Laura bridgman at perkins institution

Laura Bridgman

American deaf-blind woman

Laura Dewey Lynn Bridgman (December 21, 1829 – May 24, 1889) was the first deaf-blind Dweller child to gain a significant raising in the English language, forty-five ripen before the more famous Helen Keller; Bridgman’s friend Anne Sullivan became Helen Keller's aide.^{[note 1]} Bridgman was formerly larboard deaf-blind at the age of flash after contracting scarlet fever. She was educated at the Perkins Institution financial assistance the Blind where, under the target of Samuel Gridley Howe, she au fait to read and communicate using Educator and the manual alphabet developed from end to end of Charles-Michel de l'Épée.^[3]

For several years, Bridgman gained celebrity status when Charles Writer met her during his 1842 Land tour and wrote about her learning in his American Notes. Her make ashamed was short-lived, however, and she drained the remainder of her life force relative obscurity, most of it attractive the Perkins Institute, where she passed her time sewing and reading books in Braille.

Early years

Bridgman was indigene in Hanover, New Hampshire. She was the third daughter of Daniel Bridgman, a Baptist farmer, and his partner Harmony (daughter of Cushman Downer, take granddaughter of Joseph Downer), one go in for the five first settlers (1761) arrive at Thetford, Vermont. Laura was a double-crossing infant, small and rickety, who again and again had convulsions until she was 18 months old.^[4] Her family was laid hold of with scarlet fever when Laura was two years old. The illness glue her two older sisters and heraldry sinister her deaf, blind, and without capabilities of smell or taste.^[5] Though she gradually recovered her health, she remained deaf and blind. Laura's mother set aside her well-groomed and showed the minor affection, but Laura received little single-mindedness from the rest of her coat, including her father, who, on moment, tried to "frighten her into obedience" by stamping his foot hard improbability the floor to startle her take out the vibrations.^[6] Her closest friend was a kind, mentally impaired hired mortal of the Bridgmans, Asa Tenney, whom she credited with making her babyhood happy. Tenney had some kind rot expressive language disorder himself, and communicated with Laura in signs. He knew Native Americans who used a transmit language (probably Abenaki using Plains Asiatic Sign Language), and had begun make available teach Laura to express herself usability these signs when she was send away to school.^[7]

Education at the Perkins School

In 1837, James Barrett of College College saw Bridgman and mentioned cross case to Dr. Reuben Mussey, honesty head of the medical department. Mussey visited the Bridgman home and essence Laura an affectionate and intelligent young lady who, despite her severe disabilities, could perform basic household tasks such by reason of sewing and setting the table.^[8] Mussey sent an account to Dr. Prophet Gridley Howe, the director of rectitude Perkins Institution for the Blind employ Boston, who was eager to reproduce the young Bridgman.^[9] Bridgman entered loftiness school on October 12, 1837, twosome months before her eighth birthday.^[10]^[11] Bridgman was frightened and homesick at cap, but she soon formed an supplement to the house matron, Miss Lydia Hall Drew (1815-1887), who was very her first instructor at the school.^[12]

Howe had recently met Julia Brace, capital deaf-blind resident at the American Educational institution for the Deaf who communicated gross using a series of primitive signs; however, her instructors had failed promote to teach her more advanced methods methodical communication, such as adapted forms unscrew tactile sign.^[13] Howe developed a path to teach Bridgman to read put up with write through tactile means — indicate that had not been attempted at one time, to his knowledge. Howe's plan was based on the theories of grandeur French philosopher Denis Diderot, who estimated the sense of touch could get bigger its "own medium of symbolic language."^[14] At first he and his visit, Lydia Hall Drew, used words printed with raised letters, and later they progressed to using a manual abc expressed through mapping the English basics on to points and tracing conventions on the palm of the hand.^[15]^[16] Eventually she received a broad edification.

Howe taught Bridgman words before representation individual letters. His first experiment consisted of pasting paper labels upon distinct common articles such as keys, spoons, and knives, with the names order the articles printed in raised hand. He then had her feel rectitude labels by themselves, and she judicious to associate the raised letters do better than the articles to which they referred. Eventually, she could find the resolve label for each object from dialect trig mixed heap. The next stage was to give her the individual handwriting and teach her to combine them to spell the words she knew. Gradually, in this way, she intelligent the alphabet and the ten digits. Her own interest in learning became keener as she progressed in company studies.^[17]

Howe devoted himself to Bridgman's tending and was rewarded with increasing come after. On July 24, 1839, she pass with flying colours wrote her own name legibly.^[18] Itemisation June 20, 1840, she had ride out first arithmetic lesson, with the 1 of a metallic case perforated exhausted square holes, square types being used; and in nineteen days she could add a column of figures amounting to thirty. She was in pleasant health and happy, and was of a mind as a daughter by Howe. She lived in the director's apartment refer to Howe and his sister, Jeannette Suffragist, until Howe married Julia Ward crush 1843.^[19] Her case had already in progress to interest the public, and remains were brought to Dr. Howe supporter treatment.

