Question 1

Who was Emily Davison and why is she important in the history of the suffragettes?

Accepted Answer

Emily Wilding Davison (1872-1913) was one of the most radical figures of the British suffragette movement. What matters most is that she embodied the shift from peaceful campaigning to direct action, championed by the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). Her fatal act at the Epsom Derby in 1913 – throwing herself under the king's horse – made her a martyr, but what is often forgotten is that she was also a brilliant intellectual, an Oxford graduate who could not receive her degree because the university then refused to award diplomas to women.

Question 2

What is Emily Davison's most famous act and what impact did it have?

Accepted Answer

Her most famous act was her gesture on 4 June 1913 at the Epsom Derby: she threw herself in front of Anmer, the horse of King George V, and died four days later. What makes this episode decisive is less her death than the way the WSPU turned it into a symbol: her funeral, on 14 June, was a vast procession of thousands of suffragettes dressed in white, and her grave bears the motto Deeds not words. The event galvanised public opinion and put unprecedented pressure on the government, even though it took until 1918 for women to win the right to vote.

Question 3

What was Emily Davison's daily life like between her militant actions?

Accepted Answer

Picture a woman torn between the modest life of a schoolteacher and a total commitment to activism. Her mornings were devoted to reading the newspapers and writing pamphlets; in the afternoon, she took part in WSPU meetings or handed out leaflets in the streets of London. In the evening, she attended rallies. What is striking is that she often changed lodgings, partly because of her repeated stays in prison, where she went on hunger strikes. Her diet was that of a middle-class Edwardian woman, but in prison she deliberately deprived herself of food, then endured force-feeding, a brutal practice denounced as torture.

Question 4

What symbolic objects are associated with the suffragettes and Emily Davison?

Accepted Answer

The suffragettes used powerful objects to display their cause. The colours purple, white and green – dignity, purity and hope respectively – appeared on sashes and ribbons. The Hunger Strike Medal, awarded by the WSPU, honoured the activists who had fasted in prison. Emily carried two WSPU flags on her the day of the Derby. What matters most is that these objects were not mere accessories: they turned each suffragette into a living standard-bearer for the cause, making the movement visible in public spaces.

Question 5

What do the words 'suffragette' and 'deeds not words' mean in the context of the time?

Accepted Answer

The term 'suffragette' was at first a mockery used by opponents, but the activists embraced it with pride to describe those who demanded the right to vote through radical actions. By contrast, 'suffragist' referred rather to supporters of peaceful methods. The motto 'Deeds not words' was the rallying cry of the WSPU: it meant that petitions and speeches were no longer enough, and that spectacular actions were needed – such as hiding in Parliament or throwing oneself under a horse – to force change.

Question 6

What anecdote shows Emily Davison's ingenuity in getting around the rules?

Accepted Answer

During the 1911 census, Emily hid for an entire night in a broom cupboard at the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the British Parliament. Her aim: to be able to give the House of Commons as her address and thus protest against the political exclusion of women. What is often forgotten is that this act was not just a flashy stunt: it denounced the fact that women, not being citizens, had no place in the institutions. The anecdote perfectly illustrates the motto 'Deeds not words'.

Question 7

In what global and British context did Emily Davison's action take place?

Accepted Answer

Emily Davison's struggle unfolded in Edwardian Britain (1901-1910 and beyond), a period of social and political tension. In 1893, New Zealand had already granted women the right to vote, setting an inspiring precedent. In 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst founded the WSPU, which radicalised the movement. The government responded with repression: in 1913, the Cat and Mouse Act allowed weakened hunger strikers to be released and then re-imprisoned. What matters most is that Emily's action was part of an escalation of political violence, in which each side hardened its position, until the First World War suspended the movement.

Question 8

What places are associated with the life and death of Emily Davison?

Accepted Answer

Several key places mark her journey. She was born in Blackheath (London) in 1872. The Palace of Westminster was the scene of her hiding place during the 1911 census. Holloway Prison held her on several occasions and subjected her to force-feeding. Epsom Downs Racecourse was the site of her fatal act in 1913. Finally, she rests in the cemetery of St Mary's Church in Morpeth, in Northumberland, where her grave bears the motto 'Deeds not words'. What sets these places apart is that they have become symbols of the suffragette struggle, still visited today.

Question 9

What primary sources allow historians to learn about Emily Davison's action?

Accepted Answer

Historians have several sources at their disposal. The 1911 census record proves that she gave the crypt of the House of Commons as her address. The newspapers of the time covered the Epsom Derby extensively, with accounts such as: “A woman rushed under the hooves of the King's horse.” Emily's headstone bears the inscription 'Deeds not words'. Finally, the WSPU's journal, The Suffragette, celebrated her as having “given her life for the cause of women.” What is striking is that these sources make it possible to reconstruct not only the facts, but also the way the movement built its own narrative.

Question 10

What little-known detail reveals the complexity of Emily Davison's act at the Derby?

Accepted Answer

A detail often overlooked: Emily had bought a return train ticket to Epsom on the day of the Derby. This small object, preserved by historians, fuels a debate: did she intend to survive, or was her act a suicide? What matters most is that this ticket suggests she may not have planned to die. The key to the episode is that her action remains ambiguous – somewhere between deliberate sacrifice and tragic accident – which takes nothing away from its symbolic impact.

Emily Wilding Davison(1872 — 1913)

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