Angel
The image of a nurse as a ministering angel was promoted in the 19th century as a counter to the then image of a nurse as a dissolute drunk, exemplified by Dickens' Sarah Gamp. The model nurse in this image was moral, noble and religious, like a devout nun — chaste and abstemious — rather than an unpleasant witch. Her skills would be practical and her demeanour would be stoic and obedient. Florence Nightingale promoted this image because, at the time, the idea of having female nurses attending the British army fighting the Crimean war was controversial, being thought immoral and revolutionary.
Read more about this topic: Nurse Stereotypes
Famous quotes containing the word angel:
“That ain’t snow, Mike. That’s angel hair. We done died and gone to heaven.”
—Charles Beaumont (1930–1967)
“An angel is like you, Kate, and you are like an angel.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“If an angel were ever to tell us anything of his philosophy I believe many propositions would sound like 2 times 2 equals 13.”
—G.C. (Georg Christoph)