The Mythic Matters of Edith Cavell

Transcription

Berghahn Books
The Mythic Matters of Edith Cavell: Propaganda, Legend, Myth and Memory
Author(s): Shane M. Barney
Source: Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques, Vol. 31, No. 2, History, Memory and
Cognition (Summer 2005), pp. 217-233
Published by: Berghahn Books
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The
Matters
Mythic
Propaganda,
and
Shane
of Edith
Legend,
Cavell:
Myth
Memory
M. Barney
Accordingto the CollinsGreaterLondon StreetAtlas,thereare at least
eleven streetsnamed fortheWorldWar I nurse and heroine EdithCavell.
These include: EdithGardens, Edith Grove, EdithRoad, Cavell Avenue,
EdithYard,EdithTerrace and EdithCavell Close.' London, ofcourse, is not
alone instreetname memorialsto Cavell; indeed, Birkenheadhas an Edith
Street,as does Sunderland.Oxfordhas both Cavell Road and EdithRoad,
while Swardestonhas Cavell Court.Thisis notto say thattheeponymicuse
of Cavell's name is limitedto streets.The EdithCavell Hospital is located
in Peterborough,while the EdithCavell Lower ElementarySchool and the
EdithCavell School ofNursingare bothin Bedfordshire.There is also Radio
Cavell out of Lancaster and, oddly,the EdithCavell Pub in Norwich.Nor
should one forgetthe EdithCavell Rose (two different
varieties),the Edith
Cavell Lilac, and the EdithCavell Tree. Ofcourse, these onlyspeak forthe
UnitedKingdom.In Brussels thereare the EdithCavell School forNursing
London
Street
Atlas(London,
1. Collins
Greater
1998),
p.43.
ofVermont;
he
at theUniversity
received
hisMaster's
ShaneM.Barney
degreeinhistory
VT.
resides
inBurlington,
currently
©2005
HISTORICAL
REFLECTIONS/REFLEXIONS
, Vol.31,no.2
HISTORIQUES
218
Historical Reflections/Reflexions Historiques
and the rue EdithCavell. In Canada a mountain is named afterCavell,
MountEdithCavell,along withEdithCavell Glacier,EdithCavell Lake and
the EdithCavell Hostel (the diningarea ofwhich is named the EdithCavell
Room). France, Australia,New Zealand and the UnitedStates, too, have
EdithCavell hospitals,roads and schools. In fact,one could continue for
several pages justlistingCavell's cenotaphs,as we have yetto mentionthe
many statues, hospital and nursing-homewings named in her honor.
Nevertheless,thistruncatedlistof Cavell's memorializationspromptsan
immediate reaction: who was Edith Cavell? And the more compelling
questions
question, why EdithCavell? These seeminglystraightforward
have veiy complicated answers.
The voluminous number of commemorations to Cavell undeniably
assures her legendary status while making her identityall the more
complex. The EdithCavell question is in facta bipartiteinquiry:who was
EdithCavell beforeher death, and who did she become afterwards?This
paper addresses the latter,as an inquiryinto Cavell's posthumous life,
more correctlyunderstood as the collective memoryof EdithCavell as
manifestedin her legend and myth.Of particularinteresthere is the role
of language in the memory-making
process, specifically,the mnemonic
nature of propaganda2 and its relationshipto the genesis of the Cavell
legend and myth. Propagandists, as we shall see, targeted the key
elements of the Cavell storyat various social factions.These groups, in
turn,collected and used aspects of the storyaccording to their own
ideological desires. The sum ofthese elementsbecame theCavell legend.
********************
EdithCavell was an Englishnurse duringWorldWar I. She was bom 4
December 1865 in the small townofSwardeston,justwest ofNorwich.In
April1895 she applied forand was accepted intoa trainingprogram for
mindcontrol
often
invokes
2. Theterm"propaganda"
campaigns
imagesofstate-run
of
someform
Whilepropaganda
oftheHitler's
reminiscent
alwaysinvolves
Germany.
from
othertypesof
itdiffers
a response,
withtheintended
desireofeliciting
persuasion
and
suchasteaching,
communication,
placeduponthemessage
bythelimitations
suggestive
oftheir
alterthe"truth"
audience.Inother
themediated
message
words,
propagandists
lecture
Educators
ontheaudiencethey
changetheir
might
hopetoinfluence.
depending
donotchangethebasic
butthey
oftheir
totheintellectual
students,
development
according
orthepublic
individuals
topersuade
istheattempt
ofthat
thesis
then,
Propaganda,
message.
tokeptinmind
Itisalsoimportant
others.
ofviewandcloseoff
atlargetoacceptonepoint
act.See DavidWelch,"Powersof
a consciousor unconscious
thatthiscan be either
Persuasion,"
History
Today49(1999):26.
219
nursingat FountainsFeverHospitalin Lower Tooting.3In September ofthe
followingyear Cavell graduated and took a probationaryposition in the
London Hospital; she held thisposition untilDecember 1899 when she
advanced to the position of staffnurse. Cavell continued to work in the
London Hospital untilJune 1907, when Dr. Antoine Depage, a Belgian
physician and directorof a medical clinique on the rue de la Culture,
offeredher thepositionofDirectressofa trainingschool fornurses and its
attached hospitalin Brussels;thispositionshe accepted and held untilher
death.
