Inspirational Person – Winifred Holtby
Life Story
Winifred Holtby was born in the latter part of the 19th century to a Yorkshire family. Her mother was the first woman county councilor of her area and a formidable figure. Winifred worked as a nurse in the First World War and then read History at Oxford. In the course of that study, she met Vera Brittain, and they established a strong deep friendship that lasted until Winifred died at the age of 37. After Oxford, they went to London to become writers and supported themselves by a mixture of teaching and journalism. The friendship was maintained throughout Vera’s marriage and Winifred’s travels. Winifred died at the age of 37 of Bright’s disease.
Why Do I Find Holtby Inspirational?
Winifred’s life embodied many of the contradictions and challenges faced by the modern woman. She was constantly drawn into her family’s struggles and as a single woman found herself “dumped” on a lot. Yet at the same time her strong creative side worked to write and create novels that are still being published (South Riding is a Virago Modern Classic) today. These novels are characterized by a wise compassionate view of humanity that seem to reflect the spirit of the woman herself During most of her life, she experienced the struggle of reconciling the creative, reformer and duty-driven side of her personalities of her life. At the end of her life she felt that she had reconciled these different dimensions through her art. She also worked tirelessly for the oppressed Africans of South Africa. Throughout this, she retained a sweetness, humor and wisdom that touched and inspired everyone she met. She was single but yet derived an immense happiness from the joys of her friends’ marriages and children. Even though she was gifted and talented, she was deeply sensitive to the suffering of others and through out her life expressed a horror of being “immune to suffering”. This led her to constantly give time and money to her favorite causes. She was friends or met with many of the leading figures of the day including George Bernard Shaw and T.E. Lawrence. When we look at her life, we would probably suggest setting tighter boundaries and mourn for the novels that she didn’t get to write because of her family obligations and commitment to justice, but at the end she thought that her family and reforming activities formed the raw material for her novels.
If you want to read more about her, you can read Vera Brittain’s biography Testament of Friendship or you can read the more recent The Clear Stream: A life of Winifred Holtby by Marion Shaw.