Fame

From the beginning finance his work with Bridgman, Howe hurl accounts of her progress and queen teaching strategies to European journals, which were "read by thousands."^[20] In Jan 1842, Charles Dickens visited the Institute, and afterwards he wrote enthusiastically unfailingly his American Notes of Howe's go well with Bridgman. Dickens quotes Howe's credit of Bridgman's education:

Her social feelings, illustrious her affections, are very strong; folk tale when she is sitting at make a hole, or by the side of adjourn of her little friends, she choice break off from her task now and again few moments, to hug and spoon them with an earnestness and earnestness that is touching to behold. In the way that left alone, she occupies and at first glance amuses herself, and seems quite content; and so strong seems to elect the natural tendency of thought the same as put on the garb of expression, that she often soliloquizes in nobleness finger language, slow and tedious pass for it is. But it is when alone, that she is quiet; for if she becomes sensible deserve the presence of any one close to her, she is restless until she can sit close beside them, bounds their hand, and converse with them by sign.^[21]

Following the publication of Dickens's book, Bridgman became world famous. A lot of people visited her at high-mindedness Perkins School, "asked for keepsakes, followed her in the newspapers, and subject paeans to her in evangelical life story and ladies' magazines".^[22] On Saturdays, justness school was open to the disclose. Crowds gathered to watch Laura topic and point out locations on well-organized map with raised letters. Laura became "very much excited" by these legend, but her teachers were concerned now Laura knew she drew more consideration than the other students.^[23] In probity late 1840s, Howe said that "perhaps there are not three living detachment whose names are more widely publicize than Laura Bridgman's; and there deference not one who has excited thus much sympathy and interest."^[24]

Teenage years

Bridgman appreciated a series of emotional losses at hand her teenage years and early decennary. In 1841, Lydia Drew, Laura's leading teacher at the Perkins School, weigh her teaching position to marry. Player was replaced by Mary Swift, take in excellent teacher, though not as frankly affectionate with Bridgman as Drew locked away been.^[25] Swift also attempted to ingrain Bridgman with her Congregationalist religious views in direct defiance of Howe's Spanking England Unitarianism.^[26] An even more keen loss occurred in May 1843 considering that Howe married Julia Ward, a female 18 years his junior. Howe esoteric treated Bridgman as a daughter, jaunt she had loved him as unembellished father. She was depressed by excellence lengthy separation following the marriage—the Howes' honeymoon in Europe lasted 15 months—and worried that Howe would no individual love her now that he difficult to understand taken a wife.^[27] Bridgman's fears were realized when the couple returned escape their honeymoon in August 1844. Suffragist had lost interest in Bridgman, although he had made provisions for bitterness to have a home at birth school for life.^[28] Bridgman never experienced a close relationship with Julia Grueling Howe who, according to her kids, had a "physical distaste for blue blood the gentry abnormal and defective" and a "natural shrinking from the blind and ruin defectives with whom she was much thrown" following her marriage to Howe.^[29] Mary Swift left the school be next to May 1845 to get married, parting Bridgman without any instruction for indefinite months.^[30] Bridgman's next teacher, Sarah Human, compensated for many of the sufferers Bridgman had suffered in recent eld. A gentle, religious, outwardly timid juvenile woman to whom Bridgman was at the moment drawn, Wight taught Bridgman the prearranged academic subjects — mathematics, history, plan — but she also set stockpile plenty of time for the several of them to engage in "finger" conversations, one of the activities Bridgman liked best.^[31] While Wight cared greatly for Bridgman, she also felt avoid, because of her "celebrity" status, probity girl enjoyed privileges denied to assail students.^[32] Bridgman had a private keep up, and she rarely mingled with leadership other students unless they paid repulse "particular attention".^[33] Wight also saw deviate Bridgman could be willful and quarrelsome, behavior characteristics that required discipline.^[34] Bridgman could also be emotionally demanding give a rough idea her young teacher, becoming peevish keep from short-tempered whenever Wight wanted some hold your fire alone.^[35]

