'" ':'.e·, . -.-'. HEROINE ;-::'" '. '. ' OUT OF Focus: media images of Florence Nightingale . - ; ~ ~I.« \1',', PART I: POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES AND STAGE PRODUCTIONS BEATRICE J, KAUSCH and PHI UP A, KAUSCH Florence Nightingale ( 1820-1910). Covrtesy of the His tory of Nvrslng Collection, University of M ichigan. he legend of Florence Nightingale (1 820-19101, slender, graceful lady walking through miles of dark­ Tthe reclusive Victorian reformer known primarily as ened wards full of wounded soldiers, carrying a lantern to the founder of modern nursing, continues to exercise a dispel the gloom; soldiers kissing her shadow as she powerful hold on the popular imagination 12 decades passes by; Florence easing pain by her gentle manner, aher her retirement from public life. transforming morbid, filthy barracks into a clean hospital; The legend recalls a series of specific images. all of and championing the cause of the British soldier in the which originated during her 21-month mission in the guise of his beloved, determined lady-in-Chief. During Crimea, 1854-1856. These images include visions of a her lifetime, these images reverberated in hundreds of songs and poems, depicting her as an angel incarnate. Beatrice J. Kalisch. AN. EdD, FAAN. is Titus Professor of nursing and Since her death, biographers have sought to discover the c;h ! irperson, parl!!nl-child nursing; Phi lip A. Kalisc:h. PhD. is professor of woman behind the legend, while dramatists have mined history. pOlitics. and economICS 01 nursing, both III the UnivOBrty 01 both the legend and the revelations of Nightingale's real Michigan, Ann Arbor. This study was sUCPOl1ed by II research gr<lnt life story for material to entertain and to inspire audiences Irom the U.S. Public Health Service, Health Re50tJrces Administra· tion, Division of Nurs"'g, as ca" of an overall study of the image of throughout the world. Ihe nurse in the mass media. The combination of legend and biography found in Part /I of this "mcie, focusing on film, la/lo, llnd te//livision plesenta· dramatizations of Nightingale's life creates a fascinating lIOnS of FlorenC/Ii Nightingale. Will be publlsh/lid n/lixt month. problem for Nightingale scholars. Her role in establishing Apt11198J1181 the tim training school for professional nurses and her Manning, Dr. Thomas Arnold, and General Charles Gor­ work in improVIng the valua of well-educated nurses are don; and in 1951, Cecil Woodham-Smith publishea well documented and universally recognized_ Yet, the Florence Nightingale: 1820-1910 ['-31. None of these continuous popularization of Nightingale's image in ar­ studies is a scholarly, properly documented biography, tistic productions has also made a contribution to nursing and it might be noted here that Nightingale's life and by renewing and reinforcing the public's association of career cry out for professional evaluation. Cock's work, Florence Nightingals with all thot is c!eemed important in intimidating in its length and often excessive quotation, the nursing profession_ The treatment of Florsnce remains the c!osest approximation of a definitive, Nightingale as a dramatic persona, comprising elements authoritative biography of Nightingale. Strachey''l erlort, of legend, of history, and of the playwright's craft, popular for its style and brevity, offers only a summariza­ demands attention from those inttlrested in the current tion of Coo!,\' s narrative, with a distinctive interpretation evaluation of nursing's popular image, especially upon of Nightingale's personality. Woodham-Smith claims to realization of just how many dramatizations of have written an original study, but her product appears Nightingale's life have been undertaken. Between 1915 more a reworking of Cook's familiar territory, with yet and 1965, 10 separate productions-two stage plays, another view of Nightingals's character brought forward. three films, and five 'radio and television plays-have All three biographers agree in their appreciation of made Florence Nightingale the most dramatized woman Nightingale's achievement, but divergent and often in history (see Table 1). Each of these productions has troublesome views of her personality and her relations drawn to some extent upon the historic record of with other people distinguish these biographers from Nightingale's life. Not surprisingly, the Nightingale each other. Perhaps because the challenge of com­ biographers, by emphasizing certain events and char­ prehending the vast range and depth of Nightingale's acter traits, have hsloed to shape the way in which work remains so difficult, biographers since Cook have playwrights have drawn their characterizations. concentrated upon refinements-or what they con· sidered refinements-in explaining her motives and man­ The Contribution of Biography to ners. Most troublesome of all have been attempts to ex­ Dramatic Fiction plain Nightingale-lhe-woman in the masculine world of politics and war. The concern with personality instead of Three English biographers dominate the field of accomplishments and the