We have been talking about the identity of fisher women being that of fish worker and secondarily as housewife and mother, but outsiders defined them, their husbands and the community in general in ways which some-times, though not always, corresponded with how they defined themselves. At times, the focus was upon women specifically, but often it was upon the community as a whole. These more general comments apply to women as much as to men and must be included in our study. Given its small size, the inshore fishing community made a surprisingly deep imprint on the consciousness of the wider society. the explanation for this lies in the drama which surrounded it. The public revelled in the danger, the bravery of both men and women, the picturesque dress of both, the distinctive culture and the isolation of the fishing community. In fact, the fishing community formed a convenient object upon which to foist a variety of different, often contradictory but always extreme, feelings.

The public at times of tragedy represented the fishing population as victims. This characterisation was especially true if the disaster involved several members of the same family or several families. As had long been the case, outpourings of sympathy occurred, made tangible by the donation of sums of money. When in 1851 eight men from Blyth drowned, leaving eight widows and twenty-seven children, the Lord Mayor of Newcastle Fund collected £1,701 and the town of Blyth and the town of morpeth donated £50 and £21 respectively.