(Lady Constance Lytton, photographed in her Jane Wharton disguise.)
Lady
Constance Lytton told a story that needed to be shared with the public. She
told the story of how privilege was influencing how women were treated in
prison. It was not just the terms of their sentence, or what they had done that
determined their treatment, no this was determined by something very different.
This treatment had all to do with one thing, social class. Those women who came
from influential families, or knew influential families held privilege even in
prison. The wardresses, the wardens, the guards, even the doctors who force-fed
young women knew the value of certain women. She referred to a specific
influence where her connections saved her while another suffered, “I said that
in the same prison where I was, there was a woman, a first offender, who had
done much less violence than I had, and she was fed by force without having her
heart tested as all” (CP 226). Lady Constance Lytton knew of her privilege when
they refused to force-feed her and instead released her after a hunger strike.
In
the reading, she goes into detail explaining how she decided to follow the lies
of the government with lies of her own. She said, “Lies, and nothing but lies!
Well, I thought, you choose your weapons, I will fight with the same weapon, and
you shall take my life, and do with it what you will” (CP 227). She created a
new persona; she became Jane Wharton. Jane Wharton was a working class woman,
with no influence and no impressive connections. As Jane Wharton, Lady
Constance Lytton endured seven forced feedings before her ruse was discovered.
Then because she was once again Lady Constance Lytton, she was immediately
released due to her “weak heart”. Yet for many of the working class women, as
proven by Lady Constance, none had their hearts tested, checked or monitored during
the force-feedings. These individuals in power did not care to harm the small nameless
women; they knew no-one would stand up for them. Yet with the proof Lady
Constance discovered as Jane Wharton, outrage spread like wildfire both in the
feminist circles as well as through the general public. Now everyone knew the
terrible atrocities that were occurring in these prisons, the attacks these
women faced for nothing more than fighting for their rights.
2 comments:
Jenn, this post was extremely well written! I can tell that you care about this period of women's history which shows in your blog post.
Jenn, good prose. It's amazing but not truly surprising that such class-ism occurred within the female prison sentences. We see even today that those with higher social statuses have more privileges than the lower classes. But it's interesting that Lady Constance was able to recognize such class-ism use it to the WSPU's advantage.
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