The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 8, Number 3, Spring 2020 | Page 104

Tea Table Sisterhood and Rebel Dames: The C
“vindication” to champion the Stuarts.
They had the will of Jane Austen’s Elizabeth
Bennet from Pride and Prejudice,
but the soft heart of Charlotte Bronte’s
Jane Eyre. Lady Nithsdale provides insight
into the traditional expectations
of women. Her husband was chosen
for her; she supported his involvement
in the 1715 uprising, accepted the consequences
of Lord Nithsdale’s choices,
and as a consequence, lived life in exile
at the Stuart court in France. Lady
Nairne, on the other hand, while traditional
in her marriage, maintained a
household, and provided her husband
with children, broke the boundaries of
propriety, and overstepped traditional
gender roles concerning politics. Margaret
Nairne set standards for younger
generations of Jacobite women to follow
in 1745, especially those in her family.
What these two women shared in common
was a devotion and loyalty to the
House of Stuart, and they raised a family
with the same faithfulness to the cause.
Jacobitism and
Womanhood: 1745
Charles Edward Stuart was named
Prince Regent by his father in
1743 and pursued the Jacobite
cause to restore the throne of England,
Ireland, and Scotland to the House of
Stuart. He first went to France seeking
support from the French government,
then sailed to Scotland; he raised his
standard on Monday August 19, 1745 at
Glenfinnan. 58 Women supported Bonnie
Prince Charles—often before their
menfolk. The first woman to publicly
show support to Charles was Jenny
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