A collection of actitivities to exploit the film SUFFRAGETTE. www.abelsenglishpage.blogspot.com

1. Suffragette
(Sufragistes)
Nivells: 3r i 4t ESO, batxillerat, cicles formatius,
centres formació adults. Àrees: llengua anglesa /
ciències socials, geografia i història / educació per a
la ciutadania i els drets humans / educació ètica
cívica / món contemporani / història. Temes:
educació en valors / dones, violència de gènere /
cultura de la pau, violència, conflictes polítics i
armats / biografies / relacions humanes, psicologia /
família, relacions familiars / drets humans / sistema
judicial, presons / política, sistemes polítics.
www.cinemaperaestudiants.catTRÀILER

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Índex d’activitats
Fitxa tècnica i artística. Sinopsi …….........................…………….....………. 2
Activities in English
The plot of the film …………………………….……………………….……………………..……….. 3
The characters …………………..…………….……………………….……………...……..……….. 4
First Conditional Sentences ….………………...……………….......………………..……….. 4
Phrasal Verbs In Context …………….……………...…….……………...………....………….… 5
Mrs. Pankhurst’s Speech. Listening .…….……….……...…………………………..……….. 5
Create Your Feminist Protest Placards ….……………….……………...……….………...… 6
The Real Women Who Inspired The Film ...……….……………...…….……………….…. 7
Fitxa tècnica i artística
Direcció: Sarah Gavron. Interpretació: Carey Mulligan, Anne-Marie Duff,
Helena Bonham Carter. Guió: Abi Morgan. Gènere: drama, biogràfic, històric.
Any: 2015. Països: Regne Unit, França. Durada: 106 minuts.
Sinopsi
Història de les sufragistes angleses a principis del segle XX, unes dones que van lluitar pel seu dret a votar. La majoria d’elles no
provenia de classes altes, sinó que eren treballadores que veien com les seves protestes no servien de res. La seva lluita va
esdevenir cada vegada més violenta, disposades a perdre-ho tot, la feina, la casa, els fills i la vida, per tal d’aconseguir la igualtat.
Aquesta és la història de Maud, una d'aquestes dones, i de la seva lluita per la dignitat i la de les seves companyes.
Helena Bonham Carter, Anne-Marie Duff, Romola Garai, Sarah
Gavron, and Carey Mulligan .

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ACTIVITY ONE. THE PLOT OF THE FILM
Read the plot of Suffragette and then say if the statements
are TRUE / FALSE, or NOT MENTIONED IN THE TEXT.
1. Maud Watts is the leader of the Suffragette Group in
London.
2. She lives with her husband and her little boy in the East
End.
3. Maud is a housewife, and Sonny works in a laundry.
4. Working-class people had deplorable conditions in their
jobs.
5. Women and men were paid equally at that time.
6. Maud was sexually forced by her boss Mr.Taylor several
times.
7. Sonny lost his job because he denounced Mr. Taylor.
8. Edith Ellyn is a chemist who leads the group of Suffragettes
in Bethnal Green.
9. Maud denounces the working conditions of the laundry in
the Houses of Parliament.
10. Emmeline Pankhurst is the real leader of the Suffragettes.
11. Maud does not want to become involved in the protests.
12. She participates in bombing a politician’s house.
13. She will spend two months in prison because of this attack.
14. Maud and Emily Davison want to show the Suffragette flag
in front of the King.
Suffragette is a film about social and political change in Britain just before World War One, told through
the personal story of one working-class woman, Maud Watts, a working-class Londoner who joins the
fight to win the vote for women in Britain.
It begins in 1912 when the campaign for the vote has become more militant. Maud lives with her
husband, Sonny, and her young son, George, in the East End of London, an impoverished area at this
time. Working-class people worked very long hours, and many lived in terrible conditions. Life was
particularly hard for women, who often worked harder than men for less money, and also had to
manage the household. Maud and her family live in one room, and Maud and Sonny work at a laundry.
The women do the washing and ironing, while the men make the deliveries and service the machines.
Maud started at the laundry when she was seven and has hardly had any education. She has also had to
put up with sexual abuse from the laundry owner, Mr. Taylor. If she complained, she would lose her job.
In Bethnal Green, there is a group of suffragettes, led by Edith Ellyn who runs a local chemist’s. At first,
Maud is horrified by the violence of the suffragettes, who break the windows of London’s famous
department stores. However, gradually she changes her mind and slowly becomes drawn to the cause.
Maud speaks in Parliament, spends a week in prison for protesting, and meets Emmeline Pankhurst, the
real-life leader of the suffragettes. The more involved Maud becomes, the more she loses.
In response, Maud becomes more militant, first blowing up postboxes and then a government minister’s
country home. She spends more time in prison, and she goes on a hunger strike. The story’s climax takes
place at Epsom horse racecourse, where Maud has gone with Emily Davison, another real-life suffragette,
to wave the suffragette flag in front of the King, George V.
1
GLOSSARY
to manage the household: administrar la casa / laundry: bugaderia / to put up with: suportar / becomes
drawn to the cause: se sent atreta per la causa / blowing up: fent explotar / hunger strike: vaga de fam

