Anger, Resentment and the Limits of Historical Narratives in Protest Politics: The Case of Early Twentieth-Century Irish Women’s Intersectional Movements

Abstract

This essay analyses the emotions of intersectional protest. It uses the case study of early twentieth-century Irish women who subscribed to a multitude of ideological beliefs – including feminism, nationalism, socialism and pacifism – to attempt to understand the different place of emotions like hope and pride and anger and resentment in sustaining political activism. In doing so, it examines the nexus between emotions, ideology and history. Adopting both an interconnecting and comparative approach, it investigates the relative efficacy of historical narratives in sustaining the emotional and moral dimensions of intersecting and competing ideological movements. The essay concludes by exposing the limits of the emotions–ideology–history nexus, especially when it comes to feminist protest.