Monday, March 12, 2007

final draft

Lily Hoffman glanced out the smudgy yellowing, window onto the sunny cobbled street outside of Bryant and May’s match factory where she worked. Below, she saw a peddler selling baked goods to an old lady dressed in a grey tattered shawl. The lady was dragging a scruffy young boy along. Behind them, a carriage rattled by and some street ragamuffins threw stones at it.
As Lily’s thoughts returned to what she was currently doing she couldn’t help but glance around the room. She noticed there were at least six others packed into the small cramped room, each one sweating profusely for the dirty cracked windows didn’t allow any fresh air to circulate around the room. While some women were inserting matches into boxes others were stirring buckets of phosphorous chemicals that the matches would be dipped in later. The matches were dipped in phosphor so they would light when struck against an object.
“Lily? Lily? Hello anyone home?”
Startled, Lily glanced up to see her best friend Marguerite tapping her on the shoulder.
“What now?” she whispered for they were not allowed to talk.
“Sorry but I need help lifting up this bucket.” replied Marguerite.
As Lily helped Marguerite lift up the brassy bucket she couldn’t help but notice the puffy greenish area that engulfed the lower half of her face. Even though Lily had known for a couple weeks that Marguerite was dying of phossy jaw it was still startling to look at her. ‘If only Bryant and May didn’t use the phosphorous chemicals that were killing so many including Marguerite,’ Lily thought.
Phossy jaw was a dangerous deformation and rotting of the jaw that everyone in the factory was afraid of getting. It came from the toxic white and yellow phosphorous gasses that were let out in the match making process.
After Lily was done helping Marguerite she went back to stuffing matchboxes and looking out the smudged window. When she looked out she noticed a proper looking woman getting out of a carriage. Her hat was the perfect shade of violet purple with a deep rose flower on it.
“Oh my.” gasped Marguerite who was now also leaning out the window staring at the woman.
The overseer at the door coughed and everyone became engrossed in their job again. As Lily returned to her work she couldn’t help but notice the rules plastered on the front wall. They listed all of the offences they would get fined for if they stepped out of line. Some of the offences posted were talking, being late and dropping matches. All of the women who worked at the factory made sure to follow the rules strictly because the fines were a big slice out of their measly paychecks of five shillings a week. As Lily about this she remembered the time she had been fined one shilling for dropping a match. That week was one of the worst weeks of her life. Since her mum was the only other source of income for their house hold of five, they had lived off of boiled weeds, stale bread and watery porridge. Her younger siblings always complained of being hungry. Also, seven year-old Henry hadn’t been able to go to school because he had to work as a water boy for the shoe factory that their mum worked at.
A sudden rustling and swishing of skirts awoke Lily from her thoughts. She looked up to see the woman with the purple hat standing in the doorway talking to the overseer. Lily couldn’t help but over hear their conversation.
“Hello, my name is Annie Besant and I am here to interview some of the women who work at the Bryant and May factory.”
“Madame, I am afraid that this will not be possible unless you have special permission from the owners, please let me show you the way out.”
“If this is so then will you please forward my request to them? Thank you kindly and have a nice day.”
Lily was startled to see that Annie Besant left just as quickly as she came. After the surprise visit the day continued on as usual with the exception of Maude getting fined for dropping a match. Maude was getting on in her years and couldn’t see as well as she use to so she got fined often. Also, Maude’s skin was turning yellow from working around the phosphor so long and she was constantly sick. Although Maude was constantly sickly Lily enjoyed the company of her because she always wore a smile on her face and was ready to help anyone in need.
Finally the strenuous day was over. As Lily and Marguerite walked out into the cool summer night they saw the purple hat lady, Annie Besant. She was standing at the edge of the factory campus talking to Clarissa, one of the women that worked in the same room of the factory as them. When they walked past, Clarissa and Annie Besant grew silent but continued on quietly after they had passed.
“What are they talking about?” asked Marguerite.
“I don’t know but that Annie Besant woman seems so mysterious. I can’t get my head around it.” Answered Lily.
“Well here’s my street. See you tomorrow,” said Marguerite.
Lily went home and made dinner for her siblings then went to bed. She awoke next morning as sunbeams poured into her tiny dingy window above her mat. Lily ate a quick breakfast of watery porridge and went to the factory.
When Lily got there the place was awry. The owners of the factory William Bryant and Francis May were coming around with a pad of paper trying to get people to sign their names.
“What happened?” Lily asked in a surprised whisper.
“Well, you know that Annie Besant woman? She wrote an article on the factory and the workers in the Link newspaper. The title of the article was “White Slavery in London” and is about how we get treated poorly and everything. Can you believe it?” replied Maude, excitement filling her voice.