In July1914 while Cavell was visitingher motherin England,Austria
declared war on Serbia, startingthechain ofevents thatled to WorldWar
I. It was reported that upon hearing the news, Cavell hurried back to
Brussels against the protestsof friendsand familybecause, according to
Cavell, itwas her "duty."4In Brussels the trainingschool and the attached
hospital became part of the Red Cross. Following the invasion and
police permittedCavell, even
occupation ofBelgium,theGerman military
her
was
to
remain
at
she
post as a Red Cross nurse and
though
English,
Directressoftheclinique.In the springof 1915 she became involvedin an
undergroundnetwork,which smuggled Allied soldiers across the Dutch
border. On 5 August 1915 the German militarypolice arrested her and
otherson charges of treason.The trialbegan on 6 October and
thirty-five
was due in partto Cavell's willingnessto
lasted onlytwo days. The brevity
admit freelyto the crimes forwhich she stood accused. Alongwithseven
others she received the death penalty.Hours before her death the Rev.
Gahan visitedCavell inhercell; herpartingwords according to him
Stirling
were:
this I would say, standingas I do in view of God and eternity,I
realise that patriotismis not enough. I must have no hatred or
bitternesstowards anyone.5
At dawn on 12 October 1915 Cavell and Phillip Baucq, a Belgian
member of the underground,were shot.Accordingto the German priest
in attendance, Cavell "professedher Christianfaithand thatshe was glad
andPatriot
EdithCavell:Pioneer
3. A.E. Clark-Kennedy,
(London,
1965),p. 28;and
Edith
Rowland
Cavell(NewYork,
1975),
p.80.
Ryder,
andPatriot,
Edith
Cavell:Pioneer
4. Clark-Kennedy,
pp.96-97.
theExecution
ofMiss
Ambassador
with
theUnited
States
5. Correspondence
Respecting
CavellatBrussels
1915),
(London,
pp.22-23.
220
to die forher country.She died likea heroine."6To further
theinjuryto the
Alliedpowers, the German governmentrefusedto release her body,and
Cavell was buried onlya few hundredfeetfromwhere she died.
A Posthumous Life
To say the Germanvolleysthattook Cavell's lifewere heard round the
worldwould notbe an exaggeration.Withindays oftheexecution Cavell's
name made newspaper headlines fromAustraliaand Egyptto France,Italy,
Great Britain,the UnitedStates,Canada and even Russia; in many cases
her death remained front-page
news forseveral weeks and even months.
For Allied countries the value of her death was clear- a pious English
woman and nurse shot by the enemy,a propagandist'sdream. Perhaps
this best explains the instantposthumous celebritystatus that Cavell
achieved. Indeed, manyAlliedcountrieswere in need ofa new reason to
remain in the war, as the once "quick and decisive" action slowed to a
standstill.
Cavell propaganda was highlysuccessful,and herdeath is creditedwith
an enlistment rate unparalleled after the firstmonths of the war.7
Nevertheless,ifCavell were merely a tool of wartime propaganda, her
fame should have ended withthewar, or,at theveryleast, decreased in
magnitude like most wartimeatrocitystories.Yet, it did not; in fact,her
celebritygrew and continuesto grow to thisday,as theprevioussurveyof
Cavell's cenotaphs suggests. Unexplained, however, is the manner in
which these memorials became placeholders of the Cavell memory.For
thiswe must turnour attentionto the memory-making
process thatgave
rise to the Cavell legend, and itsmnemonic facilitator:the propagandists
ofWorldWarl.
Cavell in lifewas relativelyunknown. Aside froma few articles in
nursingjournals,Englandknew littleof her and the restof theworld even
less. Yet,when herbodywas returnedto GreatBritainon 16 May19 19, tens
ofthousands lined thestreetsofWestminsterto pay theirfinalrespects to,
as one Daily Post reporternoted, the Joan of Arc of England.8At the
memorialserviceinWestminsterAbbey,dignitariesfromaround theworld
Post(London),
23
6. TheDailyMirror
23October
(London),
1915,p. 4; TheMorning
with
the
October
23October
1915,
(London),
1915,
p.7;andCorrespondence
p.6; TheTimes
theExecution
ofMissCavellatBrussels,
United
StatesAmbassador
p.23.
Respecting
- Heroine:
for
orBitterness
"Edith
NoHatred
7. KatiePickles,
Cavell
Anyone?,"
History
Now(NewZealand)3 (1997):4.
8. TheMorning
Post,15May1919,
p.7.
221
The followingday,
gatheredto offertheirrespectivecountries'sympathies.9
17 May,Cavell's bodywas buriedin theshadow ofthe NorwichCathedral,
where it remains. This intermentmarked the beginningof the prolific
outpouringof Cavell memorializations.
Understandinghow a nearlyanonymous woman on one day came to
be mourned the world over requires an analysis of the originalwartime
propaganda that introducedher to a global audience. To this end, it is
argued here thatthe language of propagandistsalong with the images it
conjured up became the buildingblocks ofthe Cavell collectivememory.
Giventhatpropagandists'stratagemsbecame theaccepted remembrances
of Cavell, this examination also serves, then, as our gateway into her
semantic memory.Allowingforthe enormityof the taskand the intended
brevityof this paper, a fullaccounting of the propaganda surrounding
Cavell is beyond our grasp.10Yet, a detailed understandingof a single
aspect ofthepropaganda concerningheriswithinreach and itinvolvesthe
semiotics of language, which recognizes the symbolicmeaning ofwords
as well as the power of those symbols in evoking imagery." From this
perspective the language of mythsand legends is best understood as a
series ofsignsand conations.12The role ofWWI propagandists,then,was
to mold the narrativeof EdithCavell around certainpopular beliefs and
to sell thewar. A clear example oftheirefforts
understandingsin an effort
was theway in which theytargetedwomen.
