Frances Power Cobbe and Strength
Frances Power Cobbe, a pioneering animal rights activist, was born in Donabate, County Dublin in 1822. A prominent, journalist, philanthropist, and suffragette, she became a vehement anti-vivisection campaigner when she read articles by British medical practitioners who wrote of how the vivisection demonstrations they received during their training were cruel, unnecessary, and gave their profession a bad name. From 1860, the anti-vivisection movement became one of the most polarised debates of its time.
Frances’ first book “An Essay on Intuitive Morals, Vol. 1,” argued that the key concept in ethics is duty, that duties presuppose a moral law, and a moral law presupposes an absolute moral legislator which she believed was God. She argued that humankind knows by intuition what the moral law requires us to do. She applied her moral theory to animal rights in “The Rights of Man and the Claims of Brutes” in 1863. She argued that humans may harm animals to satisfy true needs but not from immorality, giving the example of how humans may eat meat but not, say, kill birds for feathers that are to be used as decoration for hats, stating that the minimum possible pain should be inflicted on the animal at all times.
In 1868 she met Charles Darwin who gave her a review copy of his book “Descent of Man”. This led to her critique of his writing in “The Theological Review”. Frances wrote that morality could not be explained by evolution but needed to refer to God instead. She said Darwin’s theories were limited, helping humankind understand that we feel sympathy for others, but not why we should feel it.
This debate with Charles led Frances to change her views about animal protection. She wrote that humans must treat animals in ways that show sympathy for them. Frances’ early stance was to set limits on vivisection, such as it always being carried out under anaesthesia. However, when the Cruelty to Animals Act was passed in 1867, Frances found it so weak that she abandoned regulation and began to campaign for the abolition of vivisection instead. In the following year, she set up the National Anti-vivisection Society. She went on to establish the Society for the Protection of Animals Liable to Vivisection in 1875, the first organisation to campaign against animal experiments; and in 1898, she set up the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV).
Based in London for much of her career, Frances moved to Wales in 1884 where she continued to write and publish, mainly about anti-vivisection causes, until her death in 1904.
Strength
The woman in the Strength card is dressed in white—symbolising purity—with an infinity symbol above her head. Next to her stands a red lion representing strength, power, and will. This wild animal appears to be under the woman’s control even though he could easily overpower her. The lion can speak to our primitive animal instincts and desires, while the woman symbolises our ability to tame those instincts and bring them into balance. This card suggests we can use our logic and morality when making our decisions in life, and that this approach is ultimately a choice that must be made over and over again, symbolised by the infinity loop over the woman’s head. The Strength card is often regarded as a sign that good will triumph over evil, but that it takes effort, courage and tenacity to take a stand against injustice, just as Frances did in her work.
Sources
Frances Power Cobbe, “The Duties of Women; A Course of Lectures,” (London, 1881)
Frances Power Cobbe, “Life of Frances Power Cobbe as told by herself,” (Boston, 1894) 2 vols.
Sally Mitchell, “Frances Power Cobbe, Victorian Feminist, Journalist, Reformer,” (Virginia, 2004)
Lori Williamson, “Power and Protest: Frances Power Cobbe and Victorian Society,” (London, 2005)