Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Fishermen's wives

not far from the fishermens memorial stands the fishermens wives memorial. "it serves as a testimonial to what wives, mothers, sisters, and children of fishermen of the world have endured because their men chose to be on the water. They had no choice but to stand on rock, to be on land." dedicated by the GFWA (gloucester fishermens wives association).
on each side she has a child, and together they are looking out over the ocean. in fact, the sculptor of the fishermens memorial made a model for a sculpture honoring the fishermens wives; a woman, holding a baby, with the inscription: "they also serve who only stand and wait." another artist made a model of "the widow of the fisherman". the GFWA didnt like either, as they did not see themselves as women doing nothing but sitting and waiting until their husbands would return from the ocean. many years later they choose for the above statue. it was unveiled in 2001, and the inscription underneath the sculpture reads: "The wives, mothers, daughters and sisters of Gloucester fishermen honor the wives and families of fishermen and mariners everywhere for their faith, diligence, and fortitude."

5 comments:

biebkriebels said...

It is a worldwide destiny for the woman and children to wait for their fishermen looking out over the sea. We even have a play about it in the Netherlands "Kniertje" by Herman Heijermans. "De vis wordt duur betaald" is a famous expression here.

Manon Knier ;) said...

The play is called Op hoop van zegen (Trusting Our Fate in the Hands of God) and Heijermans wrote it in 1900. De vis wordt duur betaald means 'The fish cost dearly', not in money but in lives.

Tim said...

Interesting, Biebkriebels! I think they should stop fishing for a while now, because the oceans are empty. Let the fish repopulate and give the wives a break :)

Kay said...

The big problem on the west coast is that factory ships come along and fish with huge nets that sweep along and catch everything. It wipes out the fishery and kills the fishing industry of smaller fishermen who harvest more sustainably.

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

Beautiful shot, I like the unconventional perspective.