Summary:

In "Eminent Victorians", Strachey by his portrayal of character "Florence Nightingale"

portrays the lives of ordinary people especially women's unsatisfactory way of life.
Through his negative depiction of character, he is able to uphold the effects female
individualism/feminism made in the early 20th century. The author confirms 20th century
as a period of women's liberty. He depicts women's being/character as molded by the
shackles and confinements of society. The character "Florence Nightingale' symbolizes
the current 20th century movement for female liberty. She also desires to go against the
social standards and act according to her will.

Throughout his writing, Strachey presents the protagonist who is molded by society
expectations and set standards of behaviour. He also illuminates on the religious
spirituality in his prose extract which acted as a guiding light throughout people's lives.
Several phrases in the text reflected that women's actions are molded by the sacred
force instead of her own personality which is in direct contrast with the rising movement
of feminism after WW2, when females started living their lives as they deemed fit. His
character portrayal of "Florence Nightingale" reflects the changes in human form in
early 20th century due to contrasting ideas of later religious and social liberty factors.

Strachey starts his first two paragraphs by portraying characters other than Nightingale
to reflect how our own perceptions shaped the Nightingale character. In first paragraph,
the author reflects on the compliant behaviour of women and the limitations on Victorian
women. The second paragraph begins with the character portrayal in relation with social
expectations and then names a few places. The number of locations mentioned might
confuse and lead one to assume that the protagonist has freedom and do as she
wishes but these actually presents the pre-made choices for her, rather than the
choices made by her. The entire text of "Florence Nightingale" is concerned with the
limitations and the struggle of characters against these confinements of society. Due to
this multi-faceted perspective portrayal of characters, critics named this novel 'a high
literary art'.

Florence Nightingale is portrayed as a proto-20th century feminist, and as having

excessive freedom ,however, it is presented in negative light. Strachey further reflects
her intellectual awareness of her fate due to belonging to Victorian era and also her
desire to reject and not be compliant to male's demands. Through several lines in the
text, the author encourages change in perception of human life form by refusing to act
according to others' term and live life according to their wishes. The character of
Nightingale fortells the 20th century women's behaviour change from prior compliancy
towards shackles of domestic life to complete subversion or abandonment of
household chores and duties This may be seen as a warning to 20th century women
not to abandon their duties towards family and the household due to increased reliance
on electrical appliances used to ease household chores.

Overall, in this extract of ‘Eminent Victorians’, Strachey explores the effect of social
influence on the female identity in this extract. The author also considers consequences
for future female liberation. Although, the entire extract can be considered to be a
celebration of 20th century female freedom, it is made clear by "Florence Nightingale"
characterization that the author is concerned about the destructive effect caused by
liberation of women on society and change in the perception of human form.