In an undated letter to her sister Parthenope (c. 1844), Florence Nightingale wrote:"What is life? It cannot be merely a gaining of experience it is freedom, voluntary force, free-will, & therefore must be a hard fought battle in order to make a choice, there must be evil & good to choose from" (Vicinus & Nergaard 1990: 25). As a victim aware of the social constraints that Victorian women had to tackle in their development as independent citizens, Nightingale fought for further education, for a life outside marriage and for the establishment of midwifery as a respected profession. In such a gallant endeavour, the most passionate battle which she undertook was to acquire a voice which would enable her to make her own choices and be heard and considered both in the public and private spheres of her time
