ABSTRACT
The New Year of 1903 did not begin on a happy note for Christabel. She was still living away from home, in lodgings with Harry, when he suddenly fell ill. Since the doctor feared that Harry had caught the contagious diphtheria and scarlet fever that was threatening Adela’s life, Christabel was advised to move immediately – and did so, this time staying with friends. Now that Adela and Harry were fit again, Christabel began once more to spend time with Eva Gore-Booth and Esther Roper. One early spring day, when Emmeline was telling Esther about some women’s issue that Christabel had dealt with, Esther replied, ‘She ought to be a lawyer. By highlighting how working men were discriminating against their own womenfolk and opposed to women’s interests, Christabel was emphasising that it was not just capitalists who had an interest in the subordination of women but socialist men too.
