Scholars working on the history of women in modern Ireland have in general followed the lead of scholars of womens history in other countries, concentrating their attention on the suffrage movement. In Ireland this movement peaked in the 1920s, coinciding with the emergence of the Irish state, and the interaction between the suffrage movement in Ireland and Irelands struggle for independence from Great Britain has been the subject of considerable analysis. From the exhilarating heights of the revolutionary period, the womens movement in Ireland appears, not surprisingly, to have undergone a major decline: descriptions of womens lives in independent Ireland provide a dreary litany of legislative restrictions on womens rights.
Focusing on the revolutionary period, however, may have exaggerated both the status accorded Irish women in the early twentieth century and the repressive nature of the new Irish state. The women involved in the suffrage movement were a small, elite minority; the extent to which the movement engaged the wider female population remains unclear. Additionally, certain features of the lives of Irish women that were economically determined and that predated the foundation of the Irish state are often attributed to political factors associated with Irish independence. As a result, little account has been taken of real, if modest, gains made by Irish women in the 1930s in the realm of employment.
Focusing on the revolutionary period, however, may have exaggerated both the status accorded Irish women in the early twentieth century and the repressive nature of the new Irish state. The women involved in the suffrage movement were a small, elite minority; the extent to which the movement engaged the wider female population remains unclear. Additionally, certain features of the lives of Irish women that were economically determined and that predated the foundation of the Irish state are often attributed to political factors associated with Irish independence. As a result, little account has been taken of real, if modest, gains made by Irish women in the 1930s in the realm of employment.
1. The passage is primarily concerned with
A.proposing the application of a general theory to a specific instance
B.reconciling two apparently inconsistent perspectives on an issue
C.identifying a shortcoming of a particular historical approach
D. criticizing attempts to reverse political gains made by a particular group
E.describing a critical development in the history of a movement
2. It can be inferred that the author of the passage would be most likely to include which of the following among those features of the lives of Irish women" referred to in the highlighted text?
A.Legislative restrictions on womens rights
B. Active participation in the suffrage movement
C. Increased social mobility
D. Limited access to wage labor
E. Lack of involvement in the independence movement
3. The existence of which of the following would most seriously undermine the authors argument concerning the history of women in modern Ireland?
A.Parliamentary records documenting the existence of legal restrictions on Irish womens rights during the early twentieth century
B. Membership records of Irish suffragist organizations showing substantial participation by working-class women
C. Diaries of an Irish suffragist detailing her involvement in the struggle for independence from Great Britain
D. Census data showing that the number of women of voting age in Ireland increased during the 1920s
E. Tax records indicating that the Irish middle class increased in size during the 1920s
