Votes for Women - Lecture Flashcards

Votes for Women: A Study of Suffragette Propaganda and Movement

Introduction to "Votes for Women"

"Votes for Women" is not merely a polite request but an assertive, unequivocal demand, as indicated by the exclamation mark in its original play title. The play serves as a powerful piece of propaganda, highlighting the decades-long struggle for universal suffrage, a right that many now take for granted but was once denied to women. Women had minimal family rights from the 16^{th} through 19^{th} centuries. However, by the mid-1800s, they began to organize, recognizing that equal rights were impossible without voting rights. The concept that women were "handicapped" by their lack of democratic access became a central theme in proto-feminist propaganda of the 19^{th} century, comparing men's elevated status due to the vote with women's suppressed position without it.

Elizabeth Robins: Playwright and Activist

Elizabeth Robins, an American playwright and actress who lived until 1952, was a prominent figure who utilized theater to advance her political cause. Born in America, Robins had a challenging childhood but was drawn to the stage, becoming a successful actress. During the 1890s, the era of the "New Woman," she became deeply involved in feminist thought. Her play, "Votes for Women," debuted at the Royal Court in 1907, and she later became president of the Women Writers' Suffrage League. For Robins and many other women writers of the period, literature was not merely entertainment but an urgent, life-defining tool for political activism.

The Influence of Henrik Ibsen

When discussing the foundational fervor of feminist theater, the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's influence is paramount. Ibsen gained fame through controversial, often "feminist" plays. His typical protagonist was an intelligent woman constrained by marriage and societal norms who eventually rebels. Classic examples include "A Doll's House" and "Hedda Gabler," which explore the suppression of women and the conspiratorial roles of church and state in limiting women's life choices. Ibsen was highly controversial in his day, despised by churches, and often shunned by theater managers, yet he is now revered as a foundational feminist dramatist. Elizabeth Robins and her contemporaries were deeply inspired by Ibsen, particularly his revolutionary portrayal of women on stage. Before Ibsen, actresses often performed stiffly; Ibsen, however, allowed his female characters to express themselves physically, emotionally, and intellectually, depicting them as "woman as animal," full of unfettered expression, a stark contrast to the limited archetypes (widow, faithful wife, virgin, transgressor) found in Shakespearean drama.

The Scale and Tactics of the Suffrage Movement

The campaign for suffrage was a monumental movement that required decades of persistent and often aggressive struggle. The classic image of "rowdy women" shouting and demanding the vote reflects the reality that polite requests to the British government were ineffective. Women had to fight relentlessly, finally securing the vote only after World War I. Public demonstrations were massive, with thousands congregating in places like Hyde Park in London, advocating for "Votes for Women" under slogans like "A Good Cause Makes a Strong Arm." These women were not quiet or polite; they were boisterous, frequently broke the law, and their actions were often denigrated by the press, even by left-wing papers like the Daily Mirror. The public fear of female violence was so significant that shopkeepers would post notes saying, "Ladies, if we had a party, you would have the vote. He lies. Please don't smash these windows. They are not insured." This illustrates the widespread recognition of the suffragettes' reputation for direct action.

Propaganda and Slogans

The suffragette movement was highly image-conscious and relied heavily on presentation. Repetitive slogans, such as "Votes for Women," were crucial propaganda tools, hammered home through constant repetition, much like modern political slogans (e.g., "Make America Great Again"). This deliberate repetition aimed to implant the message deeply into the public consciousness.

Symbolism in Dress

Dress was vital to their political commitment. Suffragettes wore sashes, hats, and dresses in specific colors: purple, green, and white. These colors were iconic and held significant meaning:

Purple: Represented loyalty, specifically loyalty to the sisterhood.
Green: Symbolized hope for the future attainment of the vote.
White: Stood for purity.

White was particularly important as a counter to the prevalent misogynistic reactions that often smeared suffragettes as morally questionable or prostitutes. By overtly stressing chastity and good moral behavior through their dress, suffragettes aimed to shield themselves from such character assassinations.

Direct Action and Hunger Strikes

Suffragettes engaged in various forms of direct action, from civil disobedience and passive protests (like sit-ins) to occasional acts of criminal damage. A potent tactic to gain press attention was the hunger strike. Similar to other radical movements throughout history, suffragettes undertook hunger strikes, though none actually starved to death. The British government, understanding that a dead hunger striker could become a powerful martyr, implemented forced feeding. This gruesome practice, depicted in real prison photographs of women being force-fed by doctors and guards, prevented deaths but also highlighted the women's extreme commitment. Within the movement, hunger strikers were celebrated as heroines, often awarded medals "For Valor" (dating from March 1912), bearing the suffragette colors, signifying their willingness to die for the cause.