For obvious reasons, women were among the firstto identify
themselveswithCavell's plight.Propagandistsplayed a major role in this
response,as an earlyheadline announcingCavell's death suggests:"Heroic
13
Englishwoman'sSacrifice." Thissimpleheadlineintroducedthreeaspects
9. TheTimes,
16May1919,
pp.13-14.
"Edith
see ShaneM.Barney,
oftheCavellpropaganda
10. Fora moredetailed
analysis
and Memory"
Women:Propaganda,
Cavell--Wonder
(Master's
Thesis,
Legend,Myth,
ofVermont,
2001):33-59.
University
Road of Propaganda:The
to HaroldD. Lasswell,
11. KarinDovring,
introduction
F.S. Burnett,
ofBiasedCommunication
Semantics
(NewYork,
1959),pp.1-2;andNicholas
inPropaganda:
A Pluralistic
Toward
an Integrative
andPropaganda:
Approach"
"Ideology
III(NewYork,
1989),
,ed.byTedJ.Smith,
pp.127-28.
Perspective
that
whosuggests
work
theimportant
ofRoland
12. HereI drawfrom
Barthes,
connoting
definition.
their
areculturally
enduedwithmeanings
wordsandphrases
dictionary
beyond
wasa president
ofthe
Hancock
isthename"John
Hancock."
Aperfect
example
Bydefinition
oftheStateofMassachusetts.
andnine-times
Continental
Yet,hisname
governor
Congress
calltomindspecific
forone'ssignature.
alsoserves
as a request
images,
Signsarewordsthat
TheSemiotic
carandbook.Roland
suchterms
as tree,
1988),
(NewYork,
Barthes,
Challenge
and175-79.
pp.157-59
13. TheTimes
1915,
, 16October
p.8.
222
about Cavell. First,itestablished her identityas an "Englishwoman,"and
thereforeconveyedherkinshipwithotherwomen ofEngland.Second, the
semioticeffectoftheterm"heroic"evoked themythicalheroes ofancient
Greece.14While "Englishwoman"establishedCavell's groupmembership,
the term "heroic" defined her status within thatgroup. The finalterm,
"Sacrifice,"explained the natureof her heroic status,suggestingthather
execution was a religiousact reminiscentofthe "SacrificialLamb," Jesus.
Nearlyall the earlyheadlines followedthispatternof identification.
defined Cavell the
Beneath the headlines propagandistsdefinitively
underthe headline "Martyred
woman. The firstnotice in TheDaily Mirror,
Women," did not mentionher citizenship,her status as a nurse,nor her
piety,but instead her execution at the hands of the enemy.15A few days
later,The Daily Mirrorcalled on thewomen ofGreatBritainto remember
Cavell as a woman made of "steel and lilies"and a workerwho knew no
of her duty.Similarly,an editorwritingforThe
bounds in the fulfillment
Post
the
ofa nationthatcould execute such a
Morning
questioned
civility
devoted
woman."
The
"noble and
weekly magazine The Spectator
venturedtheopinionthatitwas her "womanlygenerosity,tendernessand
mostofall,herhumanity"thatcaused herto committheoffenseforwhich
she was executed, and itwas personal strengththatenabled her to face
the German forcesthattook her life.The appeal of such themes was not
limited to English women. As The Spectator also reported, Lord
Lansdowne suggested in ParliamentthatCavell "was not onlya woman,
but a brave and devoted woman - a soldieramong soldiers."16
Cavell soon came to be associated with otherestablished legendary
figures.Only six days afterher death, The Daily Mirrorlabeled her the
"Florence NightingaleofBrussels,"and The Times soon suggestedthatthe
Florence NightingaleMemorial Fund be used to erect a memorial to
Cavell.17 For its part, The Morning Post saw Cavell as the modem
incarnation of Antigone. J. H. Morgan, writingfor the Graphic, even
compared her to Jesus.18Witheach association Cavell assumed to some
Heroic
of Nationalism
14.AnnaMakolkina,
Name,Hero,Icon:Semiotics
through
(NewYork,
1992),
pp.13-14.
Biography
15. TheDailyMirror
, 16October
1915,
p.3.
Post,22October
16. TheDailyMirror
1915,
p.5. The
,22October
1915,
p.S'TheMorning
went
apparently
Asquith
1915,pp.526,532and526.PrimeMinister
, 23October
Spectator
man
thebravest
toonesource,
he statedthatCavell"hastaught
evenfurther.
According
Cavell(London,
TheDeathofEdith
lessonofcourage."
See (noauthor),
usa supreme
among
1915),
p. 1.
17. TheDailyMirror
1915,
,25October
p.6.
, 18October
1915,
p.8; TheTimes
27October
18. TheMorning
1915,
(London),
p. 23.
1915,p.6; Graphic
Post,22October
223
extentthe qualities and statusof the legendaryfigureto which reference
was made. Clearly, then, the image of Cavell was an amalgamative
association drawnfromthepast and establishedlegendaryfiguresinfused
withperceived notionsofCavell's own qualities and traits.
The firstmemorializationsof Cavell came in the formof biographies,
some of which appeared withina few weeks of her death. These early
workswere nothingmore thanrewordings,or insome cases exact copies,
of the originalnewspaper propaganda; even theirtitleswere drawn from
headlines. Take, forexample, The Case ofEdithCavell (1915) byJames M.
