Women in maritime history are hard to come by, and it is often difficult to differentiate myth from fact. These maritime women come in all types - some heroes, some outlaws. A good example of a story that illustrates a ‘proper’ woman turning hero, is the account of Grace Darling.
Grace was considered a proper Victorian woman by behaviors such as abstaining from too much exercise, being fair of face, mild in manner, respectful, and so forth. Perhaps it is for that reason that Grace Darling’s story struck such a responsive chord with the public: her embodiment of fine virtues crossed with a brave deed.
While the men went out to work, it was not unusual for wives or daughters to stay behind at the lighthouse to cook, clean, spin, and maintain the lights. What made Grace’s story unique, however, was that she did more than tend lights. On this occasion, she actually assisted her father in the rescue of vessel passengers.
Grace Darling Spots the Forfarshire and Aids in the Rescue
Born November 24, 1815, Grace was the daughter of British lighthouse keeper, William Darling, Principal Keeper of the Longstone Lighthouse on the Farne Islands, and his wife, Thomasin.
On September 7, 1838, the steamship Forfarshire (much renowned for its opulent accommodations and novel steam-powered engine) ran into Big Harcar Rock, a little less than a mile away from the Longstone lighthouse. Twenty-two year old Grace was busy working with her father and elderly mother, while her younger siblings slept. Her twenty year old brother was ashore, leaving the family a pair of hands short.
It was about 4:45 AM when Grace saw the wreck through her spyglass, but it wasn’t until closer to 7 AM that she and her father could see survivors on the rocks. With her brother away, and only an unruly coble (a small boat built especially for combating surf), which required two to four men to row, she had no choice but to help her father row out to retrieve the survivors. Thirty-five people died in the wreck of the Forfarshire, nine escaped, and nine were stranded.
Grace Darling the British Media Icon
Generations of English girls and women were told of the legend of brave Grace helping her father row out to save the survivors in a high tide and somewhat rough sea. There is no denying her efforts did take some measure of physical courage. She was a young woman not given the opportunity for much strenuous physical activity, but neither she nor her father seem to have thought much of it, just accepting her assistance as a matter of course.
Once the newspapers happened upon the story of Grace, they filled England’s homes with the “heroic conduct of Miss Grace Horsley Darling”, as The Times of London declared. For the next century, Grace’s example became the stuff of legend.
Dying of tuberculosis on October 24, 1842, Grace was only twenty-six years old. Her untimely death heightened the heroic undercurrent of her story, and her tale spawned several fictional tales at the time, as well as poems by both Wordsworth and Swinburne.
Sources:
Cordingly, D., (2001). Seafaring women: Adventures of pirate queens, female stowaways and sailors’ wives. New York: Random House Publishing, Inc.
Creighton, M.S., & Norling, L., (1996). Iron men, wooden women: Gender and seafaring in the Atlantic world, 1700-1920. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Druett, J., (2000). She captains: Heroines and hellions of the sea. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Heather Strong - Heather is a full time worker and full time student with an ardent love for American History and Government. She currently lives in ...
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