The world knows Florence Nightingale as "the lady with the lamp"—the revered founder of nursing as a respectable profession for women. But few people are aware that Nightingale's career began only after years of struggle to free herself from her suffocating Victorian family. In this surprisingly passionate feminist essay (a "brilliant polemic," states Martha Vicinus), Nightingale denounces the lives of idleness she and other women of her class were forced to lead.
1820-1910
Florence Nightingale who came to be known as "The Lady with the Lamp", was a pioneering English nurse, writer and noted statistician.
Inspired by what she took as a Christian divine calling, experienced first in 1837 at Embley Park and later throughout her life, Florence announced her decision to enter nursing in 1845. Nightingale worked hard to educate herself in the art and science of nursing, in spite of opposition from her family and the restrictive societal code for affluent young English women.
She cared for people in poverty. In December 1844, she became the leading advocate for improved medical care in the infirmarie. This led to her active role in the reform of the Poor Laws, extending far beyond the provision of medical care.
... Show more