Mennonite Women in Canada

Female voices were scarcely heard in the historical record of the Mennonites. Often invisible, in both name and deed, Mennonite women were nevertheless influential in shaping their own and the larger Canadian society. Mennonite Women in Canada,the first comprehensive history of Mennonite women, writes them back into the historical record and traces their complex social history over the past 200 years. Marlene Epp explores women's roles, as prescribed and as lived, within the contexts of immigration and settlement, household and family, church and organizational life, work and education, and in response to social trends and events. She questions how Mennonites dictate women's "place" within the church, family, and community, and how women, collectively and individually, actually behave. Epp found that in virtually all aspects of women's lives, there exists a contradiction between behavioural ideals and practicalities. She also found that their responses to dictates about their proper place ranged from acceptance to rebellion, and almost always unsettled a clear delineation of their roles. Using diaries, oral histories, church histories, genealogies, and memoirs, Epp has painstakingly pieced together a rich and fascinating story of Canadian Mennonite women that deserves to be read by women and men everywhere.

Marlene Epp teaches history and peace and conflict studies at Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo.