Of all the books that I have come across in my time, none
compare to the literary accomplishment of Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth. Much more than just a memoir, this 661-paged
book outlines a generation of England’s youth during one of the most tragic
periods in all of history—The Great War. Brittain, an exceptional youth, leaves
behind her Oxford education to become a nurse in the war, much to the chagrin
to her formal, Victorian-styled parents. She serves in hospitals in London,
Malta, and even close to the front lines in France, while subsequently learning
that her lover, friends, and brother have been killed in action. By the time
the war ends, Brittain is struggling to redefine herself void of all her
intimate relationships.
Testament of Youth begins
with Brittain’s childhood years, growing up in provincial Buxton. As grounds
for her familial relationships, she develops a close kinship with her brother
Edward, a kid of the musical sort. Reaching her teenage years, however, she is
not satisfied with the lifestyle that Buxton has to offer young women, and so
sets her sights on completing her education at Oxford. She, after much hard
work, finally achieves a seat in one of Oxford’s colleges, Somerville. During
this time, she is introduced to Roland, an intellectual, poetic man, with whom
she slowly develops an intimate relationship.
When the Great War breaks out, it is but a ripple in the
pond of her little world. As it slowly becomes apparent that the War is more
akin to a tsunami, she realizes that it will soon mean separation from the men
she loves. Brittain’s new perspective does not allow her to return to the
arbitrary schooling she once endeavored in, so instead she seeks refuge in the
laborious profession of nursing. Enlisting in 1915, she thinks of the work as
something she must do for Roland. “I never minded those aches and pains, which
appeared to me solely as satisfactory tributes to my love for Roland (164),”
she says. She finds peace in the work which led her to Malta and even the front
lines.
Brittain’s use of language and description evokes emotion in
a way that no other book does. Some parts of the book devastate the reader in
an instant, and other parts overwhelm the reader with joy, just the way she
felt it. She depicts the attraction between her and Roland, her lover, so
poignantly that when the reader gets to the page of his death, he or she is
left in tears as if they had lost his or her own love. Similar feelings arrive
at the death of her life-long friend and brother, Edward. In her diary she
describes her thoughts after Roland’s death, “I have learnt through him that
love is supreme, that love is stronger than death and the fear of death (265).”
As the War concludes, she finds herself sadly alone. She
wonders of the meaning of war, and what the men she loved really fought for.
She states, “Modern war is nothing but temporary—though how
disastrous!—forgetfulness by neighbors that they are gentlemen; its only result
must be the long reaping in sorrow of what was sown in pride (635).” Through her meditation, she develops a strong pacifist sentiment very characteristic of her generation.
In Brittain’s post-war life she continues to contemplate her
past. Despite haunting memories, she goes on to earn a history degree from
Oxford, advocate feminism, publish her first book, The Dark Tide, lecture in schools, tour Europe as a writer,
and finally reach a conclusion to this half of her life—a husband. All of her past seems to coalesce as she finally decides to marry; she finds that marriage, children, and moving on are really the test of her character.
Although Testament of Youth
is a long read, and may be tedious at times, it offers more thought-provoking
material than any other book I have ever read. From the poetry that she
includes of her own hand, and Roland’s, to the brilliant quotes from famous
figures of her time, she created a work worth remembering. Instilling a deeper
thought process behind the Great War, Testament
of Youth gives voice to the “Generation of 1914.”
