2017/04/13 by Tamara Chalabi · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Cultural History and Identity Formation #Historical Art and Culture Studies #Decadence, Literature, and Society #Mythology #Politics #Private life #Photography #State (computer science) #Art #Art history #Visual arts #Aesthetics #Sociology #History #Literature #Political science #Law #Computer science
paper · doi:10.5871/bacad/9780197266076.003.0007
openalex publication_date 2017/04/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
This chapter proposes to explore the writing of Gertrude Bell through a few prisms: first, her interest in history and archaeology, and second, her private letters. It will examine how Bell’s interest in archaeology mirrored her interest in politics: just as in her political role, in which she was building a state, Bell attempted through her archaeological work and photography to create a mythology about the Orient. Bell’s private letters also provide an insight into how she interacted with men and the role of this interaction in realising her political aims and in shaping her life. The chapter will examine how these interactions were informed by attitudes towards women in the Victorian world she inhabited, whether in England or the Middle East.