Eva Slawson and Minna Simmons met in Walthamstow in 1911 and formed a very intimate relationship. Both heavily involved in women’s rights groups, the contents of letters and diaries which the pair wrote have suggested to historians that there was an erotic dimension to their friendship. Their story is an excellent reminder that it was not just through organised strikes or protests that women would challenge the position which society set out for them; for most, it was small, every-day acts that gave them a glimpse of freedom.

Eva’s Early Life

While not much is known about the two women, particularly Minna, historians have managed to detail small parts of Eva’s life thanks to the publication of her diaries and letters in Dear Girl: The Diaries and Letters of Two Working Women (1897-1917).

Eva was born in 1882 as an illegitimate child, which led to her being raised by her grandparents who owned a small bakery in East London. Eva’s childhood was spent in the balance between poverty and lower middle-class life however, she was lucky to have extremely supportive grandparents who worked hard to save money for her future. Using this money, Eva was able to begin shorthand and typing classes, which eventually led to her finding a job as a secretary.

‘White-blouse work’

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, clerical work was an expanding sector and women were being recruited into these roles at a higher rate than men. While there are a number of negative reasons for this – women were generally expected to be paid less than men as to do otherwise would have ‘insulted their gentility’ – this new avenue for work allowed those middle class women who were frustrated with their situation a route towards greater freedoms. At a time when they had very little autonomy over their own lives, this gave women a degree of independence and became an active step that they could take towards their own economic emancipation.

Eva was someone who benefited greatly from this increasing social mobility. Although she began her work life in domestic service, the extra classes which she took allowed her to transcend that position and secure a job in a solicitor’s office. While working there, she continued with her evening classes – now in grammar, literature, and French – and managed to earn a salary of £1.6s per week (this would calculate to around £200 today).

Moving to Walthamstow

Eva’s next step was a move to Walthamstow, and this is where she would eventually meet Minna. Upon her move, Eva became involved in the Congregational Chapel which at the time, was led by the infamous Mr James.

Mr James was known for delivering progressive sermons which addressed women’s suffrage, social justice issues, and pacifism. This inspired Eva to a great extent, pushing her to become the Superintendent of the Church’s Girls’ League and Women’s Conference. She also became involved in the Women’s Labour League in 1909, The Freewoman Discussion Circle in 1912, and the Women’s Freedom League. Mr James on the other hand, grew to infamy for his numerous affairs with members of his own congregation before converting to Catholicism and travelling around the world to teach others about the Catholic faith.

His extra-marital affairs, however, provide our first introduction to Minna, who wrote about at least one physical encounter which she had with him in a letter from 1916:

“Well dear, we went into the front room alone and he kissed me, opened my dress and kissed my breasts too and he said how he felt I was his. He was going to go away when he came back and pleaded with me dear to give him everything a woman can give a man. I told him I was sure we should regret it but no dear anything that would make me his. Well, dear, I did.”

Meeting Minna

It was at the Congregational Church that Eva and Minna first met. Minna was married to a Will Simmons upon their meeting and had three children with him. Sadly, however, he passed away from tuberculosis in 1914, whilst she was carrying their fourth child.

From this point, Eva stayed at Minna’s home a lot and they became very close companions. Their letters and diaries detail the relationship that they had and upon Eva’s death in 1916, Minna wrote the following to a friend:

“O Eva, Never to feel your arms around me again. Never to hear you say, ‘O Minna,’ never to sleep with you again and hear you say, ‘I do love you,’ this is really to suffer”

The word ‘lesbian’ was not widely used at this time and there was a significant lack of any universal language to describe sexual relationships between women.

Both Eva and Minna were women who rejected traditional views of their sex. They believed that “women, women’s friendship, and women’s issues came first”, and this in itself was a radical concept (Summerfield, p.596). Both shunned marriage and children and indeed Eva once wrote, “Do I not know from experience, the deep, tender friendship and heart to heart communion possible between women?”.

Friendships such as Eva’s and Minna’s were not actually uncommon in the late 19th century and it was widely accepted that romantic relationships between women would flourish out of their shared existence in the private sphere. What makes Eva and Minna’s special is the documentation of their intimacy at a time when opinion was beginning to change; as the concept of ‘sexual inversion’ became popularised at the turn of the century, relationships which were once perfectly acceptable became seen as sexually deviant.

While we must be careful not to label Eva and Minna as something which they did not identify with themselves, their intimate friendship and rejection of gender, societal, and sexual norms can be seen as a radical act; particularly, when paired with their dedication to the female cause and suffrage movements.

Author

Indigo Atherton is a third-year student of English and History, who has lived in Tower Hamlets for the nearly three years. Her interests include feminism(s), gender, and the history of minorities; she is due to begin studying a Masters in Gender, Sexuality and Society in October.

Sources

• T.G. Ashplant, ‘‘The Narrow Margin of Long Days of Toil’: Class and Education in the Writings of Ruth Slate’ in A. Donnell et al. (eds.), Representing Lives, (Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan 2000)

• Erin Blakemore, ‘Women Got ‘Married’ Long Before Gay Marriage’, History, https://www.history.com/news/women-got-married-long-before-gay-marriage

• Anne Bridger, A Century of Women’s Employment in Clerical Occupations: 1850- 1950, 2003, University of Gloucestershire

• Paul Gasson, ‘Passion in the Pulpit’, Walthamstow Village Residents’ Association, https://www.walthamstowvillage.net/passion-in-the-pulpit/

• Janice Raymond, A Passion for Friends: Toward a Philosophy of Female Affection, (North Melbourne: Spinifex Press, 2003) (title quote)

• Penny Summerfield, review of ‘Dear Girl: The Diaries and Letters of Two Working Women 1897-1917’, Victorian Studies, 32 (4), 1989, pp.595-597

• Gillan Sutherland, In Search of the New Woman: Middle-Class Women and Work in Britain 1870-1914 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015), pp.87-115

• Waltham Forest Echo, ‘The East End women who fought for gay rights’, Waltham Forest Echo, http://walthamforestecho.co.uk/the-east-end-women-who-fought-for- gay-rights/

Further Reading

• Tierl Thompson, Dear Girl: The Diaries and Letters of Two Working Women, 1897- 1917, (The Women’s Press, 1987)