THE BLINDING LIGHT OF THE OIL LAMP

The Blinding Light of the Oil Lamp FREDERIQUE DE RIDDER

The chattering from the warm cafes echoing through the streets have been replaced by the dull sound of the wind emptying the trees. Kicking through the autumn leaves has become the highlight of the day. During times in which we find ourselves in dark isolation, is there redemption to be found in the legacy of the lady with the lamp? Florence Nightingale is being remembered as the Victorian heroine who rejected the predestined path of becoming a mother and wife, and followed her career ambition of working in hospital instead. Driven by her devotion for healthcare, Nightingale arrived in early November 1854 at Semlimiye Barracks in Scutari to serve as a nurse during the Crimean war. During times in which healthcare for the poor was hardly accessible, Nightingale advocated for equal care for all patients. The lack of supplies and neglected hygiene in the hospital led her to the discovery that the deaths of the wounded were majorly caused by infections. Her findings inspired Charles Dickens to invent a washing machine solely for bandages to disinfect them, before Pasteur even published the germ theory of disease. A more relevant detail entailed that washing hands was a crucial part of the adopted pled policy of Nightingale. As a consequence of her recommendations on hygiene and ventilation, the mortality rate of the patients in hospital during the Crimean war dropped from 42% to 2%. Discovering that her influence has been rewarded in retrospect, does not require much energy. Nightingale was internationally praised through initiatives such as the foundation of museums, erected statues and International Nurses Day the 12th of May, the day of tributing Nightingale’s legacy. Indisputably, many of the hospital reforms in Europe after Nightingale’s research came from her direction. Praise was however never received by the sanitary or the supply committees of the hospitals, the hospital workers who were in charge of the implementation of Nightingale’s recommendations. Let alone all the ordinary nurses, nuns and volunteers. As well other protagonists concerning nursing who served for the soldiers' well-being such as Mary Seacole, have been deprived from such a prominent platform. Mary Seacole, who originally came from Jamaica provided sustenance and care for the British soldiers at the battlefront. This however did not take place in a war hospital, but in a ‘British Hotel’ near Balaclava which Seacole founded herself. She had attempted to join the second contingent of British nurses during the Crimean war, but was met with disappointments. Even though Seacole claimed to have the right testimonials to serve as a nurse in hospital, she was rejected by the war and government offices. Twice. The fight for recognition could be interpreted as a battlefield on itself. Put differently, the stages for praise have been disproportionately distributed. It is fair to say that the illumination of Florence Nightingale in the history of nursing school overshadowed the influence of others. Whoever attempts to find material concerning Florence Nightingale, is met with a questionably large range of publications. Literature and the film industry about the Victorian heroine seemingly diverted the focus from Florence Nightingale herself, but anticipated the function her name was willing to serve. Objectification of the individual however, paved the way to mythification. Despite the fact that Nightingale openly voiced her disapproval of nurses maintaining individual bonds with patients, she gained the nickname ‘the lady with the lamp’. In a biography of Florence Nightingale written by Cecil Blanche Woodham-Smith in 1950 is indicated how Nightingale’s praise was being channeled through her portrayal: 'She would speak to one and nod and smile to as many more, but she could not do it to all you know. We lay there in our hundreds, but we could kiss her shadow as it fell'. Even though Florence Nightingale voiced the emancipation advocating for women’s participation in doing ‘real work’, nursing became standardized in history to become ‘women’s work’ exclusively. This norm for nursing was subsequently accompanied by Florence Nightingale as the personification of caring. Hence, the historical narrative shaped the practice of the profession. Romanticisation went at the expense of truthfulness, which has inevitably affected the respect all nurses deserved to receive. In comparison to the weight, we bear mentally captivated in our homes, the hospital workers are currently carrying a more observable burden, namely the workload. The light of Nightingale’s lamp does not need to extinguish when it is shed onto reality. More than ever we experience the importance of washing our hands regularly, especially when we need our hands to applause for everyone who sacrifices most of their time and energy for everyone’s health. The oil lamp has been replaced by LED light, which possibly affects the warmth of a long-upheld dream, but at least allows all heroes to be seen.

“The light of Nightingale’s lamp does not need to extinguish when it is shed onto reality.”