Beck, its titlecoming perhaps froma headline in The Times, or A Noble
19
Woman (1916) by ErnestProtheroe,the titlefromThe Daily Mirror. In
essence, these earlymemorialscontinuedthemotifsofthepropagandists
and kept themalive throughoutthewar.
Duringthe funeralin 1919 women escorted and carriedCavell's body
to itsgrave.When queried about her admirationofCavell, one pallbearer
reportedlyresponded: "[Cavell] gave her life that others mightlive."20
Women throughoutthe world expressed theiradmirationforCavell as
well. A groupfromBexhillsent flowersto thefuneralinscribedwitha note
thatsimplyread: "To a noble woman. . . ."2IAn open letterto thewomen
of Englandwas commissioned fromwomen in France; itstated:
EdithCavell was theembodimentofthehighestqualitieswhich we
admire in you all. She went to execution [sic] like a true English
woman - calmly,piously. . . She is our sisteralso . . .22
Meanwhile, both the French and Belgian governmentsannounced that
Cavell would receive the Cross of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. A
poem published in The Daily Mirrorread in part:
To-day a nationmournsyou- you who stood
Emblem of England's noblestwomanhood;
to the end,
Steadfastand calm, unflinching
25October
19. TheTimes
1915,
p. 7.
, 22October
1915,
p. 10;TheDailyMirror,
Post, 15May1919,
20. TheMorning
p. 7.
21. TheTimes
, 16May1919,
p. 14.
22. TheDailyMirror
, 16May1919,
p.4.
224
Thinkitfineto die- contentand proud
To some foreignfield
WithEngland's men.23
The publicationofbiographiescontinued,includingReginaldBerkeley's
Dawn: A BiographicalNovel ofEdithCavell (1928 and reprintedin 1940).
The book repeated the themes foundin thewartimepropaganda: Cavell
humanisticand, most ofall, dutiful.24
was strong,courageous, intelligent,
Otherbiographieswere writtenundersuch titlesas TheDutifulEdithCavell
(1955) and Ready to Die: The Storyof Edith Cavell (1980). In 1934 a
biographyof Cavell appeared in an anthology,Courageous Women by L.
which described her under the chapter titleof "A War
M. Montgomery,
Heroine: EdithCavell" as dutifuland courageous.25Other compilations
included biographiesof Cavell as well: Women Leaders in 1940,Women
of Today in 1946,Heroes of Our Time in 1962,and Eleven Who Dared in
1967.26These works kept alive Cavell's memory. While newspaper
propaganda established and controlledthe initialpublic understandingof
Anna Makolkinnotes,
Cavell,these biographiesand anthologies,as linguist
In
other
remembered.27
came
to
be
she
words, newspapers
explain why
introduced the elements of the Cavell legend while biographers
her significance.
institutionalized
In more recentyears Cavell has become the subject of studyformany
feministwriters,who have come to see her as a linkbetween the "heroic
men immortalizedin stone and the ordinarywomen who are not."28
HistoriansBonnie Anderson and JudithZinsser view Cavell's death as
In
towellforth.
toCavellcontinued
memorializations
23. Ibid.,
years
p.2.Insubsequent
obelisk
witha forty-foot
statue
a memorial
unveiled
1920dowager
March
QueenAlexandra
atthesiteofCavell's
a monument
from
memorials
inSt.Martin's
followed,
square.Other
dedicated
tablet
in 1921,a memorial
execution
bytheBelgiansenatehungin 1951,the
in1988.
ofLakeMichigan
ofa YMCA
campontheshores
naming
1928),pp.
Cavell(NewYork,
NovelofEdith
Dawn:ABiographical
24. Reginald
Berkeley,
and
137-38.
2-3,29,41,
Women
andMabelBumsMcKinley,
Marian
25. L. M.Montgomery,
Courageous
Keith,
1934),
(Toronto,
pp.116-24.
Lotz
Leaders
Women
Cavell-Martyr
"Edith
,ed.Philip
Henry
W.Prince,
26. John
Nurse,"
Heroes
ofTo-day
1946);PamelaBright,
(NewYork,
Cole,Women
1940);Margaret
(NewYork,
ElevenWhoDared(London,
1967).
ofOurTime(NewYork,
1962);Hermann
Hagedor,
Heroic
Nationalism
of
Icon:
Semiotics
Anna
27.
through Biography
Name,
Hero,
Makolkin,
1992),
(NewYork,
p.3.
ofWomenin Australian
TheDepiction
"WomenofSubstance:
28. ChillaBulbeck,
Sites:ATraveler's
"Woman
18(1992):26.See also:Judith
HECATE
Barrington,
Monuments,"
MS.(February
andPotter,"
Pankhurst
ofAusten,
1988):88-89.
