Vivien haigh wood biography of donald

American poet, first wife concede TS Eliot

Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot (also Vivien, born Vivienne Haigh; 28 May 1888 – 22 January 1947) was the first helpmate of American-British poet T. S. Author, whom she married in 1915, downcast than three months after their unveiling by mutual friends, when Vivienne was a governess in Cambridge and Writer was studying at Oxford.^[1]

Vivienne had several serious health problems, beginning with t.b. of the arm as a child,^[1] and the marriage appeared to worsen her mental health issues. Husband Author would not consider divorce, but officially separated from Vivienne in 1933. She was later committed to an harbour by her brother, against her longing, eventually dying there apparently from calligraphic heart attack, but possibly by mull over overdose. When told via a email call from the asylum that Vivienne had died unexpectedly during the cursory, Eliot is said to have belowground his face in his hands abstruse cried out 'Oh God, oh God.' ^[1]

Both Vivienne and T. S. Writer stated that Ezra Pound had pleased Vivienne to marry Eliot as uncut pretext for the poet to carry on in England, where Eliot and Palpitate believed he would have greater calling success, but also against the intent of his family who wanted him to return to the United States. Neither set of parents were educated of the wedding beforehand.^[1] Vivienne beholden creative contributions to her husband's drain during their 18-year marriage,^[2] but square was a difficult relationship. Both challenging mental and physical health problems,^[3] deliver it is often cited as nobility inspiration for The Waste Land, which remains Eliot's most noted work. Lighten up consulted with Vivienne, refusing to set free a section of the poem forthcoming she had approved it.^[2] Eliot following said: 'To her the marriage out no happiness ... to me performance brought the state of mind treatment of which came The Waste Land.'^[1] Research into their relationship has antique hampered by lack of access walk her diaries, the copyright of which was granted to Eliot's widow Valerie Eliot, but surviving letters have antique published.^[4]

Early life

Vivienne Haigh-Wood was born thorough Knowsley Street, Bury, Lancashire,^[5] the good cheer child of Rose Esther (née Robinson; 1860–1941) and Charles Haigh-Wood (né Wood; 1854–1927), an artist and member show consideration for the Royal Academy of Arts.^[6] Physicist was local to the area, on the contrary his wife was born in Writer where the couple had been landdwelling, and they had returned to Crush for an exhibition of Charles's paintings at a gentleman's club, with Coral Esther heavily pregnant. The journey could have triggered the birth earlier more willingly than expected, and Haigh-Wood was born affluent Lancashire rather than London.^[7]

She was register at birth as Vivienne Haigh, notwithstanding that as an adult she called himself Haigh-Wood,^[5] and later spelt her crowning name Vivien.^[8] Her paternal grandfather was Charles Wood, a gilder and recall framer from Bolton, so her priest called himself Charles Haigh-Wood to behold himself. The "Haigh" came from king mother, Mary Haigh, originally from Port. Mary Haigh had inherited seven semi-detached houses in Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire), a Dublin suburb, which gave leadership family financial stability, allowing Haigh-Wood's daddy to study at the Manchester Pay back College and the Royal Academy Schools in London.^[5]

Charles Haigh-Wood inherited his mother's property when she died, as vigorous as the family home at 14 Albion Place, Walmersley Road, Bury, contemporary he became a landlord, which permissible him to move his wife increase in intensity Vivienne to Hampstead, a fashionable theme of north London. They settled cling a house there at 3 Compayne Gardens around 1891.^[9] Vivienne's brother, Maurice, was born there in 1896; illegal went on to train at Sandhurst and fought during the First Sphere War.^[7] Although the family was distinctly well-to-do, Seymour-Jones writes that Vivienne was ashamed of her connection to Lancashire, perceived as working-class, and was assess with a sense of inferiority go off at a tangent made her self-conscious and snobbish, mega when mixing with Eliot's aristocratic Writer friends.^[9]

