The Floating Woman
Amanda Price
Many people attempt suicide by jumping from the bridge. In 1885 a 22 year old woman called Sarah Anne Henley jumped following a lovers’ quarrel. She survived because her crinoline dress acted as a parachute, and lived until 1948, by which time she was 85.
Transcript
I sat staring out of the window looking idly at the Suspension Bridge. It looked so serene perched on the edge of the cliff. As I sat there staring I thought of all the hours I’d spent when I was younger staring out of windows and an intriguing story popped into my head, as they often do.
It’s a story of a woman who lived about a hundred and thirty years ago or thereabouts.
She had decided to commit suicide by jumping off Bristol suspension bridge.
She failed in her attempt because the crinoline dress she was wearing acted like parachute and filled with air and she floated down to earth rather than plummeting to her death.
Very little is written about her other than her name was Sarah Ann Henley. She was 22 years old and had been jilted by her lover.
She’s not here to tell her story so I thought I would instead.
“The bare-faced lies! I can’t believe he said that!”
“Well I’m here now so where is the best place to jump?” Sarah muttered angrily under her breath.
She paced up and down the bridge trying to find the right place to jump from. She realised she would have to stand on the hand rails.
“Gosh they are quite high. How I am going to lift myself up there?” Sarah thought. She then peered over the hand rails and looked down at the river below. “It’s such a long way down. Can I really do this?” she thought.
Sarah looked around her; there were a few people casually strolling around it seemed quite quiet though. “If I wait any longer I won’t do it. I must do it. Then he’ll be sorry.” Sarah muttered to herself.
Without any further hesitation Sarah hitched up her skirt and hoisted herself onto the hand rail, stood up and launched herself off the bridge. WHOOOSH!
She had this strange feeling that she was being lifted and that she was rising up rather than going down. Sarah then realised that she was floating. She could see Dundry in the far distance. When she looked down she saw the glint of the sunlight reflecting off the water and mud. How beautiful it all seemed. She drifted towards the bank.
She hearted shouting from above. She looked up to see people looking down at her from the bridge. It seemed a very long way up. Suddenly the mud seemed to come up at her very fast. “Ooh no…” Spat! Sarah landed in the mud. She lay motionless for quite some time. She then lifted her head and looked around in a stunned silence.
That ends my tale of Sarah Ann Henley. She did go on to live to be 85 and died in 1948. But that’s another story.
