Emily Wilding Davison: Secular Martyr?

This article discusses the political action of Emily Wilding Davison, a British suffrage activist, or suffragette, who died in the course of a civil disobedience action in 1913. Public opinion of her sacrifice and the militancy of the suffrage movement in Great Britain is considered. The direct action protest tactics of the Women's Suffrage and Political Union (WSPU), of which Davison was a member, are described. The conflicts between suffrage activists and men in the police force, political parties, and prisons who sought to control their protests are explored. The relationship between self-sacrifice and the incitement of political violence by the WSPU is considered. The social reception of Davison as a martyr by the WSPU is considered.