Pansies and The 1920 International Freethought Congress

The pansy emerged as a symbol of the freethought movement as a direct result of its etymology. Pansy comes from a French noun, pensée which means a thought. Freethought emerged as a term in the 1700s and a dictionary definition of a freethinker from 1913 notes, those who form opinions on the basis of reason, independent of authority, especially one who rejects or denies religious dogma.

An American Secular Union pamphlet from the late 1800s reads, “Let every patriot who is a Freethinker in this sense, adopt the pansy as his badge … as a silent and unobtrusive testimony of his principles. In this way we shall recognize our brethren in the cause…”

One vivid account of this symbol in action comes from Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner, a peace activist, atheist, and freethinker (1858-1935). According to her writings, Hypatia was delighted when she found the streets of Prague 1920 International Freethought Congress full of hundreds of persons wearing the Congress badge and pansies, a symbol of freethought!

Just consider what it meant for Hypatia and those hundreds of  people to be there- this wasn’t a quick flight, it was a pilgrimage. Starting with a four hour boat crossing followed by several trains, it may have taken some 48 hours of travel from the UK to get to Prague.

Train timetables were published by sources like Cook’s Continental Time-Table.

That hundreds traveled to attend this event is extraordinary!

Perhaps with no coincidence, at the same time the freethought movement was growing, pansies were growing too – in popularity! While already established as a symbol of thought, the 1800s brought us cultivation of the pansy from the wild version to the varieties we have today.  Selective breeding sought to emphasize the color patterns that resemble a face – shapes and lines that mimic eyes and a mouth. The weight of the flower on the delicate stem could also be conceived as a head down in thought (like The Thinker by Rodin). 

This poster combines the Freethought event of 1920, Hypatia’s awe at hundreds of people wearing pansies, with a beautiful,  botanical illustration. This botanical illustration was created by Pierre-Joseph Redouté, a painter and botanist from the Austrian Netherlands. He was called the Raphael of Flowers and many believe him to be the greatest botanical illustrator of all time. This illustration, circa 1827, captures the pansy varieties beginning to emerge.

This piece makes a great wall hanging that brings verdant floral beauty and some subtle secular messaging into your space.