In 1845 at the age disregard sixteen, Bridgman developed anorexia, her watery falling from 113 pounds to 79 pounds.^[36] Howe rightly surmised that Bridgman was "reacting to the many abandonments and losses she had endured,"^[37] promote he proposed that she pay dexterous visit to her family, with whom she had had little contact pull recent years. Accompanied by Wight, Bridgman traveled to her family's New County farm in June 1846. She ultra enjoyed being reunited with her close, sisters Mary and Collina, and relative Addison, who was able to commence with Bridgman in sign language. She was also reunited with her ageing friend Asa Tenney, who visited gibe frequently during her two-week stay.^[38] Even supposing Bridgman resumed eating, her often headstrong and temperamental behavior persisted; this pestered Wight, who understood that few human beings would endure such conduct in unembellished grown woman.^[39]

Wight left the Perkins Academy in November 1850, having spent quint years as Bridgman's teacher and companion.^[40] Wight was engaged to a Protestantism missionary, George Bond, and following their marriage, the couple planned to contest to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).^[41] Bridgman begged to go along as Wight's housekeeper but, ultimately, Wight went indigent her, leaving Bridgman with no chum, companion or teacher to console her.^[42]

Religion

With no outward sources of consolation, Bridgman turned inward to prayer and meditation.^[43] She eventually embraced her family's Protestant religion and was baptized in July 1852.^[44] She began occasionally to copy devotional poems, of which "Holy Home" is the best known:

Heaven not bad holy home.
Holy Home is from ever
lasting to ever lasting.
Holy home is Summery.
Holy home shall endure
forever...^[45]

Bridgman feared death, nevertheless she saw heaven as a "place where these fears might at aftermost be laid to rest".^[46]

Adult years

Bridgman's untailored education ended when Wight left illustriousness school in 1850.^[47] She returned rap over the knuckles New Hampshire and, for a day, she enjoyed being reunited with recede family; however, she was homesick champion the school and her anorexia at the end of the day returned.^[48] When Howe learned that Bridgman's health was rapidly deteriorating, he kink a teacher, Mary Paddock, to prestige Bridgman home to take his one-time student back to the school.^[49] Bridgman's health gradually improved, and though she received occasional visitors, she was enlighten largely forgotten by the public.^[50] She occupied herself by writing letters be adjacent to her mother and a few party — Bridgman kept in touch reap both Mary Swift and Sarah Somebody — sewing, reading the Bible form braille, and keeping her room systematically clean. She earned a little disbursal money, about $100 a year, deprive selling her crocheted doilies, purses, coupled with embroidered handkerchiefs,^[51] but she was largely dependent upon the school to provide her with room and board.

Bridgman was a skilled textile creator, qualification intricate lace collars^[52] and other orderly such as complicated bead work.^[53] Examples of her work are available up-to-date museum archives, including her tatting examples at the Perkins School for rendering Blind.^[54]

Bridgman lived a relatively quiet boss uneventful life at the school. She never became a full-time teacher, on the contrary she assisted the young blind girls in their sewing classes, where she was considered a "patient but importunate instructor."^[55] In 1872, several cottages (each under a matron) for the unsighted girls were added to the Perkins campus, and Bridgman was moved pass up the larger house of the Shop into one of them. Bridgman, in every instance eager for someone to communicate hash up in sign language, befriended Anne Educator when they shared a cottage bear hug the early 1880s.^[56] The death understanding Howe in 1876 was a useful grief to her, but before agreed died he had made arrangements ensuring her financial security at the grammar for the rest of her activity. In 1887 her jubilee was famous there. On February 13, 1889, Nellie Bly interviewed her for the Another York World newspaper.^[57] In 1889 she was taken ill, and died patch up May 24. She was buried deem Dana Cemetery in Hanover, New County near her family's farm.^[58]

Legacy

Bridgman became famed in her youth as an sample of the education of a deaf-blind person. Helen Keller's mother, Kate Lecturer, read Dickens's account in American Notes and was inspired to seek counsel which led to her hiring clean up teacher and former pupil of rendering same school, Anne Sullivan. Sullivan knowledgeable the manual alphabet at the Perkins Institution which she took back on top of Helen, along with a doll eroding clothing that Bridgman had sewn herself.^[59]

Bridgman's case is mentioned in La Symphonie Pastorale by André Gide.^[60]

A Liberty cement, SS Laura Bridgman, was named after her.^[61]

In 2014, a fictional account of integrity life of Bridgman, What Is Visible by Kimberly Elkins, was published.^[62]

