Florence Nightingale - An Introduction
Florence Nightingale is a renowned name in the world of nursing. "The Lady with the Lamp" opened her eyes on May 12th, 1820 in Florence. She hailed from a family of reputable fame of wealth and social grandeur. She is considered as a towering figure of the Victorian Era because of her 'sincere' efforts in gathering statistics, reforming social problems and most importantly, she revolutionized and secularized nursing. Nightingale was awarded with a giant prize of $ 250,000 from Queen Victoria which Nightingale used to open a training school for nursing (known as Nightingale Training School for Nurses) in St. Thomas Hospital. Nightingale breathed her last on August 12th, 1910 in Mayfair, London, United Kingdom.
Nightingale's Services in Crimean War
As already mentioned, Florence Nightingale is remembered with the title "Lady with the Lamp" but why? In fact, she was identified as a true nurse after she practically rendered her services to the war-sicken soldiers. During Crimean War, almost 18,000 English soldiers were admitted to the English military hospitals where health and sanitary conditions were in their worst conditions possible. Nightingale resolved to fix the bad stuff. She was asked to arrange a group of female nurses so she sailed to Constantinople with almost three dozens of nurses to fix the dismal situation there. She had ordered her team to bring numerous scrub brushes so that the ceiling, walls and floors were cleaned from bacteria. She used to visit the sick soldiers in the evening by carrying a lamp to see how things were going. Soldiers were greatly moved by her compassion and titled her with "Lady with the Lamp" and "Angel of Crimea". Her untiring efforts decreased the death rates to the two-thirds.
Strachey's Disclosure of Nightingale's Weaknesses
Lytton Strachey, the author of Eminent Victorians, unveiled and released an impartial caricature of the Lady. Although his biography written on the Lady signified her services as a pioneering nurse not "as a saintly figure". Strachey has asserted both strengths and weaknesses of the Lady to make her a human of flesh and blood. She was, no doubt, a self-sacrificing woman but she was ridiculously obsessed to her passion and she was short-tempered, she used to flare up over trivial matters.
Biography's Division
Lytton Strachey has divided his biography for Florence Nightingale into five parts. Each part is showcasing her "decent" nature. The first part mainly covers Nightingale's early life [which is partially discussed in her introductory paragraph. ] When Nightingale's cousins were engaged in enjoying dancing parties [I bet you will remember Pride and Prejudice here], she excessively wanted to be a nurse. Her immeasurable passion is illustrated by Strachey as thus, "She would think of nothing but how to satisfy that singular craving of hers to be doing something". The second part deals with her fierce adventure in the Crimean War at Scutari in a military hospital. She was idolized, adored by the soldiers who were rescued by her but only surgeons and her crew knew that "beneath her cool and calm demeanour lurked fierce and passionate fires". She was adversely stern to her crew and busy at night finding faults in the officers.
The third segment of Strachey's biographical essay depicts Nightingale's anxious desire to reform military hospitals as well as sanitary conditions. There were enormous problems but she gradually won her victory over it but with the cost of her health. When a doctor advised her to take rest, she replied bitterly, "I am lying without my head, without my claws, and you all peck at me". The fourth part glows Nightingale's shadow of conquering the realm of philosophy and religion. She detected many faults in church and presented her points to fix those mistakes. Strachey satirically notes, "she seems hardly to distinguish between the Deity and the Drains". The fifth and the last part shows her last years when the thin lady grew fat, smiling all day long. Mr. Strachey says, "The brain which had been steeled at Scutari was indeed, literally, growing soft". (Special thanks to Suman Chakraborty for posting a detailed summary and critical remarks from this lengthy biography. You may check it by opening the source link number 5. )
Conclusion
Lytton Strachey's treatment of Florence Nightingale is marked by modern scrutiny which is far from idealizing someone like a saint. Nightingale shall be remembered for her practical works on nursing as a human being, not as a divine creature.
Sources and Suggested Readings
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale?oldformat=true
- https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/florence-nightingale-in-eminent-victorians-a-study-of-characteristics-and-meaning/
- http://lib.laic.u-hyogo.ac.jp/laic/5/kiyo21/21-09.pdf
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminent_Victorians?oldformat=true
- https://suman508.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-critical-analysis-of-florence.html
