In Darkest London · Chapter
II: The Fight to Work explained
The author returns to the Salvation Army Shelter at 259 Mare Street, Hackney, to observe its operations and the women it serves.
What happens
The author returns to the Salvation Army Shelter at 259 Mare Street, Hackney, to observe its operations and the women it serves. She describes the shelter's role as a receiving station for destitute women, including unmarried mothers, attempted suicides, and those temporarily out of work. The matron attributes the women's plight primarily to poverty, housing shortages, and bad luck rather than personal fault. The author also critiques the inadequate and unsanitary conditions of women's lodging houses compared to men's, highlighting the hypocrisy of the London County Council and the apathy of women in politics.
Themes in this chapter
Charity and Institutional Hypocrisy
The author contrasts the Salvation Army's compassionate, non-judgmental approach with the London County Council's neglect of women's lodging houses and the apathy of women politicians.
Gender Inequality
The author highlights the disparity between clean, spacious lodging houses for men and dirty, inadequate ones for women, questioning why women in politics do not fight for better conditions for their sex.
Destitution and Survival
The chapter details the struggles of women forced into homelessness, match-selling, or prostitution due to poverty, housing shortages, and lack of affordable accommodation.
Characters to notice
- George Gissing
The author (narrator) reflects on her experiences and observations at the Mare Street Shelter.
Key passages
“I have walked from one end of London to the other, looking for a bed, and I have been treated as though I was a criminal trying to steal.”
The author searched all over London for a place to sleep and was treated like a criminal for seeking shelter.
Illustrates the dehumanizing treatment of homeless women.
“Generally speaking, it’s poverty,” she answered, “and very largely, the shortage of housing. Illness, bad luck, increase of rent, drive many a decent woman out of her home and force her to become a tramp on the road, or to sell matches in the street.”
The matron explained that poverty, housing shortages, illness, bad luck, and rising rents are the main causes of women becoming homeless or selling matches.
Highlights the systemic causes of destitution rather than personal failings.
“It is a mistake to suppose that those women whom you can see any night huddled up in doorways, in back streets, cowering under the arches by the river, are not conscious of their rags and dirt.”
People wrongly assume that homeless women are unaware of their dirty and ragged appearance.
Emphasizes the dignity and awareness of those in extreme poverty.