Myrtle Ashdown
lived in Victorian England in Surrey, a wife who dutifully obeyed and supported
her husband Gilbert Ashdown, and a mother, moral adviser and guide to her only
daughter Josephine. Her husband Gilbert was a cold, private man who worked all
hours and often left Myrtle lonely. For 10 years Myrtle yearned for a child and
after copious failed pregnancies when Myrtle had almost lost hope and all
feeling she learnt she was pregnant with Josephine. Josephine; her daughter,
companion and best friend, was so precious and longed for by Myrtle. Myrtle
experienced 14 years of intense happiness and fulfillment with her until
Josephine contracted the lung disease Tuberculosis, a disease that killed 1 in
4 Victorians. Myrtle nursed her and prayed that Josephine would survive the
cough, night sweats, weight loss and appetite loss. After 6 weeks, Josephine
died early one morning in her mother’s arms. In an era where death was highly
visible, she became yet another woman cocooned in crape mourning clothes. She
adorned her neck with hair jewellery and had a post-mortem photograph taken of
her daughter. Just seven months after Josephine’s death, her husband died of
old age. Alone and feeling nothing but numbness and darkness she projected this
blackness to the world, wearing her black mourning clothes for the rest of her
long life.
Queen
Victoria had a major influence on mourning rituals during the Victorian era. After
her husband Prince Albert’s death from Typhoid in 1861, Queen Victoria went
into mourning and remained in mourning for the 40 years left of her life.
Society followed their Queen’s example and elaborate mourning rituals became
the norm. In “Queen Victoria: A Biographical Companion” Rappaport
describes how her “unceasing ritualization of mourning” meant “the queen would
raise herself as an archetype of sober Victorian widowhood”. She was the widow
in which all widows would emulate. She stayed in seclusion, rarely appearing in
public, which widows copied. For the first year after her husband’s death
during first mourning, Myrtle remained in her home except for visits to church.
Mourning consumed and took precedence of Queen Victoria’s time just like
Victorian widows in society. Myrtle had heard rumours that Queen Victoria left
everything as her husband had left it.
She wore black mourning clothes for the rest of her life and whilst in full
mourning for three years after his death she clothed her staff entirely in
black too. Wealthy households imitated this, dressing servants in black. Like
Victoria, Myrtle and fellow Victorian widows clothed themselves in black
mourning clothes in the first stage of mourning which lasted a year and one
day. Queen Victoria spent the 40 years left of her life commemorating him, for
example getting statues made of him. This resulted in a trend for mourning
memorabilia such as hair jewellery, which Myrtle along with many grieving women
commissioned. Jillian Bost notes that “the public grew tired of their queen’s
refusal to be seen in public, and her deep mourning that kept
her from them.” Queen Victoria realized she owed it to her people to engage in
the royal spectacle they yearned for. This reintroduction into society
and normality and the ending of seclusion was also echoed in mourning etiquette
as Myrtle undertook half mourning easing back into colour, social events and
more elaborate jewellery and fabrics, after completing a year in full mourning.
Myrtle idolized Queen Victoria and felt an affinity with her as she had experienced
heart wrenching loss like herself.
Mourning
rituals of the Victorian era included elaborate graves, expensive funerals,
withdrawing from society, wearing black mourning clothes, and adorning oneself
with memorabilia of the deceased. Elizabeth Wilson states the mourning ritual
was not “conspicuous consumption” instead, it expressed “both the deep
seriousness of the Victorian evangelical sensibility and the generalized
hysteria of the culture”. In an era where the middle class population was large
and increasingly affluent, with life expectancy rising, Wilson notes “the
particular emphasis on mourning throughout the nineteenth century may have been
because death at any age was no longer taken for granted”. Myrtle and Gilbert
could afford their child and death was not expected, instead they had hopes of
a full life for their daughter. Myrtle embraced all the mourning rituals
expected of her, hoping they would cure and lessen the pain she felt from the
loss of her daughter and her husband. Unlike Myrtle, some were more skeptical
of mourning rituals. Jalland describes how a Victorian doctor Keith Norman
MacDonald wrote a pamphlet in 1875 on “Death and how to Divest it of its
Terrors” in which he “rejected the wearing of mourning-dress as a “silly custom”
which “adds to the embaressments’ of mourners”. Jalland
also notes that Victorian novelists such as Charles Dickens, “tended to ridicule extremes in mourning
etiquette, enhancing the impression that widows were motivated more often by
social emulation, convention and vanity than genuine sorrow”.
