The Other Side: Rhetoric of Labour Reform Critical Article Review

Critical Article Review
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About 2528 women in Canada in Montreal city were arrested between 1810 and 1842 for vagrancy. The majority who were arrested were single Irish women. The author examines the hostile world that these women faced and the relationships formed that were mutually dependent to enable them to search for food, shelter, protection and comfort. In the 19th century, Montreal city was characterized by poverty and vagrant women living a hand to mouth survival. The author outlines that majority of the vagrant women were sex workers to meet their basic needs and they also loitered in the city hoping to secure a temporary dwelling for the night. Additionally, during winter most of the vagrant women would live in public buildings.[. Poutanen, Mary Anne. "Bonds of Friendship, Kinship, and Community: Gender, Homelessness, and Mutual Aid in Early-Nineteenth-Century Montreal." Negotiating Identities in 19th and 20th Century Montreal, 2005, P.25-30.] [. Ibid]
In essence, the vagrant women in Montreal occupied large parts of their lives in green spaces and squares such as Champs de Mars, the streets, in the farms and fields that surrounded the city and in public buildings such as taverns, prisons and courts. They navigated in couples, friends, casual acquaintances and groups with keen only in public space. The navigation helped these women through a night, season or a day as the survival was not promising. The author links such bonds with a wide range of behavior that suggests love, warmth and intimacy while on the other hand anger, tension and mere tolerance were experienced. The dynamics inhabitation and diverse relationships among these homeless women challenge the historians understanding of familial relationships as rooted in private and domestic as opposed to public space.[. Ibid]
The vagrant women in Canada were apprehended due to their criminal activities such as bad drinking habits, commercial sex and fighting. However, it is clear that these women also landed to the police cells as lodgings because they lacked a permanent home and could also seek confinement during the cold season. This is an implication that the vagrant women were not criminals' fate drove them into helpless situations. Additionally, the government failed to finance the Refuge home built for vagrant women to discourage prostitution and help them stand in life while on the other hand, their Canadian women counter Notably most of the apprehended women were of Irish origin. Therefore, these women were subject to racial discrimination that hindered the government to act on their plights. Also, these women faced injustice as the prison was deemed as a place for them to die, thus the sickly would be detained in prison as they await their death.[. Poutanen, Mary Anne. "Bonds of Friendship, Kinship, and Community: Gender, Homelessness, and Mutual Aid in Early-Nineteenth-Century Montreal." Negotiating Identities in 19th and 20th Century Montreal, 2005, P.30-40.]
The Montreal vagrant women had family ties between mothers, children and sisters. In their daily errands, these women encountered various men such as watchmen and police constables, sailors, soldiers, laborers, other vagrant men and artisans wi...