theFootprints
Guide,Finding
225
contributingto the success of the suffragemovement in 1918. Arguing
along similar lines, Catherine Speck sees Cavell's death and later
memorialization as indicative of society's acceptance of women's
"wartimecitizenshipand sacrifice."29
Forthese writers,Cavell represented
a challenge to the male dominance of the turnof the century,and her
death and subsequent celebrityprovided a spark that reignited the
women's suffragemovement. When in 1996 a series of stamps was
commissioned intheUnitedKingdomtocelebrate women ofachievement
in the twentiethcentury,Cavell was not listed among them. Instead, her
name was chosen for the postmark,acting, in a sense, as a seal of
approval.30Time,itseems, has noteroded Cavell's importance.To thisday,
in fact,a small group of women, dressed as turn-of-the-century
nurses,
gatherat 11:00 AM on 12 October to place flowersat Cavell's memorial in
London.31
The image of Cavell remains one ofa strong,independent,noble and
devoted woman, nurse and Christian.While the basic tenets of her
narrativeremain the same, various groups accentuate images specificto
theirneeds and de-emphasize those thatare not. These minorchanges
include thereasons forCavell's martyrdom,
thenatureofherdevotion,and
even the manner in which she died. For nurses, forexample, "Nurse
Cavell" died because ofhercourageous devotionto thesick and afflicted;
she went to her death, quite naturally,wearing her uniformas a sign of
professionalpride. Forwomen in general Cavell was a brave example of
one oftheirown who refusedto be blindfoldedor bound so thatshe might
stand and face her "murderers."She was notafraidto die.32For Christians,
her image is illustratedbest in thisquotationfroma 1978 biography:"We
[Christians]remember EdithCavell especially because of what she said
before she died. She remembered thatJesus told us to forgiveeveryone
who hurtsus. She remembered thatJesus told us to love everyone."33
Cavell went to a martyr'sdeath professingher faith.
inEurope
29. Bonnie
S.Anderson
andJudith
P.Zinsser,
AHistory
ofTheir
Own:Women
tothePresent
from
"Women's
War
Catherine
(NewYork,
1988),
366;
Speck,
Prehistory
p.
"Australian
Memorials
andCitizenship
Feminist
Studies
11(1996):140-41.
areinthepossession
ofthe
30. Copiesofthestamps
andtheEdith
Cavellpostmark
author.
ofthe
mostrecently
31. Thisoccurred
on 12October
2001.Videois inthepossession
author.
MarianKeith,
32. L. M. Montgomery,
and MabelBumsMcKinley
eds.,Courageous
Women
,p. 121.
TheSecretTask of NurseCavell
: A StoryaboutEdithCavell
33. JanJohnson,
MN,1978),
(Minneapolis,
p.29.
226
Each of these motifsengendered duringthe GreatWar had traitsand
qualities thatwere earned overintothepostwaryears.Each would spawn
itsown set ofbiographies(includingEdithCavell: Pioneer and Patriotand
Edith Cavell: Heroic Nurse),34 memorials (including the plaque at
Peterborough Cathedral and a Costa Rican stamp featuringboth
Nightingaleand Cavell), and remembrances (includingthe flowerfestival
held yearlyin her memoryin Cavell's home town of Swardeston- using
Edith Cavell Lilacs of course- and the comer of St. Maty's Church in
Norwich set aside forher portraitand a small piece of the cross that
marked her grave in Brussels). Clearly,withsuch a wide base of support
In fact,the propagandists
the Cavell legend could not easilybe forgotten.
were so successfulthattheimage ofCavell theycreated inorderto sell the
war became the way in which she was remembered. This suggests that
the trueartofpropaganda is ultimatelyan artofprogrammingmemory.
There are two importantaspects to note about the mutable images of
Cavell and the groupswho subscribed,and stillsubscribe,to them. First,
present-daydevotees to her memoryare drawn fromthe same groupsas
those targeted by the propagandists: women, nurses and Christians.
Second, theimages these groupsinvokeare thesame as those used bythe
propagandists,includingthelabels assigned to her (e.g., the BritishNurse)
and the legendaryfigureswhose company she joined (e. g., Joan ofArc).
Taken together,theseaspects show a clear connectionbetween theCavell
propaganda ofthewar and theviews adopted byhersupporterstoday.The
fact that no two groups see her in exactly the same way presents a
problem to researchers looking to understand the "real" Cavell. Each
recountingofherstorypresentsa snapshotrepresentinga group's current
needs and ideologies. The basic account ofCavell mayremain,butaspects
of her storyare added and deleted according to the specificimages most
useful to a particulargroup. This also hints at the failureof historical
- the supposed
narrativeas a tool forunderstandingCavell's significance
purpose of a biography.The historyof EdithCavell is at once a historyof
Cavell the nurse, the woman and the Christian,and the effortsof those
who would tellher story,makingthatstoryconvolutedat best.
Of Mythsand Legends
Words and theirassociated imageryextendbeyond thepropagandist's
pen. Thispointleads to a necessarydistinctionbetween legend and myth.
In too many cases, the two termsare used interchangeably.It should be
ElkonHamelecourt,
andPatriot
Pioneer
Edith
34. A.E.Clark-Kennedy,
; Juliette
Cavell,
Nurse
Edith
Cavell:Heroic
1958).
(London,
227
noted, however, that while a mythcan be a legend, a legend is not
necessarilya myth.The latteris a storyoforiginand relationships.Such is
the case with the Judeo-Christiancreation storyfound in Genesis or the
tales of the Roman and Greek gods of antiquity.35
At the communicative
heartof a mythis language. The storyand more particularly
the language
of that storyrelate the signs, symbols and values of the myth.These
meanings are discernable by the members of the groupwho maintain a
belief in the myth.Recent scholarshiphas broadened the understanding
of mythto include storiesotherthanthose ofsuperhumanbeings.36In this
lattersense, mythsare understoodto be a set ofassumptions in narrative
formthatare accepted uncritically
bya groupand serve to foundor affirm
itsself-conception.37
Modem mythicstories also help to explain and define the originof a
In Cavell's case,
group,therebydictatingtheboundaries ofmembership.38
she has been described as the foundingmatronofpracticalnurse training
in notonlyBrussels,but Europe at large; she is also perceived as a pioneer
in establishing standards and institutingeducational and professional
theworld.39Such views have become
protocolsused bynursesthroughout
well established over time. Indeed, theyare seen in the biographies by
ErnestProtheroein 19 16, ReginaldBerkeleyin 1928, Helen Judsonin 194 1,
A. E. Clark-Kennedyin 1965, Rowland Ryderin 1975, Brian Peachment in
1980,and SallyGrantin 1995.
