Elise Adelaïde Haighton (28 May 1841 – 11 August 1911) was a Dutch

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and free thinker who wrote under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s Hroswitha and Brunhilde or Brunehilde.

Biography

Haighton was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

on 28 May 1841, the daughter of Richard Haighton and Antoinette Petronella Martha Finkensieper. She lived with her mother for much of her childhood, since her father died at a young age. She was one of the first women in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to complete teacher training in accordance with the Dutch Secondary Education Act of 1863. She became a writer in 1870 and not much is known about her life before then, except that she worked as a primary school teacher for a few years.

Publications

In the 1870s Haighton published her dictation of Willem Doornbos' lectures, and she published a biography of him in 1906. She initially used two pseudonyms since women were not yet expected to publish literature at that time: Brunhilde (or Brunehilde) and Hroswitha. Her pseudonym Hroswitha refers to the medieval writer Hroswitha, who found freedom to study in the monastery, while

Brunhilde Brunhild, also known as Brunhilda or Brynhild ( non, Brynhildr , gmh, Brünhilt, german: Brünhild , label= Modern German or ), is a female character from Germanic heroic legend. She may have her origins in the Visigothic princess Brunhilda ...

was a mythical woman who did not want to stoop to man, in whom she could not recognize her superior. Haighton expressed her opinions on women who distinguished themselves in some way. These could be classical actors, but also women such as

Anna Maria van Schurman Anna Maria van Schurman (November 5, 1607 – May 4, 1678) was a Dutch painter, engraver, poet, and scholar, who is best known for her exceptional learning and her defence of female education. She was a highly educated woman, who excelled in ...

, Elise van Calcar and

Mina Kruseman Wilhelmina Jacoba Pauline Rudolphine "Mina" Kruseman (25 September 1839 – 1922) was a 19th-century Dutch feminist, actrice and author who used to call herself Oristorio di Frama. Youth Mina Kruseman was born in Velp, Gelderland as the olde ...

. According to Haighton, women, just like men, had to develop as much as possible and make themselves useful to society. In 1876 she was one of the initiators of the Reading Museum for Women, a public library for women in Amsterdam.

Freethinker

Haighton was a freethinker and feminist. She saw the Christian Church, whether

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, as an obstacle for women who aspired to intellectual development and autonomy. Therefore, she became a member of the freethinkers' association

De Dageraad Vrijdenkersvereniging De Vrije Gedachte (DVG) (English: ''Freethinkers association The Free Thought''), is a Dutch atheist–humanist association of freethinkers. It was founded in 1856 and known by the name De Dageraad ("The Dawn") before assumi ...

(which paid attention to the position of women in different countries), becoming the first woman to hold a management position. As the first female board member, she called on women to achieve equal access to education and the labor market with equal pay for equal work. In lectures, Haighton opposed the low wages and unhealthy working conditions of factory workers and the legally established iniquity and incapacity of the married woman. As a result, women depended on men and had no political power, including no right to vote. 'Full voting rights for women' was therefore one of the women's rights that had to be changed. She took a leading part in the organization of the national exhibition of women's labour in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

Death

Haighton died on 11 August 1911 in The Hague. After her death she was cremated in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

because cremation was then prohibited by law in the Netherlands.

References

External links

*http://www.biografischportaal.nl/persoon/43269540 *http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/Haighton {{DEFAULTSORT:Haighton, Elise 1841 births 1911 deaths Writers from Amsterdam Dutch schoolteachers