‘When women had to channel the dead to be heard’

Just thirty-six hours after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Emma Hardinge Britten, a forty-two-year-old Londoner, delivered an impassioned speech in support of the life and work of the murdered president to a stunned crowd of ‘up wards of 3,000 people.’ 

‘Mourn for Abraham Lincoln with your hearts, but prove your love to him by taking up the burdens he’s laid down and finishing the noble purposes of his great life so untimely quenched’ she told the crowd. 

But how did she get to speak at such a prestigious event at a time when women were denied the vote and not afforded a legitimate place within political life? The answer lies with Spiritualism. Emma would go on to write and speak about spiritualism all over the world and even define its key principles, which are still upheld today. She would use her voice to promote women’s rights and call for the abolition of slavery. This is the story of the life and achievements of Emma Hardinge Britten.

Emma was born Emma Floyd on the 2nd May 1823 in Bethnal Green and the records show she was baptized in St Matthew’s Church, also in Bethnal Green. By her own admission, was an unusual child.  In her autobiography, published posthumously by her sister, she reveals;

‘I fancy that I was never young, joyous or happy, like other children; my delight was to steal away alone and seek the solitude of woods and fields, but above all to wander in churchyards, cathedral cloisters and old monastic ruins’

During these moments of solitude, she would hear ‘strange sounds’ in the form of ‘exquisite music’ and hear voices uttering ‘prophesies of future events, especially in coming misfortunes’ 

She was misunderstood by those around her and garnered much attention for her ‘fine voice’ and passionate love of music, as much for her ability to ‘describe dead relatives.’ She tells of hearing servants talk in hushed voices at her ability to prophesize ‘what was sure to come’.

When Emma was eleven her father, Ebenezer died. Emma tells of experiencing the ‘bitterness’ of death at her father’s passing and how as a ‘little eleven-year-old child’ she now had to ‘earn my bread’ by teaching music. Grief-stricken and hating her circumstances, Emma would have a remarkable experience that would shape the course of her life. She resolved to follow her father, but was;   

‘Saved from seeking a winding sheet in the Avon’s depths in Bristol, by the sound of my dead father’s voice bidding me to return to school ad leading me back, as I distinctly felt, by the hand. To me it had seemed as though I had died then, and shortly afterwards commenced a new life in musical studies in Paris’    

But Emma’s new musical life in Paris would have troubling consequences. Her ability to play pieces before they were requested, led her mother to believe that Emma was under some ‘evil, perhaps Satanic’ forces. Emma describes herself as being a ‘magnetic subject.’ Fearing for her daughter’s life and sanity, the pair returned to London and Emma gave up music for the stage, performing at the Adelphi in London. Emma doesn’t go into much detail about her time on the London stage, but does allude to it being a difficult time for her and hints at manipulation by an older man she describes as a ‘baffled sensualist.’ Not much is known about the secret occult order she became involved with, but it is thought that this is where she would adopt the name ‘Hardinge’ which she would use for the rest of her life. Emma seems unclear about where her gifts come from, but she was starting to believe that her destiny lay in these ‘ever present unseen powers.’

Spiritualists believe that communication with the dead is possible and that these spirits are also able to impart knowledge on moral or ethical issues. Anyone could train to be a medium and women were thought to be especially gifted and closer to the realm of spirits. The movement drew from the teachings of Emanual Swedenborg (1688-1772) who was a scientist and theologian. His book ‘Heaven and Hell’ dealt with the afterlife. The writing of Franz Mesmer (1734 – 1815) was also key to the movement. His theories around the existence of natural energy between animate and inanimate objects, which he called ‘animal magnetism’, became known as mesmerism. His work also included hypnotism and there was a large element of showmanship involved. Crowds were to be entertained as well enthralled. The mysterious ‘rappings’ displayed by the Fox sisters in 1848 in New York, signaled the birth of spiritualism and seances attracted much attention.    

Women at this time were supposed to be ‘private’ and only concerned with matters of the home. The philosophy of ‘True Womanhood’, which gained popularity (mainly with men!) in the 19th century, contained four principles; piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity. But women were growing in their discontent and spiritualism offered a clever way to circumnavigate the constraints of these principles. They used the voices of dead men to get their messages of freedom and equality out of the séance room and into the public consciousness. 

Emma arrived in New York in 1865, co-erced into performing at a theatre by a theatre manager who offered to pay for Emma and her mother’s passage. This was not to be a blossoming personal or professional friendship and Emma knew her stay in New York would not be for long. Or so she thought. She was immediately surrounded by the burgeoning spiritualist movement, but her first experience of a séance horrified her. Her landlady had persuaded her to attend a meeting that she describes in her autobiography. After witnessing a ‘sad, thin faced man’ repeating letters of the alphabet and another man writing them down, Emma is furious when the man announces; ‘The spirit answers, Immortality would be a mere fiction would there be no other evidence of it other than Bible teaching’ 

Hearing the words ‘Bible’ and ‘fiction’ in the same breath, Emma rushed back to her room to ‘fall on her knees and pray for forgiveness.’ 

Emma decides that she will attend more seances to furnish her with enough ammunition to write a scathing article, upon her return to England, which she intends to call ’American Fooleries.’ 

Something is awakened in her though and with remarkable insight she writes; ‘Like hundreds of others whom I have since observed running away at the first moment they hear anything concerning their stereotyped faiths that they do not like, instead of stopping to enquire or reason about, I too, ran away.’ 

Perhaps she thought of her father’s voice and the touch of his hand leading her back to safety? Whatever it was, she would find that spiritualism answered the questions within her and soothe the fears she had about her own gifts and abilities. Her faith, which was tested by the treatment of women, the poor and by slavery, was able to provide her a platform in which she could question those inequalities. 

Emma became involved in Abraham Lincoln’s election campaign and was invited to embark on a tour delivering political lectures at thirty-two venues. At a time when women were denied the vote and not permitted to speak ‘in public’, it seems incredible that she was given this much power. Lincoln’s wife, Mary, was already known for her keen interest in Spiritualism, and this was heightened by the death of their son in 1862. Both would find comfort and support from their spiritualist friends.    

Emma married William Britten in 1870 and the pair would travel to Australia and New Zealand as missionaries, spreading their message. She would also be one of the six founding members of The Theosophical Society with Helena Blavatsky. This movement would gain traction in the UK and became an important part of feminist political culture. One member, Annie Besant, would play a pivotal role in the Matchgirls’ Strike of 1888. 

Emma returned to England and died in Manchester in 1899. A wealth of her writing and records of her speeches are left behind, but the intertwinement of Spiritualism and the women’s movement seems largely forgotten. We no longer have to channel the dead to be heard, but we should not forget the courage and resourcefulness of these women fighting for their place in society. 

Author

Written by Alison Murray. Alison has also authored our blog post about Witches of the East End.

Sources

www.ancestry.co.uk   

Autobiography of Emma Hardinge Britten 

www.daily.jstor.org  ‘When Women Channeled the Dead to be Heard’

www.britannica.com Spiritualism