Vivien haigh wood biography books

American poet, first better half of TS Eliot

Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot (also Vivien, born Vivienne Haigh; 28 Might – 22 January ) was the first wife of American-British poet T. S. Eliot, whom she married in , poor than three months after their introduction by mutual friends, conj at the time that Vivienne was a governess be thankful for Cambridge and Eliot was thoughtful at Oxford.^[1]

Vivienne had many earnest health problems, beginning with t.b. of the arm as simple child,^[1] and the marriage emerged to exacerbate her mental unhinged issues. Husband Eliot would scream consider divorce, but formally broken up from Vivienne in She was later committed to an preservation by her brother, against recipe will, eventually dying there externally from a heart attack, on the other hand possibly by deliberate overdose. During the time that told via a phone cry out from the asylum that Vivienne had died unexpectedly during nobility night, Eliot is said letter have buried his face flowerbed his hands and cried come away 'Oh God, oh God.' ^[1]

Both Vivienne and T. S. Author stated that Ezra Pound esoteric encouraged Vivienne to marry Writer as a pretext for goodness poet to remain in England, where Eliot and Pound reputed he would have greater vocation success, but also against class wishes of his family who wanted him to return collect the United States. Neither treat of parents were informed manager the wedding beforehand.^[1] Vivienne troublefree creative contributions to her husband's work during their year marriage,^[2] but it was a rigid relationship. Both had mental submit physical health problems,^[3] and stirring is often cited as rendering inspiration for The Waste Land, which remains Eliot's most distinguished work. He consulted with Vivienne, refusing to release a sector of the poem until she had approved it.^[2] Eliot afterwards said: 'To her the matrimony brought no happiness to feel like it brought the state be more or less mind out of which came The Waste Land.'^[1] Research industrial action their relationship has been loaded by lack of access adjacent to her diaries, the of which was granted to Eliot's woman Valerie Eliot, but surviving hand have been published.^[4]

Early life

Vivienne Haigh-Wood was born in Knowsley Coordination, Bury, Lancashire,^[5] the first youngster of Rose Esther (née Robinson; –) and Charles Haigh-Wood (né Wood; –), an artist prosperous member of the Royal Institution of Arts.^[6] Charles was go into liquidation to the area, but diadem wife was born in Author where the couple had archaic living, and they had exchanged to Bury for an talk about of Charles's paintings at unadorned gentleman's club, with Rose Jewess heavily pregnant. The journey may well have triggered the birth sooner than expected, and Haigh-Wood was born in Lancashire rather top London.^[7]

She was registered at commencement as Vivienne Haigh, though trade in an adult she called themselves Haigh-Wood,^[5] and later spelt give someone the boot first name Vivien.^[8] Her jealous grandfather was Charles Wood, keen gilder and picture framer unapproachable Bolton, so her father known as himself Charles Haigh-Wood to decide himself. The "Haigh" came outlander his mother, Mary Haigh, in from Dublin. Mary Haigh difficult inherited seven semi-detached houses ton Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire), organized Dublin suburb, which gave leadership family financial stability, allowing Haigh-Wood's father to study at character Manchester Art College and leadership Royal Academy Schools in London.^[5]

Charles Haigh-Wood inherited his mother's gold when she died, as spasm as the family home comatose 14 Albion Place, Walmersley Deceased, Bury, and he became a- landlord, which allowed him cross-reference move his wife and Vivienne to Hampstead, a fashionable ethnic group of north London. They effected into a house there recoil 3 Compayne Gardens around ^[9] Vivienne's brother, Maurice, was native there in ; he went on to train at Sandhurst and fought during the Important World War.^[7] Although the race was clearly well-to-do, Seymour-Jones writes that Vivienne was ashamed state under oath her connection to Lancashire, detected as working-class, and was sinistral with a sense of insignificance that made her self-conscious be proof against snobbish, especially when mixing mount Eliot's aristocratic London friends.^[9]

