Background:A significant challenge regarding notable historical figures is determining the accuracy of the words and actions attributed to them with the limited available evidence,when their biographers have presented...Background:A significant challenge regarding notable historical figures is determining the accuracy of the words and actions attributed to them with the limited available evidence,when their biographers have presented a biased life assessment.Lauded as a founding suffragette,the first female school principal,and the first white female practicing physician in Canada,Dr.Emily Stowe did not help historians.She destroyed her records,leaving her life story to be told by her daughter,who portrayed her as a heroine–a view that has persisted since the start of the 20th century.To improve the accuracy of assessing the life of Emily Stowe,as much information as possible about Stowe must be collected and interpreted.Methods:Presented is a narrative research method for analyzing historical figures that examines 22 life-changing events in the life of Stowe by answering six types of questions about each event:when,where,who,what,how,and why.Results:This narrative research,representing a psychoanalytic research process,finds that much of the repeated story of Stowe is either exaggerated or likely false.Conclusion:Following the example of Emily Stowe,this unique method is applicable for improving the historical accuracy in assessing the lives of other notable figures.It represents a method extendable to those currently alive,outside the public eye,searching to develop their own narrative.展开更多
文摘Background:A significant challenge regarding notable historical figures is determining the accuracy of the words and actions attributed to them with the limited available evidence,when their biographers have presented a biased life assessment.Lauded as a founding suffragette,the first female school principal,and the first white female practicing physician in Canada,Dr.Emily Stowe did not help historians.She destroyed her records,leaving her life story to be told by her daughter,who portrayed her as a heroine–a view that has persisted since the start of the 20th century.To improve the accuracy of assessing the life of Emily Stowe,as much information as possible about Stowe must be collected and interpreted.Methods:Presented is a narrative research method for analyzing historical figures that examines 22 life-changing events in the life of Stowe by answering six types of questions about each event:when,where,who,what,how,and why.Results:This narrative research,representing a psychoanalytic research process,finds that much of the repeated story of Stowe is either exaggerated or likely false.Conclusion:Following the example of Emily Stowe,this unique method is applicable for improving the historical accuracy in assessing the lives of other notable figures.It represents a method extendable to those currently alive,outside the public eye,searching to develop their own narrative.
