War or Peace in 1905?
When the union between Sweden and Norway was confirmed in 1814 women had no right to vote. Hence our knowledge of how Norwegian and Swedish women experienced the union is insufficient. When the union was dissolved 1905 the situation was different. The process of emancipation, which was initiated by Fredrika Bremer in the middle of the 19th century, was going on and during the last decades of the century the women made their entry in the public debate. The collapse of the union, June 7th, 1905, came, as well as the threatening war, as a surprise to most Swedes. During the following weeks Sweden was in a state of national turbulence. At least, this was how many Swedish women experienced the situation. The Conservatives condemned the Norwegian betrayal and looked with bitterness upon those Swedes taking a stand for the Norwegians. Among the Liberals there was ideological disorder since many had a hard time to overlook the way the Norwegians broke off the union. Only the socialists fully supported the Norwegians.
The women found the atmosphere alarming. The most active tried to calm the warmongers through public debate. Celebrities like Ellen Key, Queen Sophia, Selma Lagerlof and Kata Dalstrom, as well as less prominent women, took position in the conflict. The sources tell of indignation and dismay, but there are no proofs of any woman taking a stand for war against Norway. Even women who in public expressed disapproval against the breaking-up did recommend a peaceful solution. The socialistic women stood unanimous behind the decision of the men to break up the union in a peaceful way. Among the Liberal women there were many working for avoiding a war. There are reasons to believe that Swedish women contributed to the peaceful solution of the Swedish-Norwegian conflict in 1905.
