The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine

Once Elizabeth arrived in Liverpool, she and Kenyon traveled to Birmingham, where they reunited with Howard and Anna. The reunion was bittersweet, as Kenyon’s ill health was a primary concern. Elizabeth and Anna took over his care, substituting the medicines that were worsening his condition with their own methods, but were stopped by other members of the Blackwell family. Elizabeth’s tour of the hospitals in Birmingham was met first with skepticism, then an invitation to witness an amputation. In London, Elizabeth navigated high society with the help of Charles Plevins, a friend of one of her cousins. She attended luncheons, museum tours, and medical lectures. Despite feeling out of place among the fashionable English ladies, she found solace in scientific gatherings and the company of intellectuals like Richard Owen.

Elizabeth's eventual arrival in Paris was a mix of excitement and disillusionment as she struggled with language and societal barriers. Determined to gain more practical experience, Elizabeth enrolled at La Maternité, a prominent maternity hospital. The rigorous schedule and communal living conditions were challenging, but the exposure to numerous obstetric cases was invaluable. Her letters home detailed her growing competence and the respect she earned from her instructors. As her first three months at La Maternité ended, she decided to extend her stay due to the opportunity the experience provided.

On a November Sunday in 1849, Elizabeth had a severe eye infection while working at La Maternité, contracted when contaminated liquid splashed into her face from a newborn suffering from purulent ophthalmia, likely caused by gonorrhea. Despite the immediate need for treatment, Elizabeth initially downplayed the irritation until her condition worsened, leading to confinement in the students' infirmary under the care of Hippolyte Blot and Clarisse Mallet. The treatments she underwent were excruciating but necessary to prevent the infection from causing permanent blindness. They involved cauterization, syringing with medicated eyewash, leech applications, and various ointments and plasters. Anna provided additional care and attempted to alleviate Elizabeth's pain through animal magnetism, inspired by Baron du Potet. Despite the severity of her condition, Elizabeth maintained a stoic and optimistic demeanor, though her recovery was slow and fraught with setbacks.

Elizabeth eventually left La Maternité on indefinite leave and moved to Anna's rooms on the rue de Fleurus, where she gradually recovered some vision in her less affected right eye. Despite warnings and her deteriorating condition, Elizabeth traveled to Vincent Priessnitz's water cure sanatorium in Gräfenberg alone, seeking a cure through hydropathy. However, the regimen at Gräfenberg proved too harsh. It exacerbated her condition and ultimately led to the removal of her left eye. Elizabeth returned to Paris in August 1850 and underwent surgery to fit a glass prosthetic. Though this ended her hopes of becoming a surgeon, it did not diminish her resolve to practice medicine, and she prepared to continue her studies in London.

Back in the United States, Emily was teaching in Cincinnati and developing an interest in natural history and astronomy. She found solace in science despite feeling inadequate compared to Elizabeth. Meanwhile, Elizabeth returned to London in October 1850 to continue her medical education at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. She found London less welcoming this time, with Charles Plevins now distant and Kenyon preoccupied with his new wife. She attended lectures and rounds at St. Bartholomew's. She was met with a mix of curiosity and respect from her male colleagues, while her friendships with women were isolated at first. It began with Bessie Rayner Parkes and Barbara Leigh Smith, who shared her progressive views. Her social circle expanded to include influential people such as Anna Brownell Jameson, Eliza Lee Cabot Follen, and Florence Nightingale. Nightingale, in particular, shared Elizabeth's dedication to humanitarian work, and the two women formed a bond during Elizabeth's visit to Nightingale's family estate. Despite their differing views on women's roles in healthcare, they still had respect for one another. Elizabeth eventually left London for New York, hoping to establish a medical practice. Her decision to return to America was driven by the need to support herself financially and the desire to contribute to the growing acceptance of women in medicine.

When Elizabeth returned to New York in 1851, the city had changed. The population surged, and its infrastructure matured, with the Croton Aqueduct improving public health by providing clean water. Her arrival was noted by the New York Daily Tribune, whose editor, Horace Greeley, supported her with an enthusiastic but cautious announcement. Elizabeth rented a place on University Place, and her sister Marian also moved in to provide support. Elizabeth's venture into New York's medical scene, however, was complicated by the presence of Madame Restell, an abortionist whose reputation as a "female physician" threatened Elizabeth's legitimacy. Despite her credentials and endorsements from St. Bartholemew’s, Elizabeth struggled to attract patients and faced financial and professional setbacks. Meanwhile, despite Emily's persistent efforts and encouragement from Elizabeth, the younger sister faced consistent rejection from medical schools due to the backlash against her sister’s achievements and the growing presence of female medical institutions, which male-dominated colleges used as an excuse to bar women.

In New York, Elizabeth wrote and delivered lectures on raising healthy children and the importance of hygiene, which were later published, helping her gain a modest following. Her practice began to receive patients, some of whom became overly enthusiastic. Elizabeth also had to deal with male colleagues who struggled to treat her as an equal. Marian, who witnessed Elizabeth's struggles, advised Emily to focus on practical experience over formal credentials. Despite this, Emily remained determined to earn a legitimate medical degree. She decided to pursue her medical education at Dartmouth College.