Cavell as a founding
Manyfeministauthorshave also come to identify
member of theirgroup. They see her not only as contributingto the
movement, but also as a pioneer fora strong,independent
suffragists'
female work force.40Newspaper accounts fromWorld War I seem to
support these views as do the biographies published from1915 to the
35. Laurence
1997).
(London,
Coupe,Myth
inFrance:
36. Forexample,
RolandBarthes'
wrestling
opening
essayon professional
RolandBarthes,
(NewYork,
1987),
Mythologies
pp.13-24.
inthePhilosophy
andTheory,"
Studies
37. Peter
& Theory:
Heehs,"Myth,
History,
History
ofHistory
33(1994):2-3.
ofReligion
E. Paden,Religious
Worlds:
38. William
TheComparative
(Boston,
Study
1994),
pp.73-75.
Standard
39. Laurence
Nurse"
13,no. 38 (9 June
Dopson,"AnInternational
Nursing
Mirror
"Executed
intheCauseofDuty"
161,no. 15(9
1999):19;Catharine
Sadler,
Nursing
October
1985):13.
40. Forthelatter
DiannaCondell
andJeanLiddiard
changeinthe
arguefora positive
Dianna
and
sacrifice
ofCavell.
Condell
ofwomenintheworkplace
bythe"noble"
perception
forVictory?
JeanLiddiard,
Working
ImagesofWomenin theFirstWorldWar,1914-18
(London,
1987),
pp.22,38,and70.
228
present.The historicalevidence, however, forboth claims is sketchyat
best. What is importantto note is thatnearlyall recent assertions made
about Cavell thewoman and Cavell the nurse referencecommemorative
places ofmemoryas evidence fortheiraffirmations,
includingbiographies,
newspaper articlesand othersuch memorials.The "facts"of EdithCavell
thewoman and EdithCavell the nurseare lost in the Cavell myth.41
The Cavell mythcan also functionbygivingthosegroupswho subscribe
to it a common frameof referenceas well as a means of understanding
evidentshortly
theircontemporaneousconcerns.Thisbecame particularly
before and duringWorld War II. In October 1939, fourdays afterthe
twenty-fourth
anniversaryof Cavell's death, Imperadao Picturesreleased
thefilm,NurseEdithCavell.*2Thisfilmwas thesound adaptation ofDawn,
a 1928 silentfilm,and both were based on the 1928 biographical novel
Dawn by Reginald Berkeley,which was published again in 1939 as The
StoryofNurse Cavell. HerbertWilcox wrote,produced and directedboth
films,and his wife,Anne Neagle, played Cavell in 1939.While controversy
surroundedtheoriginalrelease ofDawn overitsportrayalofGermanyand
the injusticethe filmallegedlydid to Cavell's image, the 1939 filmhad no
such problems.NurseEdithCavell and thestoryittoldwould come to have
new meaning in the climate of World War II. For example, an author
writingfor The Times realized, based on the Cavell story,that Nazi
A monthlateranothercritiqueof
aggressionswere "typical"ofGermans.43
thefilmappeared. The authorpraisedboththedirectorformaintainingthe
"Antigone"figureof Cavell and Neagle forcorrectlyrepresentingher as a
"superhuman"and "heroic woman." The articleconcluded thatCavell's
storyprovided both "an enduringexample of German hatred towards
Two years
England"and a betterunderstandingofthe "currentconflict."44
later,StanleyWashburn,a military
correspondentforThe Times,wrotean
articleon the problems facingBritain.In lightof the events ofWorld War
II, Washburn argued that Britishsociety needed to look to its past to
understand the present. One aspect of that past was the storyof "the
English nurse," Edith Cavell. According to Washburn, her death at the
ofCavell'snursing
reviews
41. A stunning
negative
exampleofthisarethenumerous
havebeenon
Thesereviews
nurseattheLondon
donewhileshewasa staff
skills
Hospital.
tothem.
refers
archives
sinceatleasttheearly1920s.
fileintheHospital's
Yet,nobiographer
oftheLondon
withtheheadarchivist
conversation
basedon a telephone
Information
8 June2000.
Hospital,
R.C.A.
Wilcox.
96minutes.
Edith
42. Nurse
Cavell
Pictures,
,directed
Imperado
byHerbert
1939.
Victor,
2 September
43. TheTimes,
1939,
p.8.
44. TheTimes
1939,
, 12October
p.6.
229
hands of the "enemy" demonstratedall too well the depths of German
depravity.45
British subjects involved in underground operations against the
Germans during the Second World War drew upon these themes in
establishinga connection to the past throughCavell. Sue Ryderwas one
such person, who saw Cavell as "a symbolof superb courage and faith,
irrespectiveof race or creed, and therefore,the precursorof thousands of
men and women suffering
forthe help theygave to those fighting
in the
cause of right,and who finally-without
bitternessin theirhearts- faced
death unafraid."46
Ryder's testimonialsuggests that the mythicalCavell
a
model
to
emulate and became a genesic source fromwhich to
provided
draw inspiration.Here we enterthe realm of legend.