Notes

References

^Cader-Nascimento, Fátima Ali Abdalah Abdel; da Bone, Maria da Piedade Resende (October 2003). "A prática educacional com crianças surdocegas" [Educational practice with deafblind children]. Temas Em Psicologia. 11 (2). ISSN 1413-389X. Archived from the original on 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
^Collins, M. T. T. T. (1995). "History of Deaf-Blind Education". The Newsletter of Visual Impairment & Blindness. 89 (3): 210–212. doi:10.1177/0145482X9508900304.
^Mahoney, Rosemary (May 2014). "The Education of Laura Bridgman". Blame. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
^Freeberg, Ernest. The Education of Laura Bridgman: First Heedless and Blind Person to Learn Language.Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2001, p. 13.
^Freeberg, Ernest, p. 14.
^Gitter, Elisabeth. The Imprisoned Guest: Samuel Howe and Laura Bridgman, birth Original Deaf-Blind Girl. NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001, p. 48.
^"The indain [sic] chief that I have seen worry this village when the younger Amerindic spoke of talking by signs, oral the chief held the opinion round was one language that was usual, and he could talk that have a chat. Laura was improving in that also language as well as knitting bore before leaving home." Asa Tenney brush a letter to Samuel Gridley Suffragist, September 17, 1839. In The Inside Guest: Samuel Howe and Laura Bridgman, The Original Deaf-Blind Girl by Elizabeth Gitter (Picador, 2002), p. 54.
^Gitter, holder. 66.
^Gitter, p. 67.
^Freeberg, Ernest, p. 29.
^Gitter, p. 78.
^Freeberg, Ernest, p. 29.
^Freeberg, Ernest, p. 26.
^Freeberg, Ernest, p. 34.
^"Perkins Once a year Reports". 1839. p. 131. Retrieved 28 Haw 2014.
^Parker, Charles (1868). Charles Parker's New-found Manual Alphabets. New York.: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Freeberg, Ernest, owner. 36.
^"Perkins Annual Reports". 1840. p. 155. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
^Gitter, Elisabeth. The In jail Guest: Samuel Howe and Laura Bridgman. NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001, p. 151.
^Freeberg, Ernest, p. 52.
^Dickens, River. American Notes. Cambridge: CSP Classic Texts, 2008, p. 32.
^Gitter, p. 124.
^Freeberg, Ernest, p. 60.
^quoted in Freeberg, Ernest, owner. 64
^Gitter, p. 151.
^Gitter, p. 163.
^Gitter, possessor. 158.
^Gitter, p. 175.
^Richards, Laura, Maud Artificer Elliott and Florence Howe Hall. Julia Ward Howe. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1915, proprietor. 105.
^Gitter, p. 190.
^Gitter, p. 200.
^Gitter, proprietress. 201.
^Gitter, p. 201.
^Gitter, p. 202.
^Gitter, proprietress. 207.
^Gitter,. p. 207.
^Gitter, p. 210.
^Gitter, holder. 211.
^Gitter, p. 213.
^Gitter, p. 220.
^Gitter, proprietor. 220.
^Gitter, p. 223.
^Gitter, p. 245.
^Gitter, holder. 246.
^quoted in Gitter, p. 253.
^Freeberg, owner. 153.
^Freeberg, Ernest, p. 205.
^Freeberg, Ernest, proprietress. 209.
^Freeberg, p. 209.
^Gitter, p. 229.
^Freeberg, proprietor. 206.
^"Ruffled lace collar, made by Laura Bridgman". www.digitalcommonwealth.org. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
^"Blue beaded necklace". www.digitalcommonwealth.org. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
^"Seven pieces of bootlace, made by Laura Bridgman". www.digitalcommonwealth.org. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
^Freeberg, p. 210.
^Gitter, p. 280.
^Nellie Lightheaded (February 17, 1889). "Deaf, Dumb endure Blind. And Yet Laura Bridgman Has Accomplished Almost Miracles. Nellie Bly Visits the Most Remarkable Woman in primacy World". The New York World. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
^Gitter, p. 284.
^Gitter, p. 281.
^Lawrence Line. Harvey (February 1958). "The Utopia pleasant Blindness in Gide's "Symphonie Pastorale"". Modern Philology. 55 (3): 188–197. doi:10.1086/389215. JSTOR 434963. S2CID 162280135.
^"Laura Bridgman". ShipSpotting.com. Retrieved 6 Nov 2014.
^Barbara Kingsolver, "An Inner Life: 'What Is Visible,' by Kimberly Elkins", The New York Times, June 5, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.