Defiance and Shifting Perceptions

Women also engaged in symbolic acts of defiance, such as using metal files to scratch "Votes for Women" onto old penny coins over the king's head – an illegal act of vandalism against the system and monarchy. While condemned as criminals a century ago, suffragettes are now largely celebrated and admired, appearing on modern currency (e.g., a 50 pence coin) and inspiring cultural works like Beaten Bedford's 1999 music suite, which celebrates their sacrifices.

Misogynistic Reactions and Anti-Suffragette Propaganda

The suffragette movement faced intense hysterical opposition from men and not all women. Anti-suffragette propaganda often depicted a "topsy-turvy dystopian vision of gender reversal." Caricatures showed women smoking cigars, reading political papers, and behaving scandalously "cross-legged," while men were shown knitting, tending babies, and wearing dresses. This propaganda aimed to portray the logical outcome of women getting the vote as a serious threat to masculinity, leading to gender role inversion. A common misogynistic accusation was that feminists simply "hate men," a simplistic reactionary claim that has persisted for over a century, despite feminism's true aims.

The Martyrdom of Emily Davison

Emily Davison, a highly intellectual woman with a first-class degree from Oxford in literature, was a significant figure in the movement. She suffered imprisonment, endured forced feeding, and ultimately died for the cause. In June 1913, at the Epsom Derby—the biggest sporting event in Britain at the time—Davison intentionally stepped in front of Anmer, a horse owned by King George V, in front of world media. She died from her injuries soon after (the horse was unharmed, prompting media concern for the animal rather than Davison). While there's debate about whether she intended to die, her death served as a powerful act of martyrdom, drawing immense attention to the cause, reinforcing the idea that "every cause needs martyrs."

"Votes for Women" as Propaganda

Returning to the play, "Votes for Women" (1907) is not intended as "great literature" or mere entertainment. Its purpose is pure, unadulterated propaganda. It is designed to be confronting, make the audience uncomfortable, and compel them to think and act differently. The aim was to educate and convert, ensuring that audiences left the theater convinced of the urgency and justice of the suffrage movement.

Key Characters and Thematic Elements in the Play

Miss Levering: She serves as the "truth teller," a superficially unattractive character who persistently vocalizes difficult truths that polite society prefers not to hear. Unapologetically, she reveals she had an illegal abortion (a highly scandalous act in 1907) and focuses her concern on the helplessness of women in the present day, not her own unhappiness. Her monosyllabic declaration, "I'm free to say what I think," directly challenges the patriarchal expectation for women to remain silent or echo their husbands' views.
Jeffrey and Jean: Jeffrey is a man whom Jean, a rich, spoiled, and previously apolitical young woman, is expected to marry. Patronizing figures like Lord John believe Jean should conform to her husband's thoughts and actions, suggesting that a "restless" woman like Jean simply "needs a nice fella to marry her" (a euphemism for sexual domestication and control). Miss Levering, however, seeks to agitate Jean, showing her the realities of women's lives.
Critique of Polite Petitioning: Mrs. Freddy questions whether breaking the law is a good idea, to which Miss Levering responds that "politely petitioning parliament" for forty years has yielded "no work." She argues that men in power only understand "violence," suggesting that excluding women from the vote is itself a form of misogynistic violence.
Act 2: The Protest Site: For this act, Elizabeth Robins transformed the theater into a protest site, mirroring Trafalgar Square, London's symbolic and geographical center for public demonstrations. A "rough Cockney" woman's testimony highlights the harsh realities of working-class women's lives (e.g., families living in "hell" in one room, continuously having multiple babies due to lack of contraception or abortion in 1907). Her speech epitomizes the feminist trope of "experience protests against authority," where real-life struggles contradict the ignorant pronouncements of the church and state.
Act 3: Women's Autonomy: This act shows Miss Levering convincing Jean to support the suffrage campaign. Jean ultimately rejects marriage to Jeffrey, declaring, "I don't need your help. Women must do this." This emphasizes the propaganda's central message: women must fight for themselves and not rely on men for their liberation.