Christabel Pankhurst's Suffragette Speech: Rhetoric Analyzed

Introduction

After her release from prison for militant suffragette activities — breaking windows and burning buildings — Christabel Pankhurst made clear to England that she was in no way mollified or subdued. Her recording of a speech asserting that the time had come for women to have the right to vote was made and disseminated, and it serves as the primary text for analysis in this paper. The women's suffragette movement of the early twentieth century was pivotal in signaling a change in the political tide; it ushered in a new era for women's rights, representation, and social and political status. It set the wheels in motion for the subsequent waves of feminism and women's empowerment that swept across the Atlantic to the United States.

The movement was helmed and steered by a group of women who understood that their rights would be hard-earned. Among them was Christabel Pankhurst, the daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst, the founder of the Women's Social and Political Union and a leading figure in the British women's suffrage movement. Upon being released from Holloway Prison in 1908, Christabel recorded a speech as a press release for followers of the movement. Apart from being a rare instance of recorded speech at that time, the text itself was a departure from her usual "Queen of the Mob" style of inflammatory language. The speech was conciliatory — a call for women to join together in seeking their due rights, and at the same time a measured argument against, and targeted rebranding of, the then-popular image of the suffragettes as "mad extremists."

This essay explores how Pankhurst's speech functioned as an early example of Toulmin's Practical Model of Argument by examining how the structure of the speech aligns with Toulmin's model. Next, Burkean identification theory is applied to show how identification of one party with another served as a persuasive process technique, encouraging the audience to join forces with the militant suffragette movement. Finally, the paper uses Goffman's framing theory to explain how the medium of the message affected the way audiences processed its content.

The Toulmin Model

In his book The Uses of Argument, Stephen Toulmin presents a basic model of argumentation that graphically maps how an argument can flow functionally to achieve the greatest persuasive impact. The model does this by prioritizing reason as the crux of the argument, making it evident and easily identifiable through the natural progression of the argument, and by backing the warrant — the justification for the claim — exceptionally well. His theory for practical argument borrowed from the mathematical style of logic first introduced by Aristotle, but was supplemented by a focus on the justificatory function of argument, as opposed to the inferential function of theoretical arguments (Toulmin). Christabel Pankhurst's speech is a prime example of rhetoric that follows Toulmin's model, as it first identifies a claim — that women deserve the right to vote — and then provides justification for this claim using reasoned arguments, evidence, and backing.

The Toulmin model typically utilizes six steps to produce an effective argument. First is the statement of the argument — the claim that is made. Second are the grounds upon which the argument is based, i.e., the evidence. Third comes the warrant, which consists of the assumption that relates the evidence to the claim. Fourth is the qualifier, which alerts the audience to instances in which the claim might not always be true. Fifth is the rebuttal — the acknowledgement of an alternative point of view. Sixth is the backing, which provides support to the warrant and justifies its existence (Toulmin).

To recap: the warrant connects the grounds to the claim. Essentially, it is a kind of syllogism in which a conclusion is reached based on two premises. For instance, the claim may be that a storm is coming; the grounds for the claim are that the wind is howling and dark clouds are fast approaching. The warrant — the underlying assumption — is that storms often occur when dark clouds and strong winds arrive. Thus, the claim is linked to evidence by way of an underlying assumption about what the evidence means. This model is applied to the text of Pankhurst's speech in the application section below.

Burkean Identification Theory

Kenneth Burke, in his work A Rhetoric of Motives, focuses attention on how identity is actually more important than persuasive rhetoric in moving an audience. In this sense, a speaker who seeks to win over an audience must present a reason for that audience to identify with the group that the speaker wants them to join or support. The key concept here is identification. Identification fosters unity, and unity fosters cohesion. Persuasive devices — such as argumentative words, phrases, and images — have their place in traditional rhetoric, but in Burke's theory, the use of identity is far more influential in capturing the imagination of the audience and spurring it to action.

Identity politics is thus viewed as an important element in argument. Kim et al. show distinctly that political identity carries a great deal of social influence. Altman notes that those who attack identity politics as a symptom of political correctness tend to operate under the mistaken assumption that equality is apparent and available to all. The assumption shared by Altman and by Pankhurst is that equality is non-existent. There is, therefore, a need to identify one's group as oppressed, and the call goes out to all who feel oppressed to unite in an effort to confront the repressor. By identifying oneself with a group, one gives greater weight to one's message (Smith).

Identifying oneself in terms of a group or movement also lends added weight to individual desires and ambitions. The ideal is no longer that of a single person but of a movement, a body of people, an entire nation, or an entire sex. The audience can see the group or movement as a way of giving a sense of identity to itself as well. People who feel they lack a sense of self can look to the group and see something for which they stand or in which they believe. It provides a sense of value, meaning, self-worth, and ambition — giving direction, immediacy, and purpose, and addressing a certain existential void if one exists (Laible et al.).

Conclusion: Lessons Learned

The use of the recording medium did not lead to immediate action on the part of England's leaders. It would not be until 1928 that the Equal Franchise Act of 1928 was passed. However, a decade earlier, in 1918, the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act had been passed, allowing women to serve as members of Parliament. This Act was likely passed in an attempt to mollify the suffragettes by granting them "representation" in Parliament — but the women's movement wanted the right to vote, not merely figureheads in government. It would be nearly twenty years after Pankhurst's recording before the vote was finally won.

Measuring the immediate effects of the text and its medium against the time elapsed between its delivery and the achievement of its goal suggests that, in the broader scheme of things, the recording was not as pivotal a historical moment as its immediate, sensational effect might have made it seem. Like most propaganda, the effect can be hot and quick — but the iron must be struck while it is hot. If no corresponding political action follows, the effect of the propaganda is lost. With the rise of this new medium, various propaganda forces could more easily set about initiating their own claims and warrants, putting out their own messages, and moving the public in one direction or another. Pankhurst was not the only one to utilize the recorded voice to invoke unity and solidarity. What she did set a precedent for women in the movement — but much more than a piece of propaganda is often required to effect political change. That work took two decades to realize its full effect, and it is as worthy of study and analysis as any communication issued by Pankhurst. A complete understanding of how communication, messaging, media, and politics intertwine requires a deeper examination of the entire suffragette movement up to 1928.

Nonetheless, the lesson of Pankhurst's recording is that rhetoric fashioned to make a claim, support it with reason, and set it before an audience in a logical manner is an effective way to win enthusiasm and support for an idea. Prior to the recording, Pankhurst had been best known for her "Queen of the Mob" style of oratory. Here, her words were temperate, moderated, and focused on logic and reason rather than passion. She committed to voice recording the basic argument for her position and for the women's movement. Even though it would be two decades before her movement realized its goal, her words were set down as a line in the sand — a call for all women in England to come and stand on the side of the line where she and the other suffragettes stood.

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