Prior to the
undertakers taking Josephine’s body, Myrtle cut a lock of her daughter’s dark
hair. The hair that Myrtle routinely washed, plaited, stroked and adored. This lock she then sent to a hair artist to
be made into a locket. In a printed catalogue she chose an understated but
beautiful design. At the back of the catalogue a discreet guarantee written in
tiny lettering, said locks of hair would not be mixed or substituted in the
process. Myrtle balked at the thought of a stranger touching and looking after
the lock and carelessly muddling up the precious hair, but her husband Gilbert
assured her that her worries were foolish. Myrtle got out her poetry book
entitled ‘Last Poems, 1862’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a popular Victorian
poet, finding solace in ‘Only A Curl’. Just like Myrtle, the bereaved mother
has lost a child and cherishes one curl of his hair as a memento. In the poem Galia
Ofek deduces that the “curl” is the only “physical presence of the departed”
and a “powerful spiritual connection between the living mother and her dead
child”. Barrett Browning conveys that the lock of hair should not be allowed to
become a symbol of their eternal and final separation, but rather “an image of
almost divine or mystical unity between the dead and the living, a vibrant
spiritual cord which ties the two worlds” and two people together. Pamela
A.Milller claims “jewellery had been made from hair or had incorporated hair
for centuries but it was the Victorians who turned mourning and sentimental
jewelry into a true industry”. Elizabeth Hallam and Jenny Hockey reasons “Human
material that was regarded as dead while the person was living, is thus
transformed into a living substance at death in the sense that it is reanimated
as a possession capable of sustaining the deceased in close proximity to the
bereaved. The physical durability of hair makes this possible as it stands in
stark contrast to the instabilities of the fleshy body.” It is the only body
part that endures so is therefore precious. Myrtle’s locket was a physical
memorial and combined with mourning clothing, made death highly visible in
Victorian culture. The locket is made of jet, a form of fossilized wood. Jet
was one of the only forms of jewelry permitted to be worn under the strict
Victorian code of mourning, particularly during half mourning. Inside the
locket there are three small pearls which symbolize tears. The design of the
hair is fluid and curvaceous. The curves and form suggest movement and are
dynamic denoting life. Shapes of solid
colour created by multiple strands of hair contrast single strands delicately
arranged, creating depth within the locket. The jagged edge of the jet locket
juxtaposes the smooth form of the hair encased inside. A thin piece of glass
separates Myrtle from the hair in the locket, much like her daughter whom she
can no longer hold. The oval shape of the locket echoes the pearls and could be
interpreted as one large tear. Today, society’s attitudes towards hair has
changed. Physical reminders such as hair jewellery are not worn and are often
viewed as macabre and distasteful.
In the afternoon Myrtle asked a photographer,
George Wakefield to the house to take a post-mortem photograph for ten shillings
and six pence of her
recently deceased daughter. Gilbert, who was fascinated with photography,
talked to George eagerly asking questions about his camera, partly a coping
mechanism to distract himself and blank out the painful reality of his
daughters death. George explained his Daguerreotype camera consisted of a light-sensitive
silver-coated copper plate. It is like a mirror and the image is beamed onto
the plate and then fixed with a salt solution. He explained that the Daguerreotype was invented in 1839 and it was a cheaper and quicker
alternative to portrait painting. Born out of an invention, it also died out
due to an invention, that of snapshot photography, which made photography
available to the masses and was cheaper and easier to use. George brought with
him a steel rod frame that he sometimes used to position the deceased if the
family favoured a standing pose but Gilbert disliked the idea of it.
