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Disappointing women – Female Mobility between Expectations and Experiences (17th to 20th Centuries)

Conference at the German Historical Institute in Paris (also via zoom) 28.-29.05.2026

Credits: Ivan Kramskoy, Portrait of a Women, 1883 (wikimedia)

It is indisputable that experiences of mobility and migration have been part of the reality of life for many women and girls – all throughout history and not just abord ships. The mobility of women, whether as daughters, wives, or widows, as workers, nuns, entrepreneurs, or activists, was associated not only with gender-specific expectations, but often also with specific experiences.

Research must therefore equaly consider the expectations that were held by the women themselves as well as by those supporting or opposing their mobility – and their individual experiences shaped by factors such as social and geographical origin, status, age, religious, ethnic, and family affiliation.

The upcoming workshop at the German Historical Institute in Paris picks up on this and asks how historical actors reflected on, interpreted, and communicated experiences of mobility that contradicted previous expectations. Our basic question is: What constituted a disappointment for mobile women and how did they maybe disappoint the expectations of others?

Jules Girardet, Depart en Voyage de Noces, ca. 1890; wikimedia

This seemingly simple question deserves of course some elaboration. The history of gender-specific mobility, especially female mobility, has become an established topic of historical research over the past twenty years. In contrast to older assumptions, recent research has not only revealed the extensive extent of female mobility but has also highlighted the wide range of different experiences of women and girls. The spectrum ranges from female educational and marital mobility, to urban-rural migration of female servants and other forms of labor mobility, to mobility in the context of family migration or political activism. Recent work has mostly emphasized female agency and the opportunities and possibilities associated with mobility, such as securing a livelihood, social advancement, and self-determination. However, women’s mobility often came with particular constraints, challenges, and disappointments that influenced their experiences and decision-making processes and, in turn, shaped future expectations and memories.

The tension that could arise between expectations and contradictory experiences will be explored in greater depth during the workshop. The expectations and experiences of mobile actors themselves will be considered, as well as interpretations and reflections by third parties (e.g., relatives, institutions, peers) on female mobility, as expressed in letters, diaries, memoirs, and travelogues, but also in public debates, the media, official writings, and tracts on female mobility. Accordingly, the workshop asks how historical actors interpreted discrepancies between expectations and experiences. The focus is therefore not on measuring the objective success or failure of mobility or migration policy, but on perceptions and attributions of meaning in the face of such experiences.

Thomas Hemy, The Women and children evacuating the sinking HMS Birkenhead, 1892. (Wikimedia)

Recent studies on historical ‘failure’ have shown how varied interpretations of disappointed expectations could be. For example, they could be relativized as partial successes or important life experiences, denied by assigning blame, or openly presented as tales of woe or calls to action. A state of ‘disappointment’ was not the only way to react to outcomes that did not match earlier expectations – but surely an important one that carried emotional weight. This connects the conference well to the history of emotions. By analyzing historically varying expressions of and reactions to ‘disappointment’ we hope to contribute to a better understanding of a seemingly omnipresent emotion. But our question goes beyond ‘disappointment’ when we ask which of the different possible interpretations and reactions actors chose in which contexts. In doing so, we try to respect the agency of the actors, on the one hand, and to open up new insights into the expectations and perceptions of female mobility, on the other.

The conference brings together researchers from all over Europe and from different career levels who will present original research in English and French. It is organized by Jan Simon Karstens, Eva Seemann and Hannah Tulay who co-authored this text.

The program with all speakers, topics and the detailed schedule is available on the Homepage of the hosting institution,

If you are in Paris and plan to join in person for one or several presentations, please announce your participation via Mail to jansimon.karstens[at]dhi-paris.fr

Furthermore, everybody is welcome to join via zoom and engage in discussions with the speakers and organizers. For a zoom link please register under the respective date at: https://www.dhi-paris.fr/de/termindetails/vor-ort-und-online-umgehen-mit-enttaeuschungen.html


Nur der Text ist unter der Lizenz Creative Commons Namensnennung-Nicht kommerziell-Keine Bearbeitungen 4.0 International nutzbar. Alle anderen Elemente (Abbildungen, importierte Anhänge) sind „Alle Rechte vorbehalten“, sofern nicht anders angegeben.


OpenEdition schlägt Ihnen vor, diesen Beitrag wie folgt zu zitieren:
Simon Karstens (27. April 2026). Disappointing women – Female Mobility between Expectations and Experiences (17th to 20th Centuries). Identifying Maritime Women in the Age of Sail. Abgerufen am 11. Mai 2026 von https://doi.org/10.58079/1656b


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