Abstract

This study sought to uncover the factors that contributed to the historical disappearance of Mary Seacole from the literature from 1900 through to the 1980s. By the late 1990s she was celebrated as a nursing pioneer and the first nurse practitioner. Seacole, a Creole woman from Jamaica with outstanding clinical skills, was refused the opportunity to join the nurses who Nightingale recruited for the Crimean War campaign. Undaunted by the rejection, Seacole paid for her own voyage and established a boarding house and clinic near the front lines. Her courage and positive patient outcomes were recognized by the military officers. After the war, she returned to London, bankrupt, but as a celebrated heroine. Her 1857 autobiographical narrative, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, was a best seller and helped to restore her financial status. A discourse analysis of this book was completed to reveal hidden meanings in the narrative. These changes were often subtle and included alterations in the sequencing, structure and style of her narration. Next, historical comparative research methodology was used to construct a case that placed the discourse analysis findings within the historical context of Victorian England. Mary Seacole's historical case was compared to Florence Nightingale's. The similarities and differences were identified. The analysis suggests that multiple factors impacted Seacole's place in history, but her inability to compete with the privileges associated with Nightingale's upper-class status was the greatest barrier. Other key factors were Seacole's race, her embodiment of the feminist ideal, and the emergent values of the nursing profession.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 3398099; ProQuest document ID: 193325872. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Bonnie M. Harmer, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE

Sigma Membership

Theta Chi

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Historical

Research Approach

Other

Keywords:

Nursing History, Nursing Leadership, Nursing Pioneers, Historical Sustainability

Advisor

Marilyn L. Grady

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

University of Nebraska

Degree Year

2010

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2022-02-22

Full Text of Presentation

wf_yes

Download

Share

COinS