“Well why are Bryant and May here?” asked Lily puzzled.
“They’re trying to get us to sign a form that says we’re perfectly happy working here.” said a woman from a unit across the hall from Lily’s.
“Oh, are people signing?” questioned a lady with wavy blonde hair.
“I think only the people who want to keep their jobs are. I don’t think life can get much worse so I’m not going to sign. Also maybe something good will come out of us fighting for our rights by not signing.” responded Maude.
“Well I have to sign because no one else is hiring and I can’t afford to be out of a job! What should I do?” said Lily in a mournful tone.
“Lily, I think you shouldn’t sign because this is our chance to help ourselves and others! If we all refuse to sign then we’ll all get fired and the factory won’t have any workers or at least something good will come out of it! Please don’t sign.” asked Marguerite in a horse whisper for her mouth was swollen shut and she looked pale.
Finally Bryant and May came around to the group of women. Without looking up from the long list of names that they had fooled people into signing they said gruffly, “Sign or you might be fired tomorrow!”
The group grew quiet as Lily and the blonde lady signed their names on the crisp white paper with at least a few hundred other signatures on it. After Lily signed, the whole group was ushered inside to start the long wretched day. As they entered the phosphorous fumes filled some nostrils with hope for a new beginning and others with the feeling of being trapped.
The next morning Lily woke to her mum’s urgent voice, “Lily…Lily? Wake up darling or you’ll be late for work.”
“Don’t worry I’m up.” replied a sleepy Lily with her eyes still closed.
When Lily opened her eyes she didn’t like the sight that greeted her. Her mother was standing over her with a quizzical yet stern expression plastered on her face.
“Whatever is the matter?” asked Lily growing quite concerned.
“Did you sign the document that would let you keep your job? I hope you did. We need the money!” Lily’s mum whispered harshly.
“Don’t worry mum.” said Lily mournfully because this brought back the horrors of yesterday. At this Lily remembered that Maude and Marguerite would probably not be at work for they had not signed the document. Now that Lily realized this she dreaded going to work even more than she had before. A light tapping on her shoulder brought her back into the world, “Lily? Lily? Are you going to work? Can you stay home and play?”
As Lily turned around to face the soft voice which she recognized as Henry’s she answered, “No Henry I have to go work to day. I’ll see you when I get home. Now get back to sleep.”
When Henry’s bed head disappeared into the tiny cramped kitchen that Lily’s family shared she left for work. For a mid-June day the weather was pleasant. There was a refreshing breeze and sun was shining brightly overhead. Lily took a deep breath of the cool air as she neared the factory. As she got closer she heard chanting of hundreds. She couldn’t make out the words that they were saying but it sounded like anger mixed with ebullience. When she rounded the block the shouting got louder and a gigantic crowd filled her eyes. They were mostly workers from the factory but there were some other people also. At once Lily knew, they were picketing and protesting for the rights and safety for themselves and others.
As Lily pushed her way through the crowd of women she spotted Maude. Maude glanced at Lily and waved her over. Instead of going over to Maude Lily hurried inside. Once inside Lily was greeted by the familiar foul smell of the phosphorous and the sound of pots and pans clanking as they moved back and forth.
The day continued on with little excitement inside the factory. Surprisingly everyone was focused on their job even though the constant chanting of the crowd was distracting. When it was time to go home Lily gathered her things and was prepared to push through the massive crowd which was still demonstrating outside. As Lily walked out of the old brick building Maude pulled her aside.
“Lily, Marguerite is very sick today, she is worse than before. You must go and be with her for I fear she has not much longer to live.” said Maude her eyes full of sadness, swallowing back tears as she continued. “Lily, I know you may be to young to understand this but this is why we must give up everything in order to fight against the injustices that we are forced into. By fighting now we are saving many lives. Go now and visit Marguerite and think about what I said. I will see you tomorrow.”
Without answering, Lily turned and left. She tore through the crowd and ran with an energy so great that it carried her all the way to Marguerite’s front steps. Lily knocked twice and a hoarse voice yelled, “Who’s there?”
“It’s me, Lily. I have come to visit Marguerite.”
“Yes, yes, very well come in but be quiet. We have been expecting you.”
Lily walked in and was surprised at the sight that greeted her. Marguerite was on the floor wrapped with blankets shivering violently even though the night was warm. Every once in a while she would moan and cry out in pain and take a jagged breath in through her nose. Her face was swollen with deep purple and green bruises. The stench was overwhelming. As Lily drew nearer she saw that yellow puss was oozing out of Marguerite’s mouth. It was hard to believe that she was so much sicker than yesterday.
