Abstract

Abstract:This paper connects geography, gender studies, and the histories of science and empire. It uses the framework of geography, exploration, and adventure travel to shed light on the interplay of gender, nationalism, and space in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century British society. During this period, the extent of the British Empire reached a peak, as did its sponsorship for exploration, and scores of men and a few women scrambled to fill in the world’s remaining blank spaces. Drawing on archival sources, travel accounts as well as contemporary scholarship, this study investigates the shifting identities of Victorian explorers. It connects British exploration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to broader societal norms of gender and nationalism, then it shows how female explorers both reaffirmed and challenged these traditional Victorian values. This investigation demonstrates that Victorian explorers were often self- described outsiders in British society who deliberately chose their profession as a vehicle for liberation or escape. Space played a critical role in these agents’ ability to both reaffirm and evade British national identity. British nationalist rhetoric celebrated such figures as quintessential Britons who expanded their nation’s influence and modeled its prestige, strength, dignity, and grace. Yet agents of British exploration operated primarily on the physical, social, and ideological frontiers of British society. On these margins of empire, British understandings of gender and national identity were formed, reaffirmed, challenged, and ultimately transformed. This study contributes to contemporary scholarship by highlighting the value of a spatial lens in histories of science, gender, and empire.