Storytelling, women's authority and the 'Old-Wife's Tale': 'The Story of the Bottle of Medicine'

Abrams, L. (2012) Storytelling, women's authority and the 'Old-Wife's Tale': 'The Story of the Bottle of Medicine'. History Workshop Journal, 73(1), pp. 95-117. (doi: 10.1093/hwj/dbr058)

Abstract

The focus of this article is a single personal narrative – a Shetland woman’s telling of a story about two girls on a journey to fetch a cure for a sick relative from a wise woman. The story is treated as a cultural document which offers the historian a conduit to a past that is respectful of indigenous woman-centred interpretations of how that past was experienced and understood. The ‘story of the bottle of medicine’ is more than a skilful telling of a local tale; it is a memory practice that provides a path to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of a culture. Applying perspectives from anthropology, oral history and narrative analysis, three sets of questions are addressed: the issue of authenticity; the significance of the narrative structure and storytelling strategies employed; and the nature of the female performance. Ultimately the article asks what this story can tell us about women’s interpretation of their own history.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Shetland, storytelling, oral history
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Abrams, Professor Lynn
• Authors: Abrams, L.
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D204 Modern History
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
• Journal Name: History Workshop Journal
• Journal Abbr.: HWJ
• ISSN: 1363-3554
• ISSN (Online): 1477-4569
• Published Online: 14 February 2012