“Yes dear, very shocking. I know how hard it must be for you to see your friend this way.” said Marguerite’s mother so softly that Lily could barely hear her.
“I didn’t know that it would get this bad so quickly.” choked Lily.
“I’m afraid so…” gasped Marguerite’s mother, her eyes full of tears. “Well I’ll leave you two to say your goodbyes, alone. Call me when you’re done and here’s a rag in the bucket to wipe Marguerite’s brow.”
When Marguerite’s mother left, the room was silent with the exception of Marguerite’s labored breathing. Lily didn’t know what to do so she started to talk,
“Marguerite, remember when we were little how we would make mud pies out of the dirt in the street? Wow, that was fun! Then we would decorate them with little stones and grass. Sometimes we would even carve our initials into them. You were always…” Lily’s voice trailed off and was replaced by Marguerite’s feverish whisper.
“Lily, don’t remember me this way. Promise me you’ll remember me as being strong willed and healthy.”
“Oh Marguerite, I will treasure the memories of you when we ran through the grassy fields at the edge of town and picked daisies in the park.” wailed Lily overcome with grief, her eyes brimming over with tears.
“Also promise me one more thing. Promise me that you will quit your job and join Maude in the protest, this is the only way change will come.” Marguerite fell silent because her voice was cracking and with one last effort she said, “I want you to know that I’ll always be with you.”
As Lily washed Marguerite’s brow she realized Marguerite’s breathing was getting more and more jagged. “Mrs. Johns, please come quick, I think Marguerite is in her last stage of life.”
Marguerite’s mother appeared and took her daughter in her arms cooing, “It’s okay, I’m here.”
Lily watched as they slowly rocked back and forth together, their eyes closed. Knowing that this was the end, Lily slid into darkness of the night, her heart heavy. She wept silently as she walked through the silent streets. Her sobs grew louder and louder filing the darkness. She cried for Marguerite, she cried for everyone’s suffering and she cried for herself.
The next day when Lily awoke she had a horrible headache and her eyes were red and puffy. She felt queasy with the memory of the dreadful events that occurred yesterday. Lily tried not to replay the pain filled scenes in her mind but her thoughts kept drifting back to Marguerite’s last request. How could she defy her mum and let her family down? How could she join the protest and still earn money? Would the protest actually make a difference?
Her thoughts were interrupted by her mum’s calling her to get up. When Lily went into the kitchen she saw her mother hanging their raggedy retched clothing out the window. As Lily saw this she was reminded of how important the money she was bring in each week from the factory was. The temperature was 24° C, hot for this early in the morning. Lily walked across the dirt floor to the hearth where she got a bowl of simpering porridge. As Lily was spooning it out she glanced down and happened to notice that it was lumpy and grey with drowning weevils flailing about in it.
“Yuck! This porridge is absolutely revolting.” yelled Lily, her voice reflecting her frustration
“I’m sorry honey, but money is especially tight because of being late last week for work when Henry had a bad cough.” replied her mum in a morose tone.
“Why, why?” cried Lily, still a little hoarse from crying yesterday.
“Lily, when life gives you lemons you make lemonade from it. Some how you just learn how to survive with what you’ve got. I learned this after your father died.” Her mother paused to take a deep breath before continuing on. “After all there are people worse off than us! You should be thankful for everything that you have and not spend time worrying about what you can’t have and what will never be open for you! So just eat your porridge and get to work my good girl.”
Lily sighed and stuffed the appalling porridge into her mouth but she couldn’t get Marguerite’s dying words out of her mind.
“You know mum it doesn’t have to be like this! Yesterday Marguerite-” Lily choked and swallowed hard before going on. “Marguerite said that the only way for to come is if we make it happen. She wants me to join the protests with Maude and the other women.”
“You will not join! I will not be disgraced by my eldest daughter parading around outside a respectable factory chanting like a gorilla.” retorted her Mother with a sour twisted look on her face.
“But Mum-” said Lily, getting more and more irate each second.
“No. End of conversation.” her mother interjected sharply.
With this Lily exploded, “But, Marguerite’s last wish of me was to join the protest! Besides if you think that Bryant and May’s factory is respectable it’s not. Each day we see new faces replacing the ones we lost. Each day we get punished for little things such as dropping a match or whispering a question to a friend.” Her mum tried to interrupt but Lily wouldn’t let her so she kept brambling on. “Mum you should know this. You’ve worked in a factory since you were twelve! Why should we bear the suffering and have others benefit from it? In fact now that I think about it, IT IS NOT JOLLY WATCHING PEOPLE DIE EACH DAY WHILE THE OWNERS DO NOTHING BUT GET RICHER.
