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Florence-nightingale

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Psychology

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University

Far Eastern University

Academic year: 2018/2019

Listed bookEminent Victorians

AuthorLytton Strachey

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St. Scholastica’s Academy City of San Fernando, Pampanga High School Department

Synthesis and Analysis of an Excerpt from Eminent Victorians: Florence Nightingale

Submitted to: Ms. Lucilyn Magbag

Submitted by: #4 Benzikry, Smadar T. #7 Cruz, Alexandra Kim P. Group 3 – St. Monica

I. About the author Lytton Strachey is a famous British biographer. He published critical writings, especially on French. His greatest achievement was in biography. He is best known for Eminent Victorians— short sketches of the Victorian Idols Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Arnold, and Gen. Charles “Chinese” Gordon.

Strachey was a writer of wit and had the ability to deliver sharp critical analysis to any subject or person he chose to settle on. He approached his subject with skepticism rather than with reverence.

It is also worth noting that Lytton Strachey was an Edwardian. The end of Victorian era, which is the Edwardian era, marked a new beginning for literature drawing upon the realistic and naturalistic convention of the 19th century, leading a way towards new style of writing that would go on to be more intense, social and political, questioning the norms already prevalent in the society.

II. About the book Eminent Victorians (1918) is a short sketches of Victorian idols: Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Arnold and Gen. Charles “Chinese” Gordon. In Strachey’s day, these people were considered heroes and paragons of Victorian morality and ethics. But instead of lengthy, glowing biographies, Strachey wrote about the aforementioned personalities with obvious relish. All of the subjects are portrayed with their human flaws and moral contradictions on full display, implicitly knocking down the sanctimonious visions of these former heroes (perhaps with the exception of Nightingale, who, while portrayed as an often-cold and mercilessly-driven taskmistress, nevertheless escaped with her reputation enhanced).

This book was said to be the beginning of a new era in the course of biographical writings. It is a groundbreaking work of biography that raised the genre to the level of high art. Biographies were usually written with reverence and appreciation, but “Eminent Victorians” was written with irreverence— exposing the hypocrisy and flaws of these idols.

The book’s tone is satirical in nature. Lytton Strachey narrated the story of the four allegedly eminent Victorians and debunked their heroic front. He ridiculed them and provoked the

head of the Army Medical Department V. Context Florence Nightingale was assigned to nurse the soldiers of Crimean War in Scutari Hospital. This was the time Florence Nightingale came about implementing her philosophies of cleanliness into the hospital setting. She provided the sick men towel and soap, knives and forks, combs and tooth-brushes. She organized the kitchens and the laundries in the hospitals. The nurses image began to change from troubled and uneducated to noteworthy and helpful. Nightingale felt that she has the authority and suggested to change the whole system of reception and distribution of the consignments that the Government Store House should be instituted in Scutari. She respected no one, the intolerable uselessness of mankind obsessed her.

The Victorian era was a conservative period in which women were raised to cook and clean, while men were taught to pursue jobs in the workforce. During this period, women were considered properties of men. But Florence Nightingale was projected as a women of liberation from the negative depiction of women in the Victorian era. She was depicted as a woman who casted the notion that women are unfulfilling and useless.

Throughout the excerpt, Strachey presents the identity of Florence Nightingale as a woman who is impelled by social influences and the public perceptions on how she must behave. This is evidently seen in the first paragraph of the excerpt:

“With consummate tact, with all gentleness of supreme strength, she managed at last to impose her personality upon the susceptible, overwrought, discouraged, and helpless group of men in authority who surrounded her.”

Strachey highlights the “men in authority who surrounded her” as her driving force to escape the prejudice towards women. She wanted to be superior and was eager to do this—too eager that she even asserted her own authority. She was able to break the imposed limitation created by the society to victorian women.

“She stood firm; she was a rock in the angry ocean.” Starchey describes Nightingale as a woman who stands firm with her goals; a woman of principle. Strachey may have direcly compared the “men in authority who surrounded her” to an

angry ocean, and Nightingale standing firm amidst it. She was merely a nurse in Scutari hospital, yet she was able to spread her dominion even over her superior— Sidney Herbert.

VI. Debunking of Florence Nightingale At the first part of the excerpt, Strachey described Florence Nightingale in an upright and glowing way of delivering. Most of the parts of the excerpt highlighted the good will of Miss Nightingale from providing the needs of the soldiers that were not provided from the past years, she reorganized the kitchen and provided healthier and pleasant food, and changed the whole system of the reception and distribution of the consignments. Strachey even noted that “she was heroic.”

Towards the last part of the excerpt, Strachey slowly unfolded the dark side of Miss Nightingale.

“.. might well appear in the guise of a gracious angel of mercy; but the military surgeons, and the orderlies, and her own nurses, and the “Purveyor,” and Dr. Hall, and even Lord Stratford himself could tell a different story.”

This line will give the readers an idea how Florence Nightingale was seen and perceive during their time. Despite being described as “gracious angel of mercy”, the people around her saw the opposite. She was seen as someone manipulative, strict and stern. She ordered out the chaos in Scutari Hospital not in a gentle way like in novels, rather it was described as “made of sterner stuff.”

“.. struck the casual observer simply as the pattern of a perfect lady; but the keener eye perceived something more than that...” Her features were described as a sign of power with “the traces of a harsh and dangerous temper.”

“Once, when she had given some direction, a doctor ventured to remark that the thing could not be done. “But it must be done,” said Miss Nightingale.”

Although Miss Nightingale has this “irresistible authority” and is well respected by people around her, she respected no one. She was obsessed by the intolerable uselessness of mankind.

Vaijayanti, P. (2019, March). The Victorian Era England facts about Queen Victoria, Society &

Literature. Retrieved from victorian-era.org/edwardian-era-literature

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