Charlotte Angas Scott Interview
TH: Good afternoon, Ms. Scott! It’s great to have you here!
CS: Good afternoon, it’s a pleasure to be here and have the opportunity to talk about my life story and everything I’ve been through to become who I am today.
TH: Yes, of course, your life story is very intriguing and I have several questions to ask, if you don’t mind!
CS: I’d be insulted if you didn’t! Ask away!
TH: Let’s go! Alrighty, so at some point in everyone’s life, something that might have sparked an interest in what they want to do when they get older influences them. So my first question is, what events early in your life might have sparked an interest in math?
CS: Well, the main reason that made me interested in math was when my father was able to provide me with math tutors when I was seven years old. In my time, women were not given the opportunity to learn in colleges. At age 18, I won a scholarship to Hitchin College, which was later re-named Girton College. 4 years later, I took the final exams to compete for a bachelor’s degree that normally was given to males. Now listen here, I was ranked 8th amongst all the men, yet I was not awarded the scholarship solely because I was a woman. I did not let is discourage me, I kept fighting.
TH: Wow, it’s a terrible thing that bright, driven women like yourself can’t even go to school with being discriminated, but you held on and tried. That's very inspiring. To go with that, my next question is what were your limitations as a person?
CS: I had many limitations, but living in an era where women struggled to go to school and make a living is hard. What do they have against us? No one ever knew the real reason why men were so superior to women. I was taught the same concepts as all the men. We all had knowledge of the same things, yet I was turned down. It was not simple, I had to persuade a few people, but eventually they came to their senses and knew they needed intelliegent people such as myself. If they continued to second guess my knowledge, we'd still be learning how to add 2 plus 2.
TH: Right, you are! You've really made a difference in society, and since you've accomplished being the first woman to obtain a doctorate in mathematics, what other major accomplishments have you upheld?
CS: Oh my, I don't want to brag! (laughs) I've already overcome society's disapproval of women, that's all that's important, but if you really want to know a few others, I won't ramble on too long! After I was turned down, I went ahead and received my Bachelor of Science degree in 1882, and had already earned my doctorate in 1885. Both of these degrees were of the highest possible scholastic ranking. This did not go unnoticed. This resulted in women being able to take exams at Cambridge.
TH: That's wonderful! You surely make every woman jealous! That makes people wonder how women got so smart all of a sudden. What was the state of knowledge that existed in the areas of study when you entered the math field?
CS: Most of my knowledge came from the tutoring that I was able to get when I was a child, and without it I wouldn't know as much as I do now. I was raised in a family of Nonconformist Christians who advocated reform, as well as the education of women. During my time, very little secondary education was open to women, so it was very difficult to get the knowledge that I needed.
TH: That is fascinating, even with the little knowledge you had, you were able to go forth and get all of your degrees. Now that I've learned more about yourself, let's talk more about the context of your time. What were the prevalent philosophical and/or religious beliefs of your time?
CS: One prevalent religion I was aware of was the Quaker religion, because I'm a Quaker myself. At the time, religion wasn't as important as gender. Sounds kind of silly, huh? Religion was already a problem before this mishap happened, and it will become a problem later on.
TH: In my opinion, that's ridiculous. Why should we be discriminated for something we can't change?
CS: It really is despicable.
TH: And how did your ideas fit with, or in this case, differ from these beliefs?
CS: I think I've stated my opinion enough times.
TH: (laughs) That is very true, no need to ask more questions about that topic. So what were the major cultural, economic, and political situations taking place at the time of your work?
CS: There were many situations going on, but the most important was when the Colony of British Columbia became a crown colony in 1858 to 1871. It was made up of half of the present day Canadian Province. It merged with the Colony of Vancouver Island to form United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Colombia. What a mouthfull. It just makes me proud when important events like this happen in my hometown, it's very rewarding.
TH: Of course it is! That's fantastic. It's great being here, it's beautiful. Do you happen to know any artists, musicians, or writers that were working at the same time and this same country as you?
CS: I know many. John Lavery, Willian John Leech, Rose Maynard Barton, Alice Maher, Frank McKelvey, (catches breath) Willian Conor, William Coulter, George Russell, I could go on all day! I am a big fan of art. My favorite musician is Franz Lehar. He's a Hungarian composer mainly known for his operettas. Music is definitely big in this era, many people are popular.
TH: I'll have to listen to them sometime. (chuckles) Alright, hang in there, we only have a couple more questions to go!
CS: Go right ahead, I have all day!
TH: Cool! So what was the population like in your hometown? The basic demographics.
CS: Around the mid 1900's, the population was well over 5 million. From what I heard we had over 1 millions live births, 624,000 deaths, and about 467,000 immigrants. Nothing interesting really happened.
TH: The population was pretty massive. Finally, to wrap up this interview, how were gender and class roles defined during this time frame?
CS: It was simple. Men were high class, women were lower class. (laughs) Well, not necesarily. Whoever had the most knowledge and degrees, were pretty much high class. If you didn't have a degree, you weren't treated the same. It's sad, but true. It never changed. I am excited to know that changes are being made now and women are having the same opportunities men are. We are just as smart, if not smarter, we deserve to be treated the same way as men are. We are all equal.
TH: I couldn't agree more. It's been very, very nice talking to you, I've learned so much from you!
CS: It was great being able to talk about everything, I'm impressed that you stayed the whole time, other interviewers are gone after the first question!
TH: Your life story, I must say, it phenomenal. I am honored to be in your presence. It was nice interviewing you!
CS: Thank you, very much!
TH: I'll see you around!
CS: See you!