As soon as she said this Lily stalked off leaving her mum’s jaw hanging open, a mark of the whirlwind that had just hit. Lily knew there was going to be punishment later but she couldn’t care less, so she grabbed her dirty faded shoes with numerous holes in them and ran out the door.
As Lily ran towards town her skirt became dusty at the edges from the winding dirt path that lead to the main street. Normally Lily would care but today she was too nervous and excited to care. Lily half ran half flew most of the way to the factory but as she neared the factory she slowed. She mustn’t think about loosing her job. She must think about how she is working for change, for Marguerite.
When Lily reached the demonstrators she gasped. There were even more women than before. Some she recognized were from other factories. As she pushed through the crowd she bumped into Annie Besant. As Annie Besant looked down at Lily she gasped.
“Oh my!” she said her voice full of angst. “Do you work here? Oh so young! You have a full life ahead of you and still some childhood left. It doesn’t deserve to be spent in a stuffy factory working yourself to death.”
As she paused Lily looked up her. ‘Wow’ Lily thought. Annie Besant has such poise and everything about her commanded respect. In awe Lily continued listening to what Annie Besant was saying to her.
“You and all the other young women out there slaving away in factories, watching as death plays with your life. You are our future. It is up to you all to decide the fate of the next generation. It is up to you to protest now and try to change things now so that our children and grandchildren don’t have to live like this. Now go and make change!”
With that Annie Besant hugged Lily and pushed her way back into the sea of bodies pumped with enthusiasm.
“Lily, isn’t she the most amazing woman?” asked Maude with shining eyes.
Lily was to stunned to answer so she nodded her head in agreement. Maude continued talking but Lily could only think about what Annie Besant and Marguerite had said. They both had talked about creating change, working together and making a difference. As Lily pondered on this, the awful voice of her mother crept in to the back of her mind. “I will not have a daughter…” No Lily wouldn’t let that bother her now. No she was ready to stand up and protest. She was ready to help make a difference and make the world a better and safer place for women to live in. Lily was still lost in thought as Maude pulled her into the crowd to join the others.
“We want our rights! We deserve better conditions! We need better pay!” they chanted together with many others.
Lily was astounded at how so many women could create such a wonderful noise. A noise that rang “freedom.” A noise that could not be stopped a noise that was loud and powerful that it reminded the world of who they were.
Together they protested late into the evening and through the morning into the next day, their strength coming from the support and eagerness for change. By that afternoon reporters were swarming them and asking them questions about why they were protesting. The factory closed down that morning because not enough people had showed up for work. This was their first victory.
Lily didn’t go home during the next few days of protesting in fear of what awaited her. Also, she was to wrapped up in the exhilaration of the demonstration to bother. The bakery down the street from the factory brought over some fresh baked bread for them to eat. Also Maude went home a couple of times to get food for her and Lily. Although most of the time they were to busy to eat.
Finally after three complete days of protesting Bryant and May showed up. As they walked up the stairs to the factory the crowd grew silent. Lily craned her neck in order to see above the swarm of heads in front of her. First Bryant and May scanned the crowd then they started talking, “We hereby propose that each woman working for us will receive a higher pay of six shillings a week with a bonus if they are productive and on task. We are also trying to find a replacement chemical for the phosphorous that we have been unjustly using. Also, work hours will be lessened to twelve hours a day. We apologize for the hardships we have created for you and your families. We would like to rehire everyone tomorrow. We hope to see you all back and working. Thank you.”
Applause and cheers filled the air as Bryant and May walked down the stairs. Reporters swarmed them asking millions of questions all at once. Maude’s face and many others were lit up with happiness and triumph.
“This still isn’t heaven but it’s better than I could have wished for.” Maude cried over the roar of the crowd.
Lily was stunned by how quickly the change had come and how much of an impact it had on everyone. As she gazed around the crowd she felt tears the swell of tears rising in her chest. All these women who were use to being powerless had accomplished something bigger than they had ever imagined possible. It was all because they had set aside differences and had joined together for one cause that would benefit them all.
Later, Lily and Maude walked into the setting sun leaving the stressful yet rewarding day behind them. When Lily looked behind her, the buildings had a golden aura of light surrounding them. The wind rustled and seemed to be saying, “Stay strong.” This was the perfect ending to her day. Just looking at the beauty of the sunset brought tears to Lily’s eyes. They were tears of relief that she still had her job, but also tears of joy because she had become an individual and had stood up for her beliefs. While being tears of joy and relief they were also tears of sadness because Marguerite wasn’t here to see how much everyone had changed and had become stronger from working together. Even though deep inside Lily knew that Marguerite was looking down on them and smiling, smiling down rays of congratulations and encouragement.

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