Health with education

Little is known of ride out education. Vivienne played the keyboard, painted, took ballet lessons, was a good swimmer, and laid hold of for a short time despite the fact that a governess for a brotherhood in Cambridge. She had legion health problems. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis of the parched in her left arm like that which she was a child; that was before the discovery announcement antibiotics and apparently little could be done about it. She was treated by Sir Town Treves and said she esoteric had so many operations, she had no memory of weaken life before the age wait seven.^[10]

She was also plagued encourage heavy, irregular menstruation, to repulse great embarrassment, and severe pre-menstrual tension, which led to frame of mind swings, fainting spells, and migraines. She would insist on clean her own bedlinen, often dual a day, and would side her sheets home with move together to clean when on weekend away, once leading a hotel rear claim she had stolen them, to Eliot's dismay. She clearly felt unable to ask gather mother for help. Eventually affiliate mother took her to on the rocks doctor who prescribed potassium trite saying to sedate her, which doubtless meant he had diagnosed "hysteria". Virginia Woolf described Vivienne revive 8 November in her diary:

Oh – Vivienne! Was there ever such a harrow since life began!&#;– to bring in her on one's shoulders, acute, wriggling, raving, scratching, unwholesome, virtuoso, insane, yet sane to primacy point of insanity, reading wreath letters, thrusting herself on new, coming in wavering trembling&#; That bag of ferrets is what Tom [Eliot] wears round wreath neck.^[11]

As the medical bills rosebush, so did her family's jealousy of her. Her brother, Maurice, blamed her for what loosen up saw as his second-rate edification, because there was no impecuniousness left to send him come close to public school.^[12] She became spoken for to a schoolteacher, Charles in , but Buckle's jocular mater was apparently unhappy about on the same plane. Vivienne's health problems persuaded Chromatic Haigh-Wood that her daughter difficult to understand "moral insanity." She decided lapse Vivienne should not marry die bear children, and withdrew high-mindedness family's consent to the marriage.^[13]

Relationship with T. S. Eliot

First meeting

Haigh-Wood met Tom Poet on or around March bundle up a dance in London, hoop he took tea with rebuff and a friend.^[14] They fall down again shortly after that destiny a lunch party in Scofield Thayer's rooms at Magdalen Academy, Oxford.^{[n 1]} Eliot and Thayer, both from privileged New England backgrounds, had been at Altruist together, where Eliot had affected philosophy, and both had entered in Oxford on scholarships.

According to another friend of Eliot's, Sacheverell Sitwell, Eliot had observe Haigh-Wood earlier, punting on class River Cherwell. Seymour-Jones writes cruise Oxford attracted young women public limited company, or "river girls", who would come in search of worthy husbands; women were not lawful to take degrees at University until ^[16]

Lyndall Gordon writes make certain Eliot was jolted to take a crack at by Haigh-Wood.^[5] He was graceful repressed, shy, year-old who was bored in Oxford, writing salary it that it was set free pretty, "but I don't emerge to be dead."^[9] She was flamboyant, a great dancer, crosspiece her mind, smoked in the upper crust, dressed in bold colours famous looked like an actress. Seized by her apparently wealthy environment, the artist father and representation brother at Sandhurst, he unproductive to realise that, within rank rigid English class system, Haigh-Wood was no match for dominion New England background or be conscious of the English aristocrats with whom he had surrounded himself.^[5] Grand few of his friends, as well as Aldous Huxley, said they end result Haigh-Wood precisely because she was vulgar. For her part, she fell in love with Playwright, seeing in him what she described as "the call telling off the wild that is grind men."^[17]

Marriage

Eliot was in Oxford sale one year only, and was expected to return to Altruist to begin a career though an academic philosopher, an conception he railed against. He welcome to be a poet. Sharp-tasting had completed The Love Express of J. Alfred Prufrock wear ,^[18] the poem that was to make his name what because it was published in City in , and he old saying remaining in England as skilful way to escape his parents' plans for him.^[18]

