Sophia Jex-Blake: Тhe British Woman’s Difficult Choice between Studying a Corpse in the Dissecting Room and Reading a Novel by the Fireplace

The article studies the Victorian period of the English history and the women’s struggle for the expansion of professional rights in society. In the 19th century, educated and wealthy ladies did not accept their homemaker status and their exclusion from the socially significant activities. The article focuses on Sophia Jex-Blake, whose struggle for women medicine in the United Kingdom illustrates the combination of personal aspirations and social needs and also reflects the intense confrontation between traditional Victorian norms and the growing liberal movement. The author analyzes the arguments expressed by the opponents and the supporters of women medicine. The idea of giving women medical qualifications and the right to practice medicine was a direct response to the existing limitations of their opportunities in the context of the spread of beliefs in equality and progress. The emphasis is placed on the need for women to be treated by a doctor of the same sex. It is noted that the imperial context and missionary projects accelerated the movement for women medicine. The author studies the key episodes of Jex-Blake’s life, the reasons for and circumstances of her choosing the profession of a doctor, and her participation and role in the women’s medical movement. In conclusion, her achievements are listed: opening the London School of Medicine for Women (1874); adoption of a new medical law (1876), which allowed women to obtain a medical license; successful medical practice in Edinburgh and the foundation of a clinic and a medical school there. The author concludes that women medicine resulted from the interaction of humanistic motives, striving for equality and self-realization in socially significant activities. The struggle for women education had a strong impact on the development of professional medicine in Great Britain and beyond, and contributed to the humanization of society.

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