Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands by Mary Seacole - Book Report/Review Example

Mary Seacole’s "Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands" Mary Jane Seacole (1805 – 1881), also known as Mother Seacole or Mary Grant, offers a vivid account of her experiences as a Jamaican nurse in her autobiography, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands (1857). It is one of the earliest autobiographies of a mixed-race woman and it deals with the travels, experiences, and life of Seacole as a woman during the period of bigotry, who suffered several types of prejudice and racial hatred. Mary Seacole actively took part in the Crimean War by setting up boarding houses in order to treat the sick. Similar to her contemporary Florence Nightingale, Seacole became renowned for her bravery during the Crimean War as a Jamaican nurse. However, unlike Nightingale, she was confronted by the crude realities of racism all through her career as a nurse. The work by Seacole has attracted immense readership and critical thought in the recent days and it is generally regarded as one of the fundamental works dealing with various subjects. As Harriet Washington, in the Foreword to the work, maintains, “Her memoir, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, is part exotic travelogue, part historical and sociological document, and in large part a vivid medical treatise replete with tragedy ad triumph.” (Washington, xi) Therefore, this work has contributed to the development of critical thought in various fields including travelogue, history and sociology, and medicine and nursing. In a reflective exploration of the autobiography by Seacole, it becomes lucid that the narrative and stylistic strategies used in the account help the author in convincingly conveying her message in the cultural, social, and political contexts of her historical period. This paper makes a close critical analysis of one of the important passages in the work, beginning “It was late in the evening . . .” and ending “prayed for it”, in order to uncover how the narrative and stylistic strategies used in the account help the author convey her themes more persuasively to the readers. Significantly, Seacole’s work has been recognized as another fundamental work in the rich genre of medical adventurism. At the same time, it is celebrated for the enthralling account of battlefield bombardment and heroism to its political acumen and for the poignant human story of the passion for healing and discovery. “In it a lone woman of color without resources other than her own wit, good nature, and sterling reputation dismantles the merciless race and gender stricture of her time to follow her dreams.” (Washington, xi) Therefore, through the nineteen chapters of the celebrated work Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, Mary Seacole offers a vivid account of the limitations and struggles of a Jamaican nurse who overcomes the ruthless race and gender restrictions of her time. One of the most essential aspects of the work by Mary Seacole is that it offers momentous insights into the history of nursing and race politics. It contributes to the life and experience of every reader as her remarkable life story is narrated with great energy, warmth, and humor. These peculiar features of her work become lucid to the readers as they go through the various descriptions in the work. “And here I may take the opportunity of explaining that it was from a confidence in my own powers, and not at all from necessity, that I remained an unprotected female. Indeed, I do not mind confessing to my reader, in a friendly confidential way, that one of the hardest struggles of my life in Kingston was to resist the pressing candidates for the late Mr. Seacole’s shoes.” (Seacole, 9) In fact, the warm, honest, energetic, and positive attitudes that are present in these lines keep the readers close to the author’s account. As an autobiography which deals with several topics and themes, the work has attracted the interest of the readers and the author is successful in establishing a constructive rapport with them, thanks to her writing style. In a close analysis of the passage beginning “It was late in the evening . . .” and ending “prayed for it”, it becomes evident that the author employs the best of her narrative techniques and skills to build a rapport with the readers and tell her story in a convincing voice. She offers descriptions of the various elements of life during the period affecting her experiences and makes the narrative voice as personal as possible. The author is successful in keeping the interest of the readers all through the narrative through the narrative strategy she adopts. She incorporates all the minute details of her environment in the description of her story and the reader is thoroughly engaged in the process of narration. For example, she describes the scenes around her in great detail in the following passage and the readers’ attention is never lost anywhere in the process of narration. “Around, in dirty hammocks, and on the damp floor, were the inmates of this wretched place, male and female, the strong and the sick together, breathing air that nearly choked me, accustomed as I had grown to live impure atmosphere; for beneath the same roof the mules, more valuable to their master than his human servants, were stabled, their fore-feet locked, and beside them were heaps of saddles, packs, and harness.” (Seacole, 31) In this passage, the author’s narrative and stylistic strategies become apparent and the reader gets a good idea of the various aspects of life around the author. This is persuasive narrative by the author wherein she effectively incorporates every important detail of the life around her in ‘this wretched place’. Significantly, the narrative strategy adopted by the writer helps her in convincingly narrate her personal story to the readers. As an Afro-American woman of the nineteenth century, Seacole has undergone several experiences that were common to colored women of her time and she is successful in convincing the readers of the realities of race and gender restrictions of the time. Although she was a free-born Jamaican, evidently well protected from the tentacles of slavery, Seacole realized the crude realities of race and gender restrictions and made her autobiography a powerful forum to present her thoughts and experiences. Significantly, her bravery during the Crimean War helped her rise to fame as an honored nurse like Florence Nightingale. Every turn of her career, Seacole was confronted by racism and she was denied a post in Crimea because she was biracial. However, she was able to contribute to the service of humanity when she set up her own clinic for wounded British soldiers. She gives a convincing description of her life in the war-front serving the wounded soldiers. “I was very glad to hear of peace, also, although it must have been apparent to everyone that it would cause our ruin.” (Seacole, 200) Therefore, the author has been successful in offering a wonderful life-story, filled with various types of realities of life including gender, race, war, and politics. In conclusion, a critical reading of Seacole’s Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, especially the passage beginning “It was late in the evening . . .” and ending “prayed for it”, confirms that the author has been successful in appealing to the readers as a result of her skilful strategies of narrative and stylistics. Significantly, the various elements of the work such as form, structure, and style etc. have contributed to the successful portrayal of the author’s story. The narrative voice used in the work helps the readers comprehend the themes and life-experiences that the author recounts. Similarly, the warmth, honesty, energy, humor, and positive attitudes etc. of the narrative voice keeps the readers closely in tune with the author and her account. In short, the narrative and stylistic strategies used in the work have immensely contributed to the overall effect of the autobiography. Works Cited Seacole, Mary. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands. Kaplan Publishing. 2009. P 200. Washington, Harriet. “Foreword.” Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands. Mary Seacole Kaplan Publishing. 2009. P xi. Read More