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ACTIVITY TWO. THE CHARACTERS IN THE FILM
Here you have the descriptions of six important characters in Suffragettes. The complex
sentences of each character have been broken into four parts. Can you write them in the
correct order?
2
She’s really
clever
She’s really
clever
She’s really
clever
She’s really
clever
She’s really
clever
She’s really
clever
Maud Watts is -
women’s votes.
to fight for -
a young woman -
who decides -
his wife’s relationship -
Sonny Watts -
isn’t happy about -
with the Suffragettes.
Edith Ellyn -
have their meetings.
where the Suffragettes -
owns a chemist -
denounce the laundry –
in Parliament.
and she will –
Maud’s co-worker -
working conditions -
Violet Miller is -
the Suffragettes.
Inspector Arthur Steed -
strange movements of -
investigates the -
of the Suffragettes, -
is the leader -
more than ten times.
Emmeline Pankhurst -
who was imprisoned -
ACTIVITY THREE. FIRST CONDITIONAL SENTENCES3
The British suffragettes encourage each other with promises about the future.
If we fight now, we will change the world.
This sentence follow the structure of the FIRST CONDITIONAL, which has two
different parts.
CONDITION (SUBJECT + PRESENT SIMPLE + COMPLEMENT): If we fight now,
RESULT (SUBJECT + WILL + INFINITIVE + COMPLEMENT): we will change the world.
Complete the conditional sentences that the characters say with the correct form of
the verbs in brackets. Attention: some of them take the negative form!
1. If they .......... (not give) us the vote, we .......... (break) lots of windows.
Emmeline Pankhurst
2. If these women .......... (not eat), we .......... (make) them eat! Inspector Steed
3. I .......... (not be) happy if they .......... (not give) us the vote soon. Edith Ellyn
4. If we .......... (not get) the vote, I .......... (jump) in front of the King’s horse.
Emily Davison
5. Those women .......... never .......... (receive) the vote if they .......... (act) so
stupidly. A Member of Parliament
6. If my wife .......... (go) to prison, I .......... (be) very upset. Sonny Williams
7. I .......... (die) If I .......... not eat) something soon. Violet Miller
8. If I .......... (become) a Member of Parliament, I .......... (get) votes for women.
Alice Haughton
9. The world .......... (be) a worse place if women .......... (get) the vote.
A newspaper headline
10. If I .......... (go) to prison again, I .......... (run) away. Violet Miller
A B
C
D
E
E
F
E

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As you already know, a phrasal verb is a phrase that combines a verb with a
preposition or adverb or both and functions as a verb whose meaning is
different from the combined meanings of the individual words. Phrasal verbs
indicate actions, and they are generally used in spoken English and informal
texts.
Look at these sentences about Suffragette and replace the verbs in bold with
the correct phrasal verb from this list.
push on - blow up - slip up - look out for - go through –
pick up - look into - give up
1. A lot of women had to ENDURE extreme hardship and personal sacrifice to
obtain the right to vote.
2. Maud had to COLLECT a parcel of the laundry in the West End.
3. “We can’t afford to MAKE A MISTAKE. So much depends on us!
4. “We have to MOVE FORWARD and involve more women in our cause.”
5. There is so much solidarity amongst the women in this group: we all TAKE
CARE OF each other.
6. We will not ABANDON our struggle just because men oppose our ideas!
7. Some suffragettes decide to BOMB a politician’s summer house.
8. Inspector Steed decides to INVESTIGATE the suffragette movement.
ACTIVITY FOUR. PHRASAL VERBS IN CONTEXT4
ACTIVITY FIVE. MRS EMMELINE PANKHURST’S SPEECH.5
A significant moment of Suffragettes happens when the protesters meet to listen
to Mrs. Pankhurst’s speech. She was the leader of the Women’s Social and
Political Union, with the motto of “Deeds, not words.”
Listen to this clip and choose the correct word when two alternatives are offered.
https://youtu.be/hL75kzWe6ls
motto: lema / deeds: fets
My friends.
In spite of His Majesty’s Government/Parliament, I am here today/tonight.
I know the effort/sacrifices you have made to be here. Many of you, I know, are
estranged from the lives/riches you once had. Yet I feel your presence/spirit tonight.
For fifty/forty, years we have laboured peacefully/patiently to secure the work/vote
for women. We have been ridiculed/vilified, battered, and unheard/ignored. Now we
have realized that deeds/actions and sacrifice must be the agenda/order of the day.
We are fighting/waiting for a time in which every little girl/woman born into the
world will have an equal/elementary chance with her partners/brothers. Never
underestimate the strength/power we women have to define our own
destinies/future. We do not want/claim to be lawbreakers; we want to be
lawmakers.
Be militant/brilliant. Each of you in your own way. Those of you, who can break
laws/windows, break them. Those of you, who can further attack/smash the sacred
idol of property, do so. We have been left with no alternative/option but to defy this
state/government.
If we must go to prison/parliament to obtain the vote, let it be the windows of
government, not the families/bodies of women which shall be broken.
I incite this meeting, and all the women in Britain/the world, to rebellion!
I would rather be a rebel than a slave!

