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Florence Nightingale Letters Analysis

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The following analysis is on a letter by Florence Nightingale to her Aunt Patty, dated November 28, 1845. The letter was seemingly intended to update Aunt Patty on Nightingale’s happenings, and was possibly intended as a draft, as it ends abruptly and is never signed (Nightingale, open library). Yet, the letter is filled with figurative language, which connects to White and Dever’s claim that letters are similar to “the act of storytelling” (Dever and White). They also assert that a story in a letter is rarely “delivered in its entirety”, but broken down into fragments over many letters (Dever and White). With this in mind, Nightingale’s letter is significant because it offers a fragmental understanding of what Nightingale found important to …show more content…

For instance, Nightingale uses a metaphor to describe the moment Gale dies by calling it, “when her gallant spirit sped its way on its noiseless journey” (Nightingale). In this way Nightingale is making Gale’s death seem less harsh and final, claiming it is the beginning of a new adventure for the departed. Highlighting this idea is the way Nightingale goes on to state she “never saw a more beautiful expression in death”, which depicts Gale as blissful in death (Nightingale). Part of this may connect to the way Victorians had an “obsession with death”, or may be connected to Nightingale’s own relationship with Mrs Gale (Hunter, “Victorian Obsession”). While one cannot determine the extent of their relationship from this letter, Nightingale does seem to have mixed feelings towards Gale. Nightingale describes Gale in a simile as “like a Titan and a Prometheus”, signaling her as mythical and a giver of fire (Nightingale). However, she also calls her “deformed and a dwarf”, which suggest Nightingale feels a sense of superiority towards Gale (Nightingale). Likewise, Nightingale quickly moves on from Gale’s death to speak about other topics, such as how she has not written Ludwine or anyone else in a long time. In other points in the letter, Nightingale continues to use this kind of figurative language. For instance, Nightingale calls

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