He said, she said: Blame and repudiation between husbands and wives in Caribbean newspapers

We’re celebrating the publication of AM’s first module of Caribbean Newspapers from the Twentieth Century, which features a rich trove of newspaper reportage on domestic and international events and news, opinion pieces, official notices and more from across the Caribbean. The joy of using newspapers for teaching and research rests in the variety of disciplines that can benefit from their contents. From politics, international relations and war and conflict, to sports, weather, entertainment, economics and recipes, there’s something for every researcher among these pages. 

Newspapers aren’t only filled with history defining headlines, but they’re also filled with personal stories that, on an individual level, represent a huge change in daily lives. In this blog, we’ll be exploring the ways in which residents of Trinidad used their press to wash their hands of their husbands and wives.

Perusing the public notices published in the Port of Spain Gazette, it is common to encounter notices from husbands who are repudiating their wives and wives who are repudiating their husbands. These notices, though very similar in style and tone, often contain language differences that show how gender roles were perceived during this time.

The example notices above are quite typical of husbands, who are keen to let the public know that they are ‘no longer responsible’ for their wives. The notices are often lacking specific details of personal circumstances, however, they often always emphasise that their wives are no longer under ‘their protection’ having ‘left my home’, usually ‘without just cause of provocation’. The husbands, in this language, are not accepting any blame for their wives; they are neither accepting responsibility for their leaving and are no longer accepting responsibility for their actions. A repeating statement across such notices include money and debts; essentially, the husbands are making it clear they are no longer financially providing for their wives. 

The wives, in turn, are just as eager to have their say, though sometimes the details and the language used in their notices differ. Wives will adopt the same language to make it clear that they are no longer responsible, or accepting responsibility, for their husbands. Some notices echo the language used by husbands, noting that they are ‘no longer under his care or protection’, whereas others simply choose to omit this language. Money is also a repeated image, with the wives not accepting responsibility for their husbands’ financial circumstances. Some details are left unsaid; in the examples above, Mahadya notes that she was ‘deserted’, but Irene and Lilina do not provide further information. This is interesting because the husbands’ notices were often keen to make it known that their wives had left ‘their home’. We do not know whether Irene and Lilina have been left or have chosen to leave, and we could argue that Mahadya is the only individual in these examples to explicitly blame her husband for her current situation.

Not all notices are solely about relationships lost; some notices highlight plans to remarry but do carry a note of blame towards the other party:

But are these notices sufficient for a person to be able to legally remarry? Not completely. Section 55 of the Offences Against the Person Act (1925) noted that a person could remarry without committing bigamy if their spouse had been continually absent for seven years or had not been known to be living during that time. For Hilda and Vincent, it has been eight years and twenty-two years respectively since they have heard or seen from their estranged spouses. In these notices, they’re both demonstrating that the required amount of time has passed, as well as creating evidence of their last efforts to locate or contact their current spouse, and protect themselves from accusations of bigamy. If they hear nothing, they can presume their spouse is deceased and can tie the knot again.

There are many more stories to be found in these newspapers that provide daily insights into the highs and lows of those living in the Caribbean. 

For more information about Caribbean Newspapers from the Twentieth Century, including pricing, please request a demo.