Everyday advice on everyday love: Romantic expertise in mid-twentieth century Britain
On 31 August 1945, the popular British magazine, Woman's Own, announced a change in the identity of its resident agony aunt. The departure of Leonora Eyles heralded the arrival of Mary Grant. In the face of this change, the continuing importance of the "problem page" format was robustly asserted:
The European War is over, but, as might be expected, personal as well as national and international problems abound. We believe that our country's problems and those of the world can never be separated from those of the individual, that if we live full, happy and serene lives, we are better able to do our own vigorous share in the complex and interesting tasks of peace.
A week later the new incumbent penned her first column. In a thoughtful introduction to her philosophy as an advisor, she expounded on the link between historical moment, emotion and good citizenship:In the last six years we have seen what lack of understanding, greed, and blind selfishness can do to humanity. If we could take the machinery of war – any war – to pieces and examine it, we would probably find that a kind of warped bitterness in one man's mind started it. Lack of understanding of ourselves and our emotional problems can have a more far-reaching effect than many of us dream – like a stone thrown in a pond, when the circles grow wider and wider, and one is powerless to stop them. So each one of us has some kind of effect on our immediate circle, which in turn may influence a much bigger part of the community. If only we can set our problems right before the circles ripple disturbingly out of reach
"I believe," the agony aunt concluded, "that it is how people feel that ultimately decides how they live." The proper management of feeling was, in this reading, a fundamental way of coping with the problems of post-war British society. Within this world, good citizens were emotionally literate individuals who took active responsibility for their own affective welfare. And yet this was not a task which they had to face alone. As Woman's Own" opportunistically argued, "Women – and men – who are unwilling or unable to share their problems and heartaches with a friend, find it a great relief to write to a wise and kindly adviser whom they are never likely to meet. People want to discuss their problems with an impartial judge."
In this essay I explore the dynamics of problem page emotion-dialogue by looking at the letters that mid-twentieth century magazine readers wrote about heterosexual love, and the advice that they were offered. I will focus in particular on the advice columns of one of Britain's most popular women's magazines, Woman's Own, analysing a sample of problem pages drawn from the period 1940 to 1960. Before moving on to this short case study, however, I will outline the historical and historiographical context within which the essay is situated.
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