‘While my husband was away … ’: Gender and time in the diary of Clara Cornelia van Eijck (1790–1791)

Abstract

The late eighteenth century has often been portrayed as a pivotal period in the genesis of modern awareness and use of time. Despite this, empirical research to bolster such claims remains relatively thin. The same holds true for gender differences as surprisingly little is known about women's timekeeping and time-use in early modern Europe. Drawing on evidence from the late eighteenth-century diary of Clara Cornelia van Eijck, a Dutch burgeres who spent her days in exile in Ghent, this article provides a fresh perspective on some of the key debates on early modern awareness of time.