Cavell has been described as "the BritishNurse,""theBritishWoman,"
and a saint and Christ-likefigure.These images representher legend.
Legends are not used to explain the past, but to provide those in the
presentwithan exemplar,a persona who representsan ideal fora group's
members.Legends can resemble myths,as bothare constructednarratives
thatserve a particulargroup's ideology. However, to referto a person as
"legendary"means thathe/sheexemplifiesthe group's ideal, and whose
actions, thoughtsor deeds are to be reveredand imitated.
PropagandistsprovidedtheimageryofCavell's posthumous legendary
existence. They connected her to Joan of Arc,Antigoneand other such
figures,established the importantqualities of her remembrance such as
noble, strong and dutiful,and, most importantly,disseminated these
understandingsto a global audience. While propagandists could not
directlycontrolthe extentto which groups adopted theirmessages, they
did targetthose mostsusceptible to theirinfluences;such was thecase, as
we have already seen, withwomen. What makes Cavell legendary,then,
is a belief in her exemplary nature. For nurses, Cavell remains the
"Florence Nightingale of Brussels" and the person responsible for
professionalizingand modernizingnursingon the Continent.Her dutyto
her patients, quite naturally,is paradigmatic for those in the nursing
profession.47For feminists,Cavell's storytells of a strong,courageous
woman strandingup to the men of the world- a modern Antigone.She
as an illustration
to women worldwide ofresolve in face
serves,therefore,
5 (1941):530-31.
45. Stanley
"What
MakesMorale"
PublicOpinion
Washburn,
Quarterly
240.
46. QuotedinRowland
Edith
Ryder, Cavell(NewYork,
1975),
p.
47. John
Times91,n. 41 (October
1995):42-43;
Cooper,
"BadgeofCourage,"
Nursing
"AnInternational
Laurence
Standard
Nurse,"
13,n.39(9June1999):19;No
Dopson,
Nursing
"Executed
intheCauseofDuty,"
Mirror
1985):13;and
Author,
161,n. 15(9 October
Nursing
Mirror
Ruth
(9 October
1975):50-52.
Hellyer,
"MyMatron,"
Nursing
230
ofinsurmountableodds. ForChristians,Cavell is,quite simply,a saint.Her
finalhours spent in prayerand meditationcoupled withher intermentin
the shadows of NorwichCathedral,provideample evidence ofher piety.
A Timeless Tale
The memoryof EdithCavell consists ofa series of traits,qualities and
referencesas held by a particulargroup.These notionstake the formof
images, and both the images and the groupsthatrememberthemcan be
traced back to the propaganda ofWorldWar I. The collectivememoryof
Cavell, however, is dyadic, as it has taken the formof both legend and
mythover the last eighty-five
years. The legend indicates an exemplary
status by drawingon the images of Cavell most relevantto a particular
group's needs. The mythdraws on thatsame imagery,but understands
Cavell not onlyas a model but also as a foundingmember. Despite this
difference,both legend and mythlocate the imageryof Cavell in physical
thistoo is a remnant of the war as the
places of memory.Interestingly,
words of the propagandistwere coupled with physical representations.
These depictions came firstas a pictureof Cavell published in The Daily
Mirroron 17 October 1915. This image, which included her two dogs,
became the most oftenreproduced pictureof Cavell duringthe war, and
it was used at nearly every event where propaganda about her was
distributedroses and
disseminated.Alongwiththepicturewere frequently
thissame picture
lilacs in "remembranceofEdithCavell." Notsurprisingly,
was also included in nearlyeverypostwarpublicationabout Cavell,and in
1920 a Britishhorticulturist
bred theEdithCavell Rose and the EdithCavell
Lilac. The propagandists,therefore,
helped to establishboththeimages of
Cavell and theirlocation.
Yet,a primaryquestion remainsunanswered: why EdithCavell? I offer
threeanswers. The first
possible reason forCavell's lifeafterdeath maybe
thebroad natureoftheaudience targetedbythepropagandists.Thisstudy
has alluded to Cavell the woman, the nurse and the pious Christian.The
as each groupfocused on thatwhich best represented
threeimages differ,
them. With such a wide base of remembrances, Cavell was not easily
This explanation,however,is partialat best and onlyhintsat the
forgotten.
natureofwhya societychooses to rememberone eventor person and not
another.While thisessay has shown thatpropagandistscan instillsocietal
memory,it does not explain why thatsocietychooses to rememberjust
certaineventsor persons.InWorldWar I propagandistswere also involved
231
in championingotherdramaticcases, such as thatofCaptain Fryatt.48
Yet,
to thebest ofmyknowledge,no biographiesofFryatt
are due out thisyear,
and thereare no yearlyfestivalscommemoratinghis execution.
A second reason, which relates to the first,is the large number of
commemorative places of memory. Numerous groups have come to
understandand venerate Cavell in different
ways. These varyingnotions
have become immortalizedin an arrayof memorials,as each group has
attemptedtopreserveitsmemoryofCavell againstsocietal amnesia. These
pointsofremembrancewere depositoriesforhervarious images. By 1921
therewere at least a hundredsuch places in England,and countless more
spread around the world. Memorials were constructed in hospitals,
churches, parks, schools and citysquares. Cavell's name also adorned
boats, power plants,streets,officebuildingsand more. Given the number
and prominence of these memorials,the opportunityforpublic contact
with the sites of Cavell's memorybecame vast. As with the case of the
many biographies,these physicalplacements provide the viewer/reader
Cavell was not easy. This
witha richsource ofremembrances. Forgetting
also helps to understand,perhaps, why the figureof Cavell, unlike other
victims,survivedthe war. She may simplyhave occupied more places of
memorythananyone else.
