A Female Perspective of World War I : a Feminist Analysis of Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth

Details

Supervisors

Latre, Guido

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en langues et lettres modernes, orientation générale

Abstract

This MA dissertation presents a feminist approach of Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth (1933). It focuses on the autobiography, on World War I and on women’s conditions in general. The aim of this work was to first figure out in what way Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth is feminist in the context of her time, her life and the Great War. Then, the attention was drawn on World War I and on how this war altered women’s lives and influenced women’s conditions. Feminist and war literature were also analyzed. Furthermore, the conditions of women today were compared to their conditions during the Great War. Finally, the last question raised concentrated on men’s attitude towards feminism, to see what was men opinion on the issue and if women were the only ones concerned about feminism. Four different chapters were necessary to develop these points. The first chapter focuses on literature, then, the second chapter focuses on women’s movement. There is a third chapter on male perspectives. Finally, the discussion follows with the fourth chapter that concentrates on the impact of the war on women.