Introduction
In this paper, I consider the life of Elizabeth Fry and her contribution to the history of Europe. Her contribution was in the form of social reforms and philanthropy. She was deeply concerned about the plight of the poor and how social systems worked to the disadvantage of the helpless of the underprivileged.
Elizabeth’s inspiration
Elizabeth Fry was well informed by the teaching of Jesus Christ. She was a minister in the Quakers church and anchored her social reform calls on Christian teaching (Fry & Ryder, 1883, P. 20). It is believed in some quarters that of all Quakers that have been; Elizabeth had a more profound contribution to the history of Europe. She strongly believed in the power of the Holy Spirit and the role of the Holy Spirit in an effort towards a better world.
Family
Elizabeth was born of a large family; her parents John and Catherine had twelve children and she was the third born. Her home place was Norwich in England. Both her parents were affluent members of society with strong links in the banking industry. Elizabeth became a Quaker because that was the religion of her parents. Elizabeth’s mother believed very much in gender equality. She wanted the best for all her children (boys and girls) unlike some of her contemporaries who thought boys deserved better than girls who were destined to be housewives. Elizabeth must have in a way inherited her mother’s charisma and desire to have all people treated equally with respect and honor. Her mother was deeply involved in philanthropic activities and Elizabeth could accompany her. This must-have planted the desire and need to be of help to the helpless in Elizabeth. Her parent’s strong belief in the need that all children receive well-rounded education helped her to learn enough vital lessons about life. Later she was got married to Joseph Fry, who came from a very wealthy family.
Newgate and national influence
As a married woman, she fulfilled her duties as a housewife but was also powerfully involved in ministry. Her charisma and well-grounded faith led to her being made a minister in 1811. On invitation by another Quaker minister, Stephen Grellet, Elizabeth started visiting the Newgate women’s prison in 1813. Conditions at the Newgate women’s prison were horrendous. Women prisoners with their children were crammed in prison cells and did not have access to amenities. Elizabeth mobilized fellow Quaker women and they started supporting the prisoners thus making prison cells somehow humane. Elizabeth found a group called “Association for the Improvement of Female Prisoners in Newgate” in 1818 (Arnot & Usborne, 1999, P. 27). This group worked towards transforming prison life for women so that they became resourceful. The prisoner’s children were enlisted into a school started by the group while the women were involved in activities such as sewing, knitting and the making of other goods of commercial value. Apart from the practical skills they taught the women, the group also read the bible and gave spiritual teaching or guidance to the women.
This was a revolutionary way of dealing with prisoners (Arnot & Usborne, 1999, P. 87). Before Elizabeth’s involvement, prisoners were treated and seen as savages who did not deserve humane treatment. They were seen more like scams i.e. social rejects that society had to get rid of. The new way introduced by Elizabeth’s group bore awesome results. People who had earlier been assumed as savages enthusiastically took to learning practical skills that would enable them to become resourceful in society.
Such a revolution got the attention of many in society thus many other groups sprung up imitating Elizabeth’s model. Elizabeth Fry is credited as the founder of the first nationwide organization run by women and concerned about women-related issues (Allen, 2008, P. 55). The district associations, which developed after the formation of the Association for the Improvement of Female Prisoners in Newgate, gradually coalesced into a nationwide organization called the British Ladies Society for promoting the reformation of Female Prisoners (Freedman, 1984, P. 41).
The election of Elizabeth’s brother-in-law, Buxton, to parliament was a great boost to her work. The brother-in-law highlighted and promoted her works and ideas in parliament. By 1818, her influence or life-transforming work in prisons caught the attention of the House of Commons (Berger, 2006, p. 24). She was invited to testify to the hardships the prisoners faced and the ways in which alleviation could be established. Her sharing influenced legislators in a big way. Henceforth, legislation was proposed and passed that aimed at making prisons more humane. The prison operations were reformed to be more supportive towards transformation or change of heart of prisoner rather than crude punishment that only made prisoners more bitter and rebellious towards society. Incarceration was redefined such that it did not serve to humiliate and break the will to live of prisoners but rather a time of unlearning and learning as to fit and be resourceful in society.
Elizabeth’s desire to better the lives of those struggling did not end with prisons. Her desire led her into identifying with the struggles of the poor and people in frustrating professions. In response to the plight of the poor, she set up District Visiting Societies (Mrs. Pitmam, 2008, P. 61). These societies pulled resources and set up structures that alleviated poverty. She is known to have set up nursing schools, libraries for coast guards, and strongly influenced training programs, especially for nurses.