problem of addressing Nightingale's history, which includes scores of popular Nightingale's feminine identity infect dramatic produc­ and usually sentimental books. All the known dramatic tions and often obscure any understanding of treatments of Nightingale's life have been based upon Nightingale's historic significance. Cook devoted more the research and interpretations offered in these three effort than the others to cataloging and describing the works. In 1914, Sir Edward Cook wrote a two-volume various projects undertaken by Nightingale: nursing study entitled The Ufe of Florence Nightingale; Lytton reform, military organization, hospital and barracks co n­ $trachey included a biographical sketch of her in his Emi­ struction, workhouse re form, sanitary and military reform nenr Victorians (19181. which also featured Cardinal in India, all facets of public sanitation, and the articula- Table 1. Dramatizations of the Life of Florence Nightingale Title Author/ Director Date Madium Length Source Actress Florence Nightingale Maurice Elvey 1915 Film 25 min. Cook Elizabeth Risdon Florence Nightingale Edith Gittings Reid 1922 Stage 3 Acts Cook [unidentified] The Lady with a La mp Reginald Berkeley 1929 Stago 4 Acts Strachey ~ Edith Evans The White Angel William Dieterle 1936 Film 90 min. Strachey Kay Francis "Lady with a Lamp" on Radio Helen Hayes Theetre Thiro Higley 1941 (CBS) 30 min. Berkeley Helen Hayes "Lady of the Lamp" on Jerome Larwence; Radio Favorite Story R.E. Lee c. 1946 (syndicatedl 30 min. Berkeley' Edna Bes t "Ufe of Florence Nightingale" Radio on HallmBrk Playhouse [unidentified l 1950 (CBSI 30 min. Cook Irene Dunne Berkeley Th e Lady with e Lump Herbert Wikol( 1952 Film 110 min. Strachey ' Anna Neagle "Angel of the Crimea" on Radio Your Story Hour [unidentified ] n.d. {syndicatedl 30 min. Strachey· (unidentified] "The Holy Terror" on Television Woodham- Ha llmark Hall of F8me James lee 1965 (NBCI 90 min. Smith · Julie Harris ' Soulce metenel unidenlliled by euthor/director, oot presumed based on content end interpretation. 18 21Nuf~mli;: & Hedl/h Care tion of a new religious ethos-to name the most promi­ qualities not often found in the same man or woman. nent. But even Cook was daunted at the prospect of She was not a sentimentalist; '(et she was possessed evaluating and placing her work in the context of other by an infinite compassion . she had an equal significant VictoriAn reform efforts. measu re of cleverness and charm. She had a olln<;ent Sir Edward Cook, a journalist and biographer. under­ wit but also a loving heart ... masterful in action, she took the official biography at the request of Nightingale's was humble, even to the verge of morbid abasements, heirs. Although he had access to many, if not all, of his in thought. She was at once Positive and Mystic [41. subject's private papers, he wrote under either express or implied constraints to exclude information that might Cook accepted that his subject did not fit into easy embarrass Nightingale's surviving family and friends. For categories; she exhibited many seemingly contradictory example, he never identified Miss Nightingale's most impulses and prejudices. She worked with the energy of serious romantic attachment (R ichard Monckton a megalomaniac, yet never concerned herself with per­ Milnes), although he discussed the romance-and Miss sonal reward and never sought an official outlet for her Nightingale's final decision to remain single-with all the natural leadership. She inspired her allies with such devo­ attention and seriousness due this important episode. In tion that they worked for her to the detriment of thair light of subsequent revelations, it appears that Cook own health, but she rarely thanked them or compli­ underplayed the harshness of feeling befV.Ieen Miss mented their efforts. Her religious beliefs motivated her, Nightingale and her mother and sister. He never denied but her beliefs were unorthodox, composed of bits and the friction that existed among.the women, but took care pieces from different sects as well as original observa­ to emphasize the positive fea tures of both Mrs. tions, making her spi ritual life important to her but dif­ Nightingale and Pcrthenope and to prove that Florence ficult for others to understand. Nightingale's particular never lost her basic regard and concern for her family's talents lay in the prosaic field of administration and welfare, despite their phYSica l separation. systematization, yet her fame emerged from an un!:mtici­ Cook's fea r of giving offense mOly have soitened cer­ pated misullderstanding of the nature of her ;)chieve­ tain rough edges of the truth, but does not appear to ment, which resulted in the creation of a sentimental have misrepresented Nightingale altogether. Cook recog­ heroine. nized that Nightingale could be demanding and often in­ It would be impossible to overestimate the impact of tolerant of the weaknesses of others, but he placed these Cook's study on later biographers or dramatists of faults in the context of her frantic efforts to bring about Nightingale's life.