Page 29 - Life of Gertrude Bell

SOCIETY AND OXFORD *7
of Victorian society; to insist that though she might privately
question the opinion of a teacher, she would never overstep the
mark in her public attitude to him, any more than she would go
beyond a clearly defined line in disputes with her parents. In
fact, there was always a streak of ambivalence in her attitude to
authority. Like most well-brought-up people in Victorian England,
Gertrude believed firmly in the conventions and manners of the
age. But she was not unwilling to flout the accepted rules of
conduct when her temper was roused or her sense of rightness
was violated. She soon discovered for instance that she was not
allowed to use the Radcliffe Camera since she was not yet an
honours student. She was outraged when the librarian refused
her a ticket and whenever she passed him in the street she wanted
to shake her fist at him. That he was merely obeying the rules
never occurred to her. She was not accustomed to obstacles. Her
period at Lady Margaret Hall in the time of its famous principal
Dame Elizabeth Wordsworth was nevertheless happy and
productive. She read regularly for seven hours a day and yet
found time for every kind of sport and leisure activity that was
permitted her. Swimming, fencing, rowing, tennis and hockey
all attracted her, as did the Union debates and the simple pleasure
of ‘swinging’ across the Parks to watch a cricket match or to
attend St Mary’s where the university sermon was often delivered
by the eloquent Bishop Boyd Carpenter.
There were times when, even for her, work became difficult
and oppressive. ‘The amount of work is hopeless. Slave as one
may, one never gets through the due quota every week. This last
week for instance, I ought to have read the life of Richard HI,
another in two volumes of Henry VIII, the continuous history of
Hallam and Green from Edward IV to Ed. VI, the third volume
of Stubbs, 6 or 7 lectures of Mr Lodge, to have looked up a few
of Mr Campion’s last term lectures, and some of Mr Bright’s, and
lastly to have written 6 essays for Mr Hassall. Now I ask you, is
that possible?’ Occasionally the effects of overwork told on her.
‘Do you know I’m rather a poor thing this term; I haven’t felt
well ever since I came up, and yesterday I woke in the middle of
the night to find myself fainting ... Wasn’t it a very odd thing to
do? After a time I got up and went to Edith Langridge who gave
me some brandy and then I went to sleep again.’ But such
moments were rare. She generally sailed through her under­
graduate years.