Women's History Commons^™

“The History Of Every Life … Is Important”: Lydia Olsson, Growing Up Swedish American, And Midwestern Girlhood At The Turn Of The Century, Rebecca Hopman

Women's History Theses

Our knowledge of American girls at the turn of the twentieth century is incomplete. Scholarship on Victorian American girlhood most frequently draws evidence from the papers of privileged young white women from native-born Northeastern families. But their lives only tell part of the story. We must expand our scope to truly understand the options and opportunities for girls as they came of age in this period. This thesis explores the life of Lydia Olsson, a Swedish- American girl born to immigrant parents and living in a Midwestern city. She was one of a growing number of young women participating in …