The Dictionary of Lost Words

Elsie Murray pressures her father to force Dankworth to move to the sorting table. Esme is grateful. Elsie has just finished university, though as a woman she can’t receive a degree. Esme finds Mabel’s slip for “cunt” in her desk. The word has a long history of use, as evidenced by the backlog of slips in the pigeon-holes. Still, Dr. Murray excluded it based on obscenity. Below his note of this, someone (possibly Elsie) has transcribed written comments in favor of the word’s inclusion. Esme adds her slips to the pile, noting that “cunt” is only an insult based on the premise that a vagina is vulgar. She wonders if Elsie argued with her father about it.

Later that day, Esme visits her trunk in Lizzie’s room. She tells Lizzie she was wrong to hide the words away: they are important and deserve a chance to be in the Dictionary. Esme ponders making her own dictionary of women’s words, noting the inadequacy of words chosen by men to describe her experiences. She and Lizzie go through the trunk, grouping words together with pins. Days later, Gareth—a compositor from the Press—visits the Scriptorium. Only Esme and Mr. Dankworth are present. Dankworth rudely accepts the proofs for Dr. Murray. Esme writes Gareth’s name on a slip so she will remember it.

One day, the newspaper reports that three imprisoned suffragettes in Birmingham have been force-fed after a hunger strike. Esme is enraged. She delivers Dr. Murray’s correspondence, thinking of her impossible ambition of becoming an editor and wondering what action she would take to achieve it. Esme goes to the Press’s composition room and encounters Gareth. While he looks for Mr. Hart, Esme looks at the type Gareth is setting. The definitions for scold (a woman who speaks excessively) and scold’s bridle (a device used to silence such a woman) upset Esme. She steals the letters for scold from Gareth’s type, delivers the first corrections for T to Mr. Hart, and departs. Gareth hopes to see her again.

On the way back to the Scriptorium, Esme gets caught in the rain. Mr. Dankworth protests her coming inside all wet, so Rosfrith—another of Dr. Murray’s daughters—loans Esme some dry clothes. While changing in Rosfrith’s room, Esme notices a more detailed report of the Birmingham suffragettes. Rosfrith has started a letter to the women’s jailer, objecting to their treatment. Reading the article, Esme notes how women are defined by their relations to men. The account of the suffragette’s forcible feeding is inhumane, like torture or rape. Discussing these happenings, Rosfrith states there are non-violent ways to make a difference.

Lizzie has heard about the suffragettes at the Market. She reports some people are angry, but others think the women would be more effective if they were less disruptive. Neither Lizzie nor Esme thinks they are brave enough to starve themselves. Ditte writes to Esme on her 28th birthday. She encloses a book on women’s rights by Emily Davies and reassures Esme that Esme is not a coward, noting that Esme affects change in her own sphere of influence. The fight for equality exists on several fronts. Ditte also updates Esme on Esme’s daughter, Megan, who is thriving with the Brookses in Australia. At Esme’s request, Ditte provides more information on Megan over the years.