Meanwhile,
Myrtle was upstairs, doting on her daughter. She brushed her daughters hair,
dressed her in her finest day clothes and chose some pearls to adorn her neck.
These pearls were also seen in Myrtle’s locket and could again symbolize tears.
In the photograph each person is looking in different directions. Gilbert looks
directly into the camera a pose less emotional, and focused on the job in hand.
Myrtle ignores the camera looking into the distance, too numb to focus on
anything except treasuring the final time her family would be together and
whole. Due to the slow shutter speed, the photograph is heavily posed as positions
had to be held for 10 minutes. Myrtle and Gilbert appeared slightly blurred
suggesting slight movement in this period when the photograph was being taken.
Josephine in contrast, was entirely in focus, with perfect clarity, as because she
was deceased, she had no motion. Myrtle loved this searing image of her
daughter, it highlighted exactly what she wanted and she believed herself and
her husband were unimportant next to her special daughter. It reflected how she
saw the whole world blurred and her daughter bright and brilliant. The
photograph has a shallow depth of field, with only a small amount of Josephine
in focus, again denoting nothing is important except for her. Myrtle thought
her daughter looked beautiful in this photograph and found the image a great
comfort. The image was more accurate and perfect than Myrtles muddled and hazy
old memory and she could admire her daughter whenever she wanted. Unlike many
post-mortem photographs, Josephine has open eyes as if she is awake, and is
relaxed in a natural pose void of stiffness. Josephine has a warm peaceful face
and seems to have more life in her than her parents. It is a positive and hopeful
image of death. Death was not feared by Victorians as they believed in a better
after life. However to die unremembered and not mourned was feared. Myrtles face appeared numb, lifeless and
haunting, in contrast to her daughter’s. Myrtle was unmistakably in mourning.
Myrtle, Josephine and Gilbert all wore black creating a somber mood to the
photograph. The photograph is taken in
bed, with a blanket over Josephine as if she is alive and keeping warm. Josephine
is dressed in daywear to add to the sense of lifelikeness and normality of the
situation. Both Myrtle and Gilbert are touching and holding their daughter.
This shows a comfort, easiness and familiarity with death. It also indicates
the desire to retain Josephine as a family member and to cement that forever in
photograph. If Josephine was portrayed as explicitly dead, lying with closed
eyes and alone, the photograph would be a reminder of mortality and of the
finality of her life. Myrtle had seen post-mortem photographs in friends of the
family’s houses featuring the coffin and didn’t like them. Although life is
extinguished it is portrayed as continuing. Her mother and father will keep her
alive, through memory and memorabilia. In the background, a covered piece of
furniture can be seen. It is an ambiguous object and it is more ghostly than
Josephine. It slightly echoes the shape of a cross and could symbolize
religion. In the background it encompasses all of the family, denoting how religion
will keep their family together. Another interpretation could be that it is a
coffin. Covered in a sheet it masks the reality of death just as the
post-mortem photograph does. In the Victorian era, people could not travel long
distances quickly to attend funerals so Josephine’s post-mortem photograph
allowed her relatives to see her before her burial. Today post-mortem
photography has stopped. Living in an age where death was focused on and highly
visible Myrtle found post-mortem photography beautiful and comforting. However in
the present day it is widely seen as sensationalistic and vulgar as there is a
social discomfort. It is not a necessity anymore as transport is extremely
quick so relatives can attend a funeral and see the deceased. Wilson notes that
“contemporary culture has taken flight from the very idea of death”. This could
be as less people are religious and therefore do not believe in a better
afterlife, so faced with annihilation and no comfort people blank it out. In
Victorian times dying would occur in the home and mourning attire worn in
public so highly visible, people would be used to it. However today David
Wendell Moller notes that “dying is banished from public visibility as it is
isolated within the professional, technical confines of the hospital”.
Just 7 months after Josephine’s death, Myrtle’s husband Gilbert died.
