ignored her. She had written to her mother about the birth of the child, ‘but
there was no reply’.^46 When Emmeline read the news she sunk into a deep
depression, weeping all day long. That one of her daughters should disgrace the
Pankhurst name, in such a vulgar way, and flout the moral standards that she
had advocated, was too much to bear. The dread of taunts from communist
interrupters when she spoke from the platform sent shivers down her spine.^47 ‘I
shall never be able to speak in public again’, she kept saying, between the
sobs.^48 The sensational story was repeated around the world, especially in the
tabloid press. Worse, many members of the public thought that the newspaper
posters headlining ‘Miss Pankhurst’ referred to Christabel. Twenty-three years
later, Christabel still remembered the pain of the scandal. ‘That was the biggest
blow I ever received and the repercussions have not really ceased’, she told
Grace Roe. ‘The whole publicity was skilfully engineered to harm me.’^49 As
Ada, several other members of the family, friends and former WSPU supporters
had feared, Sylvia’s blaze of vulgar publicity, plus the insinuation that the baby
was Christabel’s, broke the heart of her already weakened mother and hastened
her death. It also ended abruptly any hope of Emmeline’s political career.
On Easter Monday, a more composed Emmeline wrote a consoling letter to
Esther Greg whose son had injured his leg. ‘A buoyant spirit can surmount all
sorts of difficulties’, she said, pensively, also expressing the hope that Esther
might visit her in her new home at 9 High Street. ‘You will be amused at my
quarters over a hairdressers shop. His wife is my landlady & their name is
Chipperfield. It sounds like Dickens. They are a nice couple & are good
Conservatives.’^50 But such a cheerful attitude soon wilted under the strain of all
the troubles that were gnawing at Emmeline’s heart. In addition to the disgrace
about Sylvia, Emmeline was living on a pittance without the adopted daughter
she loved. She wanted the twelve-year-old Mary to have a good education and
good prospects in life and knew she was unable to provide these things.
Reluctantly, she had given up Mary, who first stayed with ex-suffragette, Marion
Wallace Dunlop, and then moved in with the Coleridge Taylors who had
adopted Kathleen. Alone and burdened with sorrows, Emmeline fell ill and
took to her bed. Scheduled meetings that Nellie, Barbara Wylie or Edith
Fitzgerald could not undertake were cancelled. Dr. May Williams, and Dr.
Abrahams of the Westminster Hospital, looked after her, but although she was
in pain, with no appetite and constant sickness, an X-ray did not reveal the
cause. ‘What can it be?’ Emmeline asked. The doctors suggested it might be
blood poisoning. ‘If only I could get back my strength’, she kept repeating, ‘I
know I’ve got five years of good work in me yet!’^51 On 16 April she explained
to Esther that her doctor had stopped attending, now ‘that the attack of gastric
flu or whatever it is’ was over:
I am having a masseuse daily for a time. She seems very capable & is
going to give me douches or cavages or whatever one ought to call the
treatment. I told her about your wonderful improvement under treat-CONSERVATIVE PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE