Emily Wilding Davison

Davidson is a rule maker but failed to do her duty because she was against the law.

She joined the Women’s Social and Political Union to fight the right to vote.

Emily Davidson is more labeled as deviant and punished for crime, because her own initiative and without WSPU approval, her actions developed from disrupting meetings to stone throwing, breaking windows in the House of Commons, for setting fire to postal boxes. She was violated and found guilty of causing disturbance and sentenced to prison and planted a bomb.

She was prone to criminal behavior by attempting suicide like she threw herself off of the upper gallery floor of the prison so that she could appear badly injured, and then reported the act to authorities. That’s why she suffered severe head and spinal damage, causing discomfort for the rest of her life.

Believing that an injured or weakened suffragette starving in prison would reflect poorly on the government, she began a hunger strike while incarcerated.

Painful Force-Feeding

A suffragette at Holloway prison in 1913

Suffragettes at Holloway prison

She died from her injuries by stopping the horse race and she believe by stopping the race would bring attention of the people that she rise the WSPU flag. Her funeral was silent and attracted a large crowed. Her headstone has inscribed on it: “Deeds not Words”.

As a conclusion Emily Davidson was a martyr, her sacrifice would bring success to the Suffragettes and to define deviant. Emily committed suicide to show the circumstances it is a violation of women rights. It symbolizes that she broke the norms to allow the women to vote. It has brought people to listen to her suffrage. It is informal to commit suicide but at the same time it is formal because it has brought power to women