Feeling numb except for darkness, Myrtle projected this to the outside world
swathing herself in black mourning attire. Jalland states that the “primary
functions of mourning-dress in the Victorian Period were to identify the
mourner, show respect for the dead and elicit the sympathy of the community,
and match the mourner’s somber mood”. Additionally Amelia Sedley-Osborne notes
that “mourning attire was a distinct way to show wealth and status”. Mourning
clothing followed fashions and prolonged mourning denoted wealth. Strict dress
regulations were applied “most rigorously” to widows. Myrtle wore solid black
mourning clothes for first mourning which lasted for one year. She wore plain
dull black clothing void of shine and covered in crape combined with a crape
bonnet and veil in public. For second mourning which lasted for nine months
Myrtle wore garments with small trims of crape and for half mourning lasting
three to six months, she discarded crape and wore clothes in lilac and grey
hues. Crape was a harsh crimped and stiff dull silk gauze and was extensively
used in mourning clothes. It was a woven fabric which was made from tightly
twisted silk threads. Myrtle wore it during first mourning. It was heavy
pulling Myrtle down creating a stooped figure that radiated sorrow. Myrtle
found that crape was uncomfortable and impractical adding to the misery she
felt for the loss of her husband and daughter.
Myrtle appeared just another black figure in the Victorian streets,
cocooned in black mourning dress. Elizabeth Wilson suggests “their widow’s
crape acted as a kindly camourflage” allowing them to “leave the mating game
without dishonor”. Myrtle blended into the sea of black, she was left alone and
not expected to marry again. Jalland contemplates that in the Victorian advice
manuals on etiquette “Manners and Social Usages in 1884” Mrs Sherwood said “A
mourning dress does protect a woman while in deepest grief against the untimely
gayety of a passing stranger. It is a wall, a cell of refuge”. Myrtle felt that
her mourning clothes spoke for her, explaining and giving reason of her ashen
face and cold demeanor. Mourning clothes facilitated the seclusion that Queen
Victoria craved. Lou Taylor argues that the “harsh restrictions governing
widows’ clothing reflected the view of the wife’s role held in the nineteenth
century middle- and upper- class British society”. The “drab, uncomfortable
attire symbolized the perception that a wife’s identity and sexuality were
subsumed in her husbands and dies with him.” Myrtles favourite mourning coat
was made from black silk taffeta and was fashionable in the later 1800s. The
stand collar is tight and restrictive around the neck concealing all flesh.
This high neck is typical of Victorian fashion. Myrtles jacket had 12 delicate
buttons down the centre front. It was made from silk taffeta and featured small
black appliqued flowers sewn on to the shoulders. It has a crape trim seen at
the hem and Myrtle wore this garment during second mourning, when more detailed
garments were permitted. Myrtles jacket was handcrafted by a friend of the
family, with meticulous attention to detail. It has a yellow lining with
visible smooth curved boning which follows the ideal and fashionable shape of
Victorian times of a cinched in narrow a waist and broad shoulders. The coat
has puff sleeve gathering which was fashionable in Victorian times. The coat is
solid black echoing Myrtles dark feelings. Victorian women like Myrtle didn’t
work so could devote all her time to mourning and being a widow. In contrast,
when women were a valued workforce in 1914 during World War One, it became
impractical for them to interrupt their work in order for seclusion and formal
mourning. In contemporary society black still denotes mourning and is worn at
funerals.
Mourning was a lucrative business in Victorian times. Wilson states
“every department store had a mourning section”. Myrtle bought her black silk
mourning crepe to be made into mourning attire from Courtauld's. Courtauld’s
was a family textile firm and achieved huge profits solely through its
manufacture of crape as the demand for it was so great. Jalland notes that the
“introduction of fashion magazines for middle-class women, in which mourning
costume was updated according to the latest seasons fashions” encouraged
spending on crape fabric. Profits grew further due to the public belief that it
was unlucky to keep crape clothing in the house after the mourning period had
ended which caused women to throw away and buy new garments and fabric. Myrtles
mourning coat is symbolic as on the outside of her she must project darkness
yet hidden inside her is a small amount of light and colour, that comes from
her memories with her husband and daughter and hope that one day in her
afterlife she will be reunited with them.
