{"id":340,"date":"2022-06-26T18:40:16","date_gmt":"2022-06-26T16:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.urz.uni-halle.de\/travelingwomen\/?p=340"},"modified":"2022-06-27T09:36:29","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T07:36:29","slug":"nellie-bly-around-the-world-in-seventy-two-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.urz.uni-halle.de\/travelingwomen\/2022\/06\/nellie-bly-around-the-world-in-seventy-two-days\/","title":{"rendered":"Nellie Bly – \u201cAround the world in seventy-two days“"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cI always have a comfortable feeling that nothing is impossible if one applies a certain amount of energy in the right direction.“<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Until Nellie Bly became \u201cthe most famous journalist of her day“ (Kroeger 14), as her biographer Brooke Kroeger depicts her, she lived a rather common and frustrating life. Born in May 1864, Elizabeth Jane Cochrane – that is how she was named\u00a0by birth –\u00a0aimed to get a good job as a teacher in fast-industrializing Pittsburgh, but was forced to drop out of school at the age of 15 because her family could not\u00a0pay the tuition funds (Mahoney 33). Nevertheless, with the growing sensitivity to injustice, she once submitted an audacious letter to the editor of the Pittsburgh Dispatch<\/em> in response to a sexist column about a woman’s role in society.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Surprisingly, the editor was so impressed by the 19-year-old girl that he offered her to write proper articles for the newspaper (Mahoney 35). Cochrane then adopted the pen name Nellie Bly and started a unique journalistic career. In the following years, she soon made a name for herself as she reported undercover from inside a New York mental asylum in 1887. Like that she pioneered investigative journalism and pathed the way for other female journalists (Kroeger 7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1888 she had the idea to travel the world in less than eighty days. Bly was inspired by the famous Phileas Fogg from the book \u201cAround the world in 80 days\u201c by the French author Jules Verne. Her aim was to beat Fogg’s record and travel the world in seventy-five days or less (Bly 2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her travel report was first published in four parts in the New York World<\/em>\u00a0(for which she worked during her world tour)\u00a0and\u00a0later as a book (Hurst).\u00a0When she returned to the US, all the train stations where she stopped were filled with big crowds admiring her for her achievement (Bly 84 ff.).
She did not publish the book together with\u00a0the New York World<\/em>\u00a0as she left the newspaper due to some unresolved dispute with her superiors. Nevertheless, the first edition of 10.000 copies sold out fast, and „Bly busily prepared for the second printing“ (Kroeger, 186).\u00a0Critics nowadays reproach her for racial expressions and sympathy for British imperialism (Hurst).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nellie Bly’s route on her world tour<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hypothesis<\/strong><\/p>

In her travel report, Nellie Bly portrays herself as a woman of extraordinary willpower and a good sense of self-esteem, although she lived in a society that did not offer much space for female emancipation, which aligns with the concept of the \u201cNew Woman\u201c.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Though Nellie Bly achieved fame through various reports, she is best known for her travel report \u201cAround the world in Seventy-two Days\u201c from 1890. Apart from the cultural insight from the different places from all over the world, she also offers insights into her ambitions as a modern woman – a woman who is also referred to as the \u201cNew Woman“ in literary and scientific circles. Women of this period are said to have had a strong sense of justice and equality and a need for economic independence and self-realization. They campaigned for these rights with a lot of willpower (Patterson 6,9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStart the man, and I’ll start the same day for some other newspaper and beat him.\u201c<\/p>Bly 2<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Such tendencies are also evident in Nellie Bly’s travel writing. When she presented her idea of traveling around the world in less than eighty days to her editor, she was rejected by him arguing that he rather wanted to send off a man (2). However, Nellie did not let this slow her down – she wanted to make this trip so eagerly that she responded to this rejection with a blunt answer: \u201cStart the man, and I’ll start the same day for some other newspaper and beat him“ (2). Her will to make this journey became\u00a0even clearer when she looked up several ship and train connections and realized that it would indeed be possible to complete this journey in less than eighty days. She described this feeling as if she had discovered the \u201celixir of life\u201c (2).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This reaction suggests that for Nellie, the trip is not just a vacation as she claims at the beginning (2), but possibly an inner need as well. One of her principles, which she mentions in her book, is that nothing is impossible as long as you apply \u201ca certain amount of energy in the right direction\u201c (3). In the biography by Brooke Kroeger, Nellie is furthermore described as a character who strongly believes in her ability to know how to act right and accordingly lives by her own rules (145). One of these rules for Nellie is that life is what you make out of it. Last but not least, this attitude allowed her to go on this journey. When her editor informed Nellie only two days before departure that she could start the journey after all and asked her whether she would be ready then, she replied instantly: \u201cI can start this minute“ (3) – without having had time to think about her luggage or the course of her journey. Kroeger correspondingly describes her as fearless and the force of her will as her greatest asset (14). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 25-year-old Nelli Bly then started\u00a0on November 14, 1889, and made it to Singapore in mid-December already. Together with her comrades, she wanted to visit a Hindoo temple there but was not permitted to enter, because she was a woman (Bly 55). She promptly asked \u201cWhy?“ (55). In her own words, she was \u201ccurious to know why [her] sex in heathen lands should exclude [her] from a temple“ (55).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The \u201cAugusta Victoria\u201c – the steamer on which Nellie Bly started her journey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

