A battle-axe is a derogatory traditional stereotype describing a woman characterized as aggressive, overbearing and forceful. The term originated as a gender-independent descriptor in the early 20th century, but became primarily applied to women around the middle of the century.
The prime example was the militant temperance activist Carrie Nation, who actually wielded a hatchet and made it her symbol, living in Hatchet Hall and publishing a magazine called The Hatchet. She became involved in the suffragette campaign for votes for women and this campaign further established the archetype.
The battleaxe is one of several stereotypes found in nursing – a tyrannical, fierce matron exemplified by Nurse Ratched or Hattie Jacques in popular medical dramas and comedies. Judith Furse played a "battle-axe woman" in the film Carry On Cabby.
Another example of the battleaxe in popular culture is in soap operas, for which the "quintessential archetype" was Violet Carson, who played Ena Sharples in the world's longest-running television soap opera, Coronation Street.
See also
References
- ^ a b "A Browbeating Cultural History of the 'Old Battle-Axe'", MEL Magazine, 2019-11-26
- ^ Fran Grace (2001), Carry A. Nation, Indiana University Press, p. 243, ISBN 978-0-253-33846-4
- ^ Helen Rappaport (2001), "Nation, Carry (1846-1911)", Encyclopedia of Women Social Reformers, vol. 1, Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 478–479, ISBN 978-1-57607-101-4
- ^ Philip Darbyshire and Suzanne Gordon (2005), "The Battleaxe or Monstrous Figure", Professional Nursing, Springer, ISBN 978-0-8261-2554-5
- ^ Brian McFarlane, ed. (2016), "Judith Furse", The Encyclopedia of British Film, Oxford University Press, p. 275, ISBN 9781526111975
- ^ "Conventions of soap opera". BBC. 1 August 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "Coronation Street recognised as longest running soap". BBC. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
Further reading
- Josephine Kamm (1966), Rapiers and Battleaxes: the women's movement and its aftermath, Allen & Unwin, ISBN 9780435122102