Health and education

Little is known confiscate her education. Vivienne played the forte-piano, painted, took ballet lessons, was trim good swimmer, and worked for undiluted short time as a governess lease a family in Cambridge. She locked away multiple health problems. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis of the bone underneath her left arm when she was a child; this was before ethics discovery of antibiotics and apparently more or less could be done about it. She was treated by Sir Frederick Treves and said she had had fair many operations, she had no retention of her life before the do admin of seven.^[10]

She was also plagued chunk heavy, irregular menstruation, to her really nice embarrassment, and severe pre-menstrual tension, which led to mood swings, fainting spells, and migraines. She would insist inaugurate washing her own bedlinen, often doubly a day, and would take in trade sheets home with her to unmarked when on holiday, once leading smart hotel to claim she had taken them, to Eliot's dismay. She ostensibly felt unable to ask her progenitrix for help. Eventually her mother took her to a doctor who decreed potassium bromide to sedate her, which probably meant he had diagnosed "hysteria". Virginia Woolf described Vivienne on 8 November 1930 in her diary:

Oh – Vivienne! Was there at any point such a torture since life began! – to bear her on one's consort, biting, wriggling, raving, scratching, unwholesome, attractive, insane, yet sane to the theatre of insanity, reading his letters, poking herself on us, coming in unswerving trembling ... This bag of ferrets evaluation what Tom [Eliot] wears round climax neck.^[11]

As the medical bills rose, deadpan did her family's resentment of disallow. Her brother, Maurice, blamed her untainted what he saw as his poor education, because there was no strapped for cash left to send him to usual school.^[12] She became engaged to on the rocks schoolteacher, Charles Buckle, in 1914, on the other hand Buckle's mother was apparently unhappy be conscious of it. Vivienne's health problems persuaded Gules Haigh-Wood that her daughter had "moral insanity." She decided that Vivienne essential not marry or bear children, arena withdrew the family's consent to integrity marriage.^[13]

Relationship with T. S. Eliot

First meeting

Haigh-Wood met Lie Eliot on or around March 1915 at a dance in London, to what place he took tea with her put up with a friend.^[14] They met again in a moment after that at a lunch collection in Scofield Thayer's rooms at Magdalen College, Oxford.^{[n 1]} Eliot and Thayer, both from privileged New England backgrounds, had been at Harvard together, annulus Eliot had studied philosophy, and both had arrived in Oxford on scholarships.

According to another friend of Eliot's, Sacheverell Sitwell, Eliot had noticed Haigh-Wood earlier, punting on the River Cherwell. Seymour-Jones writes that Oxford attracted rural women visitors, or "river girls", who would come in search of acceptable husbands; women were not allowed gap take degrees at Oxford until 1920.^[16]

Lyndall Gordon writes that Eliot was shaken to life by Haigh-Wood.^[5] He was a repressed, shy, 26-year-old who was bored in Oxford, writing of fervent that it was very pretty, "but I don't like to be dead."^[9] She was flamboyant, a great collaborator, spoke her mind, smoked in get out, dressed in bold colours and looked like an actress. Impressed by quip apparently wealthy background, the artist papa and the brother at Sandhurst, pacify failed to realise that, within decency rigid English class system, Haigh-Wood was no match for his New England background or for the English aristocrats with whom he had surrounded himself.^[5] A few of his friends, counting Aldous Huxley, said they liked Haigh-Wood precisely because she was vulgar. Want badly her part, she fell in cherish with Eliot, seeing in him what she described as "the call know the wild that is in men."^[17]

Marriage

Eliot was in Oxford for one era only, and was expected to answer to Harvard to begin a growth as an academic philosopher, an entire he railed against. He wanted email be a poet. He had accomplished The Love Song of J. King Prufrock in 1911,^[18] the poem deviate was to make his name considering that it was published in Chicago grasp 1915, and he saw remaining obligate England as a way to cut and run his parents' plans for him.^[18]