However, one should be aware of the cultural differences she faced in this Asian country which do not necessarily correspond to American social standards. At this point, her belief that everything is possible is pushed to its limits. But instead of arguing with the priest, she got over it and joined the laughter of her companions (55). In this scene, she presented herself as a joyful and positive character who accepted unchangeable things as they were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you want to do it, you can do it. The question is, do you want to do it?“<\/p>Bly 3<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The same attitude comes across a few days and pages later when Nellie Bly writes about the night in which the ship sailed into a heavy storm: on her way to Hong Kong, the monsoon was so harsh that her ship was flooded and she expected it to \u201cdoubtless[ly] sink\u201c (59). Contrary to several terrified men on board, Bly’s only concern was that nobody would know if she had made the world tour or not. It seems, that not even death could change her mind – she remains fully committed to her plan. At that point, she articulates this second key principle of hers: \u201cAll the worry in the world can not change it one way or the other“ (59). Despite the raging storm, she just went to sleep and \u201cslumbered soundly until the breakfast hour“ (59). Staying calm and sober in this life-threatening situation proves trust in life, fate, and unshakable optimism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nellie Bly’s mission of traveling the world in less than eighty days is proof of her strength, willpower, and determination. The close look at some extracts of Nellie Bly’s travel report gives an insight into the way the author sees herself and allows us to confirm our hypothesis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Primary Source:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bly, Nellie. Around the World in 72 Days,<\/em> The Pictorial Weeklies Company. 1890. archive.org<\/em>, https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nellieblydaredev00kroe\/page\/n9\/mode\/1up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondary Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kroeger, Brooke. Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist.<\/em> New York: Times Books. 1994. archive.org,  haps:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nellieblydaredev00kroe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahoney, Ellen. „Nellie Bly: Pioneer Journalist Exptraordinaire.“ Western Pennsylvania History 1918-2018<\/em>, vol. 102, no. 2, Summer 2017, pp. 32-45, https:\/\/journals.psu.edu\/wph\/index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hurst, Fabienne. \u201cL\u00e4stermaul Auf Gro\u00dfer Fahrt.\u201d DER SPIEGEL<\/em>, DER SPIEGEL, 25 Apr. 2013. https:\/\/www.spiegel.de\/geschichte\/star-reporterin-nelly-bly-und-ihre-reise-in-72- tagen-um-die-welt-a-951100.html. (last access on 26.06.22)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Petterson, H. Martha. The American new woman revisited: a reader<\/em>, 1894\u20131930. Rutgers UP. 2008. (Access via stud.ip)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pictures:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portrait Nellie Bly: https:\/\/scriiipt.com\/2019\/02\/nellie-bly-journaliste-dinvestigation-1ere-partie\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel Route: https:\/\/www.behance.net\/gallery\/54416509\/No-Cam-Nellie-Bly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Augusta Victoria: https:\/\/dianerehm.org\/shows\/2013-03-18\/matthew-goodman-eighty-days<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Until Nellie Bly became \u201cthe most famous journalist of her day“ (Kroeger 14), as her biographer Brooke Kroeger depicts her, she lived a rather common and frustrating life. Born in May 1864, Elizabeth Jane Cochrane – that is how she was named\u00a0by birth –\u00a0aimed to get … <\/p>\n

Weiterlesen<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5321,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.urz.uni-halle.de\/travelingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.urz.uni-halle.de\/travelingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.urz.uni-halle.de\/travelingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.urz.uni-halle.de\/travelingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5321"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.urz.uni-halle.de\/travelingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.urz.uni-halle.de\/travelingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":358,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.urz.uni-halle.de\/travelingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340\/revisions\/358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.urz.uni-halle.de\/travelingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.urz.uni-halle.de\/travelingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.urz.uni-halle.de\/travelingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}