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1. Take a glance at “THE 100-YEAR-OLD PROTEST POSTERS THAT SHOW WOMEN'S
OUTRAGE”, a BBC article, and comment on the contents of the posters in class.
https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-42875095
2. Although the situation of women in the world, mostly in Western countries, is much
better now than it used to be back in the 1910s, there are probably situations where
women are still at a disadvantage. Think of that, and create your feminist protest
placards. Invent mottos, rhyming sentences or bright ideas to speak up for women’s
rights. You can use these apps (WALKWOKE OR CANVA) to make your projects digital.
When you’re done, showcase your projects around your school or your neighbourhood.
ACTIVITY SIX. CREATE YOUR OWN FEMINIST PLACARDS6
1
2
PHOTOGRAPHIES: 1. A group of models is holding placards in a mock protest, at the end of the presentation of Chanel's 2015 Spring-
Summer ready-to-wear collection during Fashion Week in Paris, on September 30, 2014. UPI/Eco Clement. 2. Suffragettes in London wear
placards promoting a meeting as three men watch on.
Feminism, a belief in the political, econòmic, and cultural equality of women, has roots in
the earliest eras of human civilization. It is typically separated into three waves: first-wave
feminism, dealing with property rights and the right to vote; second-wave feminism,
focusing on equality and anti-discrimination, and third-wave feminism, which started in the
1990s as a backlash to the second wave’s perceived privileging of white, straight women.
From Ancient Greece to the fight for women’s suffrage to women’s marches and the
#MeToo movement, the history of feminism is as long as it is fascinating…
https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/feminism-womens-history

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ACTIVITY SEVEN. THE REAL WOMEN WHO INSPIRED THE FILM7
On the next two pages, you have some short histories of the real women who inspired the
film. When they left prison, they were given a badge for their endurance and effort.
Read the texts and decide which of these badges belong to every person.
She inspired
a lot of
women to
fight.
She broke a
lot of shop
windows.
Her husband
paid a fine to
set her free
from prison.
She jumped
in front of
the King’s
horse.
She and her
husband
organized a
group of
suffragettes.
d
Her funeral
was witnessed
by a huge
crowd.
She
invented the
motto
“Deeds, Not
Words”
She went to
prison thirteen
times.
She had to
sew his
brother’s
socks.
She had
university
studies.
She taught
martial arts
to other
women.
She was
forced to eat
in prison.
She organized
a group to
defend
Emmeline
Pankhurst.
GLOSSARY
darn: sargir, cosir / seamstress: costurera / fine: multa / breakdown: crisi /
portrayed: interpretat / attention-grabbing: per atraure l’atenció /
harrassment: assetjament / wield clubs: empunyar bastons / force fed: ser
alimentada a la força/
Green, white and violet became the popularly recognised
colours of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU).
Since the suffragette movement slogan was Give Woman
the Vote, Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst adopted the
three colours: Green = Give, White = Woman and Violet =
Vote. The WSPU exhorted women to "wear the colours"
and show the support for the movement.

