Ellice Hopkins
Ellice Hopkins was a prominent activist and writer in the social purity movement during the nineteenth century in England. Born into an academically inclined family, she received a rigorous education that sparked her interest in social reform. Hopkins began her public activism in 1866, initially working at a reformatory for prostitutes and later expanding her efforts to address sexual equality and the welfare of women. Among her notable contributions was the founding of the Ladies Association of the Care of Friendless Girls in 1876, which established domestic-service training homes across England.
Despite a challenging period of illness that left her bedridden for seven years, Hopkins continued to produce significant literary work, including her acclaimed book, *Rose Turquand*. She also initiated the White Cross Army in 1882, promoting chastity among men and advocating for the social elevation of women. Hopkins authored numerous pamphlets to support her causes, including campaigns aimed at protecting young girls from exploitation and improving the working conditions for women. While her ideas faced considerable opposition and led to her social ostracism in the 1880s, her legacy as a reformer highlights the struggles for women's rights and social justice in her time.
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Ellice Hopkins
Author
- Born: October 30, 1836
- Birthplace: England
- Died: August 21, 1904
- Place of death: Brighton, East Sussex, England
Biography
Ellice Hopkins was notorious for her role as an activist in the cause of social purity during the nineteenth century. She was one of England’s best-known women reform writers who frequently published works that addressed the issue of sexual equality in British society. Her literary pieces ranged from pamphlets to poetry. Hopkins was the youngest daughter born to William Hopkins, a farmer and Cambridge University mathematics lecturer, and Caroline Boys. Her father thoroughly educated her in sciences and classics.
In 1866, Hopkins started her public work by lecturing large groups of working-class people in the suburbs of Cambridge. That same year, she also started work at Albion Hill Home, a reformatory for prostitutes; she stayed with this job until 1870. Hopkins was then bedridden for seven years after undergoing a surgery that went awry. During this period of time, Hopkins published the majority of her literary work, her most successful book being Rose Turquand. In 1876, she started the Ladies Association of the Care of Friendless Girls, which provided more than two hundred domestic-service training homes throughout England.
In the 1870’s, James Hinton, a well-known surgeon, trained Hopkins in medicine and reproductive physiology. She made a promise to Hinton that she would be devoted to helping women through sexual inequality and spent the next twelve years doing just that. In 1882, Hopkins founded the White Cross Army with the help of Bishop Joseph Lightfoot of Durham; this organization encouraged men to swear chastity until marriage. The secondary goal of the White Cross Army was to increase the social standing of women. Hopkins wrote twenty-six of the thirty-two pamphlets that focused on the organization’s philosophies; she also published True Manliness, her best-selling work, around this time. Hopkins also led several campaigns for the rights of young girls, proposing an amendment to keep minors from being housed in brothels. Her campaigns angered a great many people and she became a social outcast in the 1880’s.
Hopkins published many literary works, including numerous pamphlets for each cause for reform she avidly pursued. She spent her life focusing on raising the age of working women, keeping children from working in brothels, and promoting equality for British women. Although her reform pieces are not well-known now, they were most popular in the late nineteenth century.