Florence Nightingale

Main Characters:

Florence Nightingale, her parents, William Russell, Dr. Sutherland, John Hall

Overall Theme:

Florence Nightingale struggles against the expectations of others to bring her compassion to the sick and wounded.  Finally, her efforts profoundly change hospital care.

Summary:

Florence Nightingale is the child of wealthy parents in 19^th Century England.  She is uninterested in marriage, society life and money.  She wants to help the poor.  When she accepts a job as superintendent at a hospital in the slums of London, he parents threaten to disown her.

But Florence knows what she was meant to do.  She says that to marry would ruin the life that God intended her to have.

War comes to the Crimea and British troops are involved in the action.  The British Army hospital in Turkey is full of the wounded and the sick.  In an effort to relieve the suffering, Florence and a small group of women are sent to help.

At the hospital, Florence and the others face the contempt of the military officials.  The head of the hospital, John Hall, does not allow the nurses to care for the sick.

But he cannot stop the nurses from showing compassion to the wounded men.  Finally, when the situation in the hospital grows desperate, John Hall reluctantly allows Florence and the other nurses to minister to the soldiers.

Quickly Florence takes matters in hand.  Conditions improve.  The death rate falls.  When “The Times” of London publishes stories about her work, they call her “The Lady of the Lamp.” A woman full of compassion.

On a trip to the front lines hospitals, Florence falls ill from exhaustion and seems near death.  While still in a fever, she receives a brooch from Queen Victoria inscribed: “Blessed are the Merciful.”  From her parents she receives a letter expressing how proud they are of her.

Florence recovers.  She returns to the military hospital where the grateful men salute her.

Background:

At the end of the Crimean War in 1860, Florence Nightingale returned to London a famous woman.  There, with a fund raised in tribute to her services, she opened the first fully professional training facility for nurses.

Before Florence Nightingale undertook her reforms, nurses largely were untrained personnel.  Through her efforts the stature of nursing was raised to a medical profession with high standards of education and important responsibilities.  As result of a highly trained staff, the hospitals changed from places where the poor went to die into places where everyone might go to have their health restored.

Though it was not her intention, her reforms also had a profound impact on the place of women in society.  After her time it became more difficult for society to keep women in certain occupations or activities.  The freedom women enjoy today – to study, to choose an occupation to share fully in society – is largely a result of the efforts of women like Florence Nightingale.