It was about time we included a woman amongst Oxford’s unusual literati and this week we look at one of the boldest women of the nineteenth century. Gertrude Bell was a writer, traveller, archaeologist, political official and part-time spy. An influential and remarkable women, she made her mark on history despite the constraints imposed by her gender.
Gertrude was born in County Durham to a wealthy family. Her mother died when she was just three years old, creating a close relationship with her father who encouraged her love for travelling. She went to university at Queens College London before attending LMH aged seventeen. Bell studied Modern History, one of the few subjects allowed offered to women at university and graduated with a first.
She had a considerable contempt for virtually all of her sex; there were few women who had earnt her admiration or respect. Perhaps this is due to a lack of female figures in her life. Nevertheless, her step-mother, Florence Bell appears to have instilled in Bell a passion for writing through her work as a playwright and children’s author. Florence also encouraged her anti-feminist tendencies. Bell became secretary of the Women’s Anti-Suffrage League, feeling that women were not sufficiently educated to deserve the right to vote. This may have inspired her to promote the education of Iraqi women later on in her life as a means of ameliorating the position of women.
This woman towered over others intellectually, exuding confidence and commanding the attention of all. Virginia Woolf described her as ‘a masterful woman who has everyone under her thumb, and makes you feel a little inefficient.’ Few men could keep up with her but she found her equal in a married man, Charles Doughty-Wylie. Rather uncharacteristically, Bell wrote passionate love letters to Charles but the pair never consummated their love. Tragedy ensued when Charles led the troops at Sith and one of the first to die.
She then threw herself into her work to distract herself. A thirst for adventure drove Bell across Syria, Arabia and Mesopotamia. She was fluent in several languages and very knowledgeable about the cultures and traditions of countries in the Middle East. Bell played a key role in forming modern Iraq and with British communication and policy-making. Known as the ‘uncrowned queen of Iraq’, she schmoozed with politicians, charming and exerting her influence.
Increasing conflicts between tribes in Iraq hindered her work and Bell eventually turned to archaeology. In her spare time Gertrude also climbed the Swiss alps including peaks rarely attempted by men. She became one of the greatest mountaineers of her time and now has a ridge named after her.
Her achievements and confidence would be remarkable even today and are all the more impressive given the period. Fearless, genderless,and adventurous, Gertrude Bell was undeniably unlike any other Victorian woman.