A finalreason has nothingto do withplaces of memory,group theory,
propaganda or memory in general, but more with society's need for
inspiringfigures.Thomas Carlyleargued that"in all epochs of theworld's
we shall findtheGreatMan to have been the indispensable savior
history,
ofhis epoch."49While Cavell may nothave been thesaviorofher time,her
years. The basic
storyhas exerted a certainappeal forthe last eighty-five
of
the
patriotism
story devotion,nobleness, honesty,integrity,
qualities
an
On28March1915,following
was captain
ofthemerchant
48. Fryatt
shipBrussels.
toramthesub.Forhisefforts,
attack
unsuccessful
submarine,
attempted
bya German
Fryatt
were
embarrassed
awarded
hima goldwatch.
TheGermans,
theBritish
bytheincident,
Navy
his
succeedincapturing
ofhim.On22June1916theGermans
tomakeanexample
anxious
on29July.
TheAllied
andexecuted
ofbeinga "Franc-tireur"
was foundguilty
ship.Fryatt
For
ita "newGerman
withTheTimescalling
atrocity."
presswas quicktonoticethestory,
The
waspublished,
atsea.A pamphlet
ofGerman
atrocities
someitbecametheexample
Atthepeace
Dutchand Italian.
intoFrench,
of CaptainFryatt
Murder
, and translated
lawofficers
theKaiser
in1919oneofthethree
conference
byBritish
brought
charges
against
therearefew
oftheexecution
ofCaptain
inthecategory
was "offences
However,
Fryatt."
abouthislifeanddeath.See TheTimes,
andcertainly
noplaysormovies
toFryatt
memorials
Memories
ofthePeaceConference
29July
(NewYork,
1972),
1916,
George,
p.9; andLloyd
p.81.
inHistory
andtheHeroic
OnHeroes,
49. Thomas
1897),
(London,
Hero-Worship,
Carlyle,
p. 13.
232
- have a timeless enchantment.As American journalist
and martyrdom
HunterThompson once wrote:
Mythsand legends die hard . . . we love them for the extra
dimension theyprovide, the illusion of near-infinite
possibilityto
erase the narrowconfinesofmost men's reality.Weird heroes and
mold-breakingchampions existas livingproofto those who need it
thatthe tyranny
of "the ratrace" is notyetfinal.50
We rememberEdithCavell because we like her story.
Conclusion
A criticismofmyapproach to Cavell's mythand legend could note the
possibilityexists thatshe was, in fact,a pious, noble, strongand dutiful
nurse who willinglygave her lifeforKingand Country.Indeed, thismight
verywell have been thecase, which again promptsthequestion: who was
the "real" Edith Cavell? No one trulyknows. She died unmarriedand
Cavell's storyas itstands
childless,and no diaryof herswas ever found.51
on
accounts
takentwenty,thirty
is
based
secondhand
and
today
testimony
after
her
who
claimed
to have known
and even fifty
death
from
those
years
her.52
earlier
and
Furthermore,
newspaper reports
biographies,films,plays
heavilyinfluencethese accounts. In Cavell's case, therefore,the factsare
irrelevantand onlytheimages have meaning,since the studyofa mythor
legend is less about revealingthe falsehoods of historythan discovering
why itis groupsbelieve certainthingsto be true.In otherwords, the study
of mythsand legends is an explorationof the human mindscape, similar,
perhaps, to the role Charles Baudelaire once ascribed to imagination:
The whole visibleuniverseis but a storehouse ofimages and signs
to which the imaginationwill give a relativeplace and value; itis a
. . . Ain't
Machines
"ThoseDaring
S. Thompson,
50. Hunter
Flying
YoungMenintheir
WhatTheyUsedtoBe!"Pageant(Sept.1969):32.
inMay1919.Thesepages,
werefound
believed
tobe Cavell's
51. Fourpagesofa dairy
oftheir
author.
intothepersona
ifCavell's,
however,
yieldnoinsights
settheEdith
Cavell
as thebookthat
Edith
Cavellwaschampioned
52. Rowland
Ryder's
thatthe"facts"
forhisbook
admits
Inhisacknowledgments,
however,
Ryder
story
straight.
with
associates
anda seriesofinterviews
camefrom
(and
newspapers,
previous
biographies,
70s.Inlegal
ofassociates)
ofCavellconducted
inthelate1960sandearly
sometimes
friends
Edith
Cavell
evidence
atbest.See Rowland
terms
thisiscircumstantial
,pp.ix-x.
Ryder,
233
sort of pasture with which the imagination must digest and
transform.53
For Cavell, the imaginativepastures of the storyteller
gave her image
and
Factual
within
these
milieus
has no precise
truth
place
importance.
and
the
have
value.
Itis here, in
collective
notions
of
Cavell
meaning,
only
the collective memoryof EdithCavell, in a world of mythsand legends,
- an idealityofhuman
thatwe findthe "real" woman, nurseand Christian
but
inimitable
and
historical
nonetheless.
cognition,yes,
ofArt(Garden
53. Jonathan
NY,1955),
ed.,TheMirror
p.46.
Mayne,
City,

The Mythic Matters of Edith Cavell

Transcription

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