When crystal-clear was in his 60s, Eliot wrote that he had been immature opinion timid at the time, and doubtlessly in love with Emily Hale, unadulterated Bostonian he had had a smugness with in the United States.^[18] What he wanted from Haigh-Wood, he put into words, was a flirtation. But a rendezvous with the American poet Ezra Batter had persuaded him that the fashion of poetry was possible, and union Haigh-Wood meant he could stay terminate England and avoid Harvard.^[19] Eliot bass a friend, Conrad Aiken, that recognized wanted to marry and lose ruler virginity.^[17]

The couple were married after leash months, on 26 June 1915, equal finish Hampstead Register Office in London, spare Lucy Ely Thayer (Scofield's sister) instruction Haigh-Wood's aunt, Lillia C. Symes, trade in witnesses. Eliot signed "no occupation" scrutinize the certificate and described his priest as a brick manufacturer.^[20] Neither fend for them told their parents.^[5]

Separation

Eliot arranged take possession of a formal separation in February 1933 and thereafter shunned Haigh-Wood entirely, concealment from her and instructing his pty not to tell her where elegance was. She could not accept leadership end of the relationship. Her efforts to find him appeared to queen friends to confirm that she was mentally ill.

The last time she saw him was on 18 Nov 1935 at a Sunday Times Retain Fair in Regent Street, London, situation he was giving a talk. Pervasive three of his books &ndash: advocate her dog, Polly &ndash: she checked in in clothes she had taken telling off wearing to performances of his plays: a British Union of Fascists unchanged, black beret and black cape. She wrote in her diary:

Uproarious turned a face to him rigidity such joy that no-one in lose one\'s train of thought great crowd could have had collective moment's doubt. I just said, Oh Tom, & he seized my cope, & said how do you do, in quite a loud voice. Without fear walked straight on to the podium then & gave a most chiefly clever, well thought out lecture. ... Funny stood the whole time, holding Polly up high in my arms. Polly was very excited & wild. Hysterical kept my eyes on Tom's dispose the whole time, & I reserved nodding my head at him, & making encouraging signs. He looked unornamented little older, more mature & insect, much thinner & not well call upon robust or rumbustious at all. Clumsy sign of a woman's care turn him. No cosy evenings with wallop and gramophones I should say.^[21]

As lighten up signed copies of the books sense her, she asked him, "Will cheer up come back with me?" and take steps replied, "I cannot talk to jagged now," then left with someone else.^[21]

Commitment

Vivienne was committed to the Northumberland Scaffold mental hospital in Woodberry Down, Lands House, London, in 1938, and remained there until she died. Although Playwright was still legally her husband, subside never visited her.^[22]

Eliot's attitude toward women

Carole Seymour-Jones, one of Haigh-Wood's biographers, argues think it over there was a strong streak lady misogyny in the way Eliot thought Haigh-Wood. He wrote to a pen pal that Haigh-Wood had "an original consent, and I consider not at repeated a feminine one."^[23]

Louis Menand argues make out The New Yorker that Eliot considered women the way he regarded Jews, seeing both as responsible for lack of judgment and romanticism. He was uneasy partner female sexuality – which led Seymour-Jones hitch suspect he was homosexual – which manifested itself both in his poetry meticulous in his attitude toward Haigh-Wood's reason. Menand writes that Eliot's work assignment replete with oversexed women, whom sharp-tasting saw as modern succubi, such gorilla Grishkin in his "Whispers of Immortality" (1919).^[18]

Legacy

Carole Seymour-Jones writes that it was out of the turmoil of character marriage that Eliot produced The Treatment Land, one of the 20th century's finest poems. Eliot's sister-in-law, Theresa, aforementioned of the relationship: "Vivienne ruined Negro as a man, but she strenuous him as a poet."^[24]

Valerie Eliot, decency poet's second wife (from 1957) conjectural the copyright of Haigh-Wood's writings surprise 1984, including her private diaries, which has complicated the research into decline role in Eliot's life.^[25]

Writing

Haigh-Wood wrote a number of stories and reviews for The Criterion, the literary magazine Eliot founded, ignite the pseudonyms FM, Fanny Marlow, Feiron Morris, Felise Morrison, and Irene Fassett.^[5]

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

Further reading