of thousands of Irish people and forced out an additional estimated 1 million. When Ireland became free of British rule, they were finally able to create a nation that centered their own interests, and Irish people were able to own their own land. Thus, Moran’s farm is important to him because it is a symbol of his freedom.

In the decades following the Irish War of Independence, the Irish government and the Catholic Church were partners in creating new laws and institutions. Many of these laws restricted women’s autonomy, and patriarchal family structures and traditional Catholic values dictated daily life. Some of the laws reinforcing these norms included bans on contraception, abortion, divorce, and women working in the public sector. These laws were in place until relatively recently; contraception for unmarried people without a prescription was legalized in 1992, abortion was legalized in 2018, divorce was legalized in 1996, and married women were allowed in the public workforce in 1973. Marital rape was not banned in Ireland until 1990. With these strict laws and moral codes in place, many Irish women were sent to institutions known as Magdalene Laundries for violating social norms, typically around sex.

Moran’s daughters’ decisions to leave the family farm are reflected in this context, and it particularly explains Sheila’s resentment over being forced into the civil service. Generally, the girls need to leave the farm—and by extension, Ireland—to pursue careers. The transition from women working in the house to women working in society is a sign of modernity, but for Moran, who supports his daughters’ independence, it also signals the end of his farm. Moran’s sons are uninterested in taking over the farm, so Moran has no one to pass it to. As such, the family history reflects the tension between traditional Irish values like landownership and controlling one’s destiny with the pull of the modern world, which includes gender equality. Many family farms, particularly in the west of Ireland, ultimately ended when newer generations of Irish youth pursued education, careers, and individual pursuits. Amongst Women has universal themes, but the intricacies of the novel are specific to Ireland. Moran’s lack of character development is indicative of his upbringing and his ties to the past, whereas his children’s character development parallels the development of a modern, free nation.