Background: In a period of hopelessness motivated by a restrictive Victorian society that confined women
to the domestic realm, Florence Nightingale wrote the cathartic Cassandra (1852) in an attempt to trans-
form her despair into rebellion.
Aims: To discuss Nightingale’s approach to women’s role in Cassandra.
Methods: Historical Research was used to analyse Cassandra. Data gathered from primary and secondary
sources were synthesised and reported in terms of their historical context and significance.
Findings: Adopting the genre of ‘sage writing’, Nightingale positions herself as a female messiah in an
autoreferential narrative that projects women’s future possibilities for release.
Discussion: Assuming the identity of a prophetic Greek heroine cursed to never be believed, Nightingale’s
Cassandra claims professional work as the liberating solution for Victorian women.
Conclusion: For the first time, Nightingale predicts in Cassandra some incipient prerequisites for a future
nursing path for women’s change