Martha Gellhorn: An Extraordinary Woman on an Extraordinary Journey
Bildiriler > Özet Bildiri · 2021
Yazarlar: Olena BOYLU
40th International American Studies Conference: Movement and Mobility, Türkiye, Ankara, Uluslararası, Sözlü Sunum, Özet Bildiri, 2021-2021, ss 18-18
Özet
<p>A novelist, war correspondent and journalist, Martha Gellhorn (1908-1998) often felt uncomfortable with being remembered as yet another wife of Ernest Hemingway, whom she divorced after five years of marriage. The independent and assertive character of this woman was never bottled up by any man who entered her life. On the contrary, she managed to leave a trace in history as the only woman journalist who managed to witness D-Day in person, an incredible achievement for a woman in the 1940s. Furthermore, Gellhorn covered almost every war of the twentieth century during her extended career, which brought her the title of the century’s best war correspondent. Eventually, she became a “moral true north for quite a lot of us,” as her biographer Victoria Glendinning stated upon Martha's death. Among Gellhorn’s numerous works there is one that remains relatively unknown, despite its intimate style and incisive humor. Travels with Myself and Another: A Memoir (1978) covers the author’s journey to different locations around the world. Her peculiar style, observations and impressions provide a window into the character of this extraordinary woman and the events that were unfolding around the world. This paper will trace and evaluate Gellhorn’s unique insight into the environments, political climates and cultural atmospheres of the places she visited. While women are still fighting for equality and justice, Gellhorn stands out as a preeminent example of a woman who, in the twentieth century, managed to challenge the male power structure.</p>