When he was in his 60s, Eliot wrote that he had been unformed and timid at the lifetime, and probably in love refer to Emily Hale, a Bostonian sharp-tasting had had a relationship come to get in the United States.^[18] What he wanted from Haigh-Wood, stylishness said, was a flirtation. On the other hand a meeting with the Inhabitant poet Ezra Pound had trustworthy him that the pursuit insensible poetry was possible, and unity Haigh-Wood meant he could range in England and avoid Harvard.^[19] Eliot told a friend, Author Aiken, that he wanted interrupt marry and lose his virginity.^[17]

The couple were married after twosome months, on 26 June , at Hampstead Register Office hole London, with Lucy Ely Thayer (Scofield's sister) and Haigh-Wood's mock, Lillia C. Symes, as witnesses. Eliot signed "no occupation" arrange the certificate and described her majesty father as a brick manufacturer.^[20] Neither of them told their parents.^[5]

Separation

Eliot arranged for a laidback separation in February and after that shunned Haigh-Wood entirely, hiding take from her and instructing his pty not to tell her in he was. She could scream accept the end of justness relationship. Her efforts to emphasize him appeared to his circle to confirm that she was mentally ill.

The last at this juncture she saw him was psychiatry 18 November at a Sunday Times Book Fair in Royal Street, London, where he was giving a talk. Carrying one of his books &ndash: take up her dog, Polly &ndash: she arrived in clothes she esoteric taken to wearing to records of his plays: a Nation Union of Fascists uniform, jet beret and black cape. She wrote in her diary:

I turned a face don him of such joy turn no-one in that great multitude could have had one moment's doubt. I just said, Oh Tom, & he seized furious hand, & said how compulsion you do, in quite dialect trig loud voice. He walked handy on to the platform misuse & gave a most outstandingly clever, well thought out lecture.&#; I stood the whole regarding, holding Polly up high leisure pursuit my arms. Polly was announcement excited & wild. I unbroken my eyes on Tom's mush the whole time, & Side-splitting kept nodding my head examination him, & making encouraging characters. He looked a little higher ranking, more mature & smart, overmuch thinner & not well feel sorry robust or rumbustious at all. No sign of a woman's care about him. No warm evenings with dogs and gramophones I should say.^[21]

As he organized copies of the books gather her, she asked him, "Will you come back with me?" and he replied, "I cannot talk to you now," as a result left with someone else.^[21]

Commitment

Vivienne was committed to the Northumberland See to mental hospital in Woodberry Remains, Manor House, London, in , and remained there until she died. Although Eliot was tranquil legally her husband, he on no occasion visited her.^[22]

Eliot's attitude toward women

Carole Seymour-Jones, one atlas Haigh-Wood's biographers, argues that up was a strong streak detailed misogyny in the way Author regarded Haigh-Wood. He wrote almost a friend that Haigh-Wood esoteric "an original mind, and Uncontrollable consider not at all trim feminine one."^[23]

Louis Menand argues comic story The New Yorker that Author regarded women the way noteworthy regarded Jews, seeing both monkey responsible for irrationality and optimism. He was uneasy with motherly sexuality&#;– which led Seymour-Jones resurrect suspect he was homosexual&#;– which manifested itself both in wreath poetry and in his carriage toward Haigh-Wood's body. Menand writes that Eliot's work is brimming with oversexed women, whom do something saw as modern succubi, much as Grishkin in his "Whispers of Immortality" ().^[18]

Legacy

Carole Seymour-Jones writes that it was out allround the turmoil of the wedlock that Eliot produced The Utilization Land, one of the Twentieth century's finest poems. Eliot's sister-in-law, Theresa, said of the relationship: "Vivienne ruined Tom as dialect trig man, but she made him as a poet."^[24]

Valerie Eliot, description poet's second wife (from ) claimed the of Haigh-Wood's handbills in , including her covert diaries, which has complicated birth research into her role stem Eliot's life.^[25]

Writing

Haigh-Wood wrote several romantic and reviews for The Criterion, the literary magazine Eliot supported, using the pseudonyms FM, Tinker Marlow, Feiron Morris, Felise Author, and Irene Fassett.^[5]

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

Further reading