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Hannah Mitchell
Carey Mulligan plays Suffragette's central character, the fictional Maud Watts. Watts's
story came together after Suffragette's creators learned about the many working-class
women who fought for the right to vote. One woman who inspired them was Hannah
Webster Mitchell.
Born to a low-income family in 1872, Mitchell grew up resenting unfair treatment, such
as being made to darn her brothers' socks while they got to relax. However, as an adult,
she initially considered the fight for female suffrage a middle-class issue. Mitchell, who'd
worked as a domestic servant and seamstress, devoted her energies to the Independent
Labour Party - until she came to feel that the ILP was more focused on universal male
suffrage. By 1904, Mitchell had joined the Women's Social and Political Union, the group
headed by Emmeline Pankhurst, whose members became known as suffragettes.
After disrupting a political meeting in 1906, Mitchell was charged with obstruction and
given a three-day sentence. Working-class suffragettes with family obligations often
found spending time in custody to be complicated — unlike most middle and upper-class
women; they had no servants to handle cooking and cleaning while they were away.
Mitchell was no exception to this rule - though her husband was a Socialist, he ignored
her wishes and paid her fine, so that she could leave jail after one day.
Mitchell left the WSPU in 1907 - in part because she was hurt that Pankhurst didn't visit
when she was recovering from a breakdown - but continued to fight for suffrage with
the Women's Freedom League.
Emmeline Pankhurst
The real-life character of Emmeline Pankhurst, portrayed by Meryl Streep, appears
in Suffragette. Though Pankhurst is seen on screen for just a few minutes, she's a symbol
of inspiration for many of the film's characters - just as Pankhurst inspired suffragettes in
real life.
In 1903, when she was a 45-year-old widow, Pankhurst founded the WSPU, whose
slogan became "Deeds Not Words." In her work for the group, she gave speeches that
encouraged militant action. She declared in 1913, "Militancy has brought woman
suffrage where we want it, that is, to the forefront of practical politics. That's the
justification for it."
Between 1908 and 1914, Pankhurst was imprisoned 13 times. She would be released
after going on hunger strikes, but the police pursued her again once her health had
recovered. This cycle only ended with the advent of World War I, when Pankhurst
directed WSPU members to support the war effort. In 1918, after the war, Pankhurst
was pleased to see women granted limited suffrage.
Emmeline Pankhurst, Christabel Pankhurst, and Flora
Drummond in Court, October 1908. This court appearance
followed the arrest of the suffragette leaders for inciting a
riot and urging supporters to “rush” the House of Commons.
Emmeline Pankhurst received a sentence of three months’
imprisonment.
BOOK: The Hard Way Up. The
Autobirography of Hannah Mitchell,
Suffragette & Rebel
Hannah Mitchell
Emmeline Pankhurst

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Barbara and Gerald Gould
In Suffragette, Helena Bonham Carter portrays the pharmacist and bomb-maker
Edith Ellyn. Unlike other characters in the film, Ellyn has a husband who also wants
women to get the vote. One real-life couple who both supported female suffrage was
Barbara Ayrton Gould and her husband, Gerald.
Barbara, who'd studied chemistry and physiology at University College, London,
became a member of WSPU in 1906 and was a full-time organizer for the group by
1909. Barbara and Gerald got married in 1910.
Gerald supported women's suffrage with actions like writing a pro-suffrage pamphlet
entitled “The Democratic Plea”. In March 1912, Barbara participated in an attention-
grabbing attack of smashing store windows in the West End of London (it's a rock-
throwing demonstration that sets Carey Mulligan's character off on her suffragette
journey in Suffragette). After this, Barbara spent time in prison; in 1913, she went to
France for a time to avoid being rearrested.
Edith Garrud
Helena Bonham Carter told Interview magazine that she found inspiration for her
character in suffragette Edith Garrud, who was born in 1872. In fact, it was Bonham
Carter who wanted her character's name to be Edith to honour Garrud.
While protesting, suffragettes often faced harassment and attacks, both from the police
and members of the public. But thanks to Garrud's martial arts instruction, which she was
offering to suffragettes by 1909, many learned how to defend themselves with jiu-jitsu.
In addition to "suffrajitsu", as this training came to be nicknamed, Garrud also organized
a protective force - called "The Bodyguard" - to keep Emmeline Pankhurst and other
suffragette leaders safe and out of police custody. Besides their martial arts skills, women
on protective duty learned to wield clubs they kept hidden in their dresses.
Emily Wilding Davison
Emily Wilding Davison was an English suffragette who fought for votes for women in
Britain in the early twentieth century. A member of the Women's Social and Political
Union (WSPU) and a militant fighter for her cause, she was arrested on nine
occasions, went on hunger strike seven times, and was force fed on forty-nine
occasions. She soon became known in the organization for her daring militant action;
her tactics included breaking windows, throwing stones, setting fire to post boxes,
and, on three occasions, and hiding overnight in the Palace of Westminster.
She died after being hit by King George's horse Anmer at the 1913 Derby when she
walked onto the track during the race. The WSPU organized her funeral on 14 June
1913. A procession of 5,000 suffragettes and their supporters accompanied her coffin
and 50,000 people lined the route through London.
A cartoon shows
how suffragettes
defend themselves
with jiu-jitsu.
King George V's horse hit the suffragette during the
Epsom Derby on 4 June 1913
Barbara and Gerald Gould Edith Garrud
Emily Wilding Davison

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Direcció i concepció gràfica
Cinema per a estudiants
Activitats i adaptació de textos
Abel Gálvez
info@cinemaperaestudiants.cat
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