The Living Mountain author, Nan Shepard is going to be the first woman on a Scottish bank note which is awesome but if I was to suggest someone from history to further immortalise it would be Jane Armour.
Literature is one of the main things I very much admire about Scotland’s history and Catherine Czerkawska‘s historical novel The Jewel about the life of Jean Armour, who is best known as the wife of famous poet Robert Burns is an inspiring and romantic read. Reading her story and then hearing about the research involved in putting the book together directly from the author was a very interesting and immersive experience.
Jean Armour had some fantastic virtues that I found very admirable and she is a still very relevant and strong role model for modern women. Here are a few virtues that stood out to me:
1) She was emotionally intelligent – I very much admire how Jean Armour speaks the truth when she is asked about her emotions regardless of the social culture at the time. When Robert Burns asked her if she was jealous she replied honestly without any apparent hesitation. This frank way of expressing your emotional needs is a lot simpler than most 20-something’s relationship habits. If a relationship can get to this level of honesty with those matters, it would save a lot of time.
One thing that I found amazing was that the tears of Jean Armour can still be seen on the Kirk registrar where it is in archives today. She must have cried when she signed the apology for her sins.
2) She was strong-willed – For the first half of the book, wee Jeanie is pulled in two directions. Her husband and her father are at loggerheads over a major life decision that is truly hers to make, of course. However both people cared about her deeply so it must have been incredibly difficult. In the end, I felt the Jean’s character had blossomed as these lamenting stories often do to a person. She might not always get treated in a way that she deserves by her husband but she is very much the resounding voice of reason and justice in the household. Which brings me to my last point.
3) She knew the difference between right and wrong – Even though the behaviour of her husband left her feeling very hurt and children that was not her own to look after, she stayed with him and looked after them all equally. There was that double standard of “slut/stud” back then so her pregnancy, in what was in her eyes nothing but a loving relationship, had changed her image in history while her husband has been glorified.
So I would like to stridently and indignantly demand justice for the soul of this progressive thinker who was intelligent, well read and a beautiful singer as well as a loving mother and wife.
Quote of the day from Catherine Czerkawska: “I’ve just always really liked writing stories.” Enough said really, I thought.
The Story Café at the Glasgow Women’s Library is happening on Thursdays throughout the winter programme.
