Emily Carr

Angela Smith (University of Stirling)
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From childhood, Emily Carr was aware that the settler society of Vancouver Island of which her family was a part was actively altering the landscape as it established possession of new territory soon after the Gold Rush. She enjoyed the energy of the new community in Victoria, exemplified by her entrepreneurial father, but resented its patriarchal constraints: as a child she was happiest singing loudly and tunelessly in the female space of the Cow Yard. In her writing and her life she had a series of personas, some of which released her from the control exercised within her society. Her book about her childhood,

The Book of Small

, creates Small as a resentful and curious little girl who constantly tries to escape the fences and boundaries that her father erects; she sticks her head…

892 words

Citation: Smith, Angela. "Emily Carr". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 March 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=753, accessed 19 March 2024.]

753 Emily Carr 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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