In her speech delivered in 1910, Lady Constance Lytton seems
to draw on two different, yet collaborative and interweaving tones in order to
address her audience and support the suffragette movement. For one, she employs
an assertive, declarative tone focused on laying out an argument in
justification of the violence or “self-hurt” used to wage the suffragette war.
For example, she states “weapons must be used. The weapons for which we ask are
simple, a fair hearing; but that is refused us in Parliament, refused us by the
Government…Then we must have other weapons….These women have chosen the weapon
of self-hurt” (CP 226). In essence, she sets up the framework for understanding
the way in which the suffragette movement was forced to operate, forced to
employ “weapons” to be heard. This part of her speech reflects a tone of
strength, a sense of “not backing down,” and a portrayal of the just cause at
hand. The tone begins to differ more so when she relates her experience with
forcible feeding. She utilizes a more illustrative, sensory account, stating, “I
felt it was all too hideous….I got to hate the blindness, the prejudice…I tried
to think of…all the martyrs, all the magnificent women in this movement, and I
felt a tremendous gratitude to them, an admiration which overpowered me” (CP
227). In this way, her words firstly confirm that the suffragette movement was,
in some ways, the culmination of women throughout time attempting to exert agency
and power. At its basic, she is demonstrating that she had many predecessors,
who came before her and worked towards a similar end. Secondly, she
demonstrates a much more flowery, emotionally-based picture, like when she uses
words like “overpowered” and “hate.” However, although she appears to play into
a stereotypical link between women and emotion, she actually uses it as a tool
of empowerment in a way. Specifically, her wording is somewhat reminiscent of
the visionaries of the Middle Ages, who were respected for the special role
they could play as women and who capitalized on the unique position of
authority they held in society. Altogether, her speech exemplifies two
approaches in gaining attention for the movement, one that is forceful and
dominant, yet, at the same time, uses a striking conveyance of feeling to
elicit support.
Question: Which of the tones encapsulated in her account is
the most effective? Why did Lady Constance Lytton give such a vivid picture of
her force-feeding?
Image Source: http://goodgentlewoman.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/lady-constance-lytton/
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