Her concerns and ideas became more elaborated and distinguished in 1827 when she published a book. In the book titled Observations, she wrote about the need for prison reforms, the need for gender equity through improved opportunities for women and the inhumanity and insensibility of the death penalty. This book coupled with her initiatives set her apart as an icon of social reforms. Observations as a book highlighted the idea that human beings remain loved children of God even in sin as in the case of prisoners (Fry & Skidmore, 2005, P. 32). The death penalty went against the principle of correction, love as based on Christian teachings and the need to forgive others as taught by Jesus.
By the 18th century, over two hundred crimes were punishable by death (Thesing, 1990, P. 23). Many of the present day’s minor crimes were punishable by death. This kind of situation was very appalling and contradictory to the Christian teaching that states seemed to ascribe to. England was widely known to be Christian however much of Christian teaching was interpreted in ways that favored the privileged over the underprivileged. It was interesting that someone could still bread and be sentenced to death. Many people were handed capital punishment than could be explainable. This is what appalled too many religious dissenters. Religious dissent was based on the realization that the church or religion was being used to further the interests of the privileged over the underprivileged or helpless. During the 19th and 20th centuries, this was the case thus the call for the likes of Karl Marx that religion is abolished as it only served as opium for the masses. Religion pacified people for the benefit of those privileged who owned the means of production.
Some of the crimes that were punished by death included cutting down trees, picking pockets, or stealing of any sort. These are crimes that could not be committed by the rich in society but the poor and helpless. It was commonplace for the rich to frame poor individuals who represented an interest in conflict with the bourgeois interests. Such a person would be framed and condemned to the stake or left to languish in jail. Jail became a tool of tyranny, exploitation and oppression.
Elizabeth and her brother Joseph worked hard to sensitize legislators on need for prison reform and the abolishment of the death penalty (Lewis, 1909, P. 14). Their efforts met a lot of resistance however in 1823, and then home secretary, Sir Robert Peel was receptive enough and conceded to reducing capital offenses from over two hundred to one hundred. This was the beginning of reform and redemption in capital punishment. It was the beginning of a movement that has culminated in the abolishment of the death penalty in larger Europe and beyond.
Conclusion
Elizabeth’s thoughts and initiatives won her favor with Queen Victoria who immensely blessed and supported her work. Such tremendous success did not mean a rosy life for Mrs. Fry. In 1828, he husband’s bank crashed and the Quaker community disowned her husband on the ground that he had put investor’s and saver’s money at risk. Despite family business going under, Elizabeth continued with her work with much support from her brother.
Reference
Allen, Ann Taylor. Women in twentieth-century Europe, Gender and history. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
Arnot, Margaret & Cornelie Usborne. Gender and crime in modern Europe: Women’s and Gender history. London: Taylor & Francis, 1999.
This book gives an overview of social settings and women’s struggles over time in Europe. It highlights the plight of women and the contribution of different historical such as Elizabeth Fry towards women’s emancipation.
Berger, Stefan. A companion to nineteenth-century Europe1789-191. San Francisco: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006.
Freedman, Estelle. Their sisters’ keepers: Women’s prison reform in America, 1830-1930. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1984.
Fry, Elizabeth & Edward Ryder. Elizabeth Fry: life and labors of the eminent philanthropist, preacher and prison reformer, Issue 3289 of History of women, 3rd Ed, E. CA: Walker’s son, 1983.
Fry, Elizabeth & Georgina Skidmore. Elizabeth Fry: a Quaker life: selected letters and writings, the sacred literature series, MD: Rowman Altamira, 2005.
This book has a collection of writings of Elizabeth Fry on different issues put together by Skidmore. Lewis, Georgina. Elizabeth Fry. London, England: Headley Brothers, 1909.
Pitman, E.R. Elizabeth Fry. Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, 1886. This book gives a proof overview of Elizabeth’s life but details her legacy and how her initiatives and ideas have are influence many even in modern society.
Rose J., (2007), Elizabeth Fry, Tempus Publishing. This book offers a detailed overview of Elizabeth Fry’s life and her contributions to reform in the prisons and the general social welfare of the poor.
Thesing B. W., (1990) Philological Association of the Carolinas, Executions and the British experience from the 17th to the 20th century: a collection of essays McFarland. The book contains ten essays, which examine how different writers responded to the social issue of capital punishment.