‘There Is a Trace of You in the Air of That Room’* : Practices of Coping With Separation From Friends in Late-19th-Century Finland

Abstract

This chapter delves into the ways remembering an absent friend served as a method of coping with separation. Practices of remembering can be teased out through close reading of correspondence. In their letters, friends often used episodic memory as means to alleviate the pain of separation. Remembering was a practice of mediated contacts. For example, a present or a photograph received from the longed-for friend could be used to remember the absent friend. Any object or an act could be used as a way of remembrance. This chapter draws from the correspondences of several Finnish women. All were self-supporting, and most worked as teachers. Most friendships discussed in this chapter were formed during early schooling or in teacher seminaries.