Helena Swanwick
Encyclopedia
Helena Lucy Maria Swanwick, née Sickert CH
(1864, Munich
– 16 November 1939) was a British
feminist and pacifist.
(technically of Danish
nationality, though he always considered himself German and did not speak Danish) and the Englishwoman Eleanor Louisa Henry, an illegitimate daughter of astronomer Richard Sheepshanks
, a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
and an Irish
dancer. Helena's brother was the well-known painter
Walter Sickert
. As a schoolgirl, reading John Stuart Mill
's On the Subjection of Women influenced her to become a feminist. She was educated at Girton College, Cambridge
, and she married the Manchester University lecturer Frederick Swanwick in 1888.
Helena Swanwick worked as a journalist
, initially as a sort of protegée of C.P. Scott, and wrote articles for the Manchester Guardian. In 1906 she joined the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
in preference to the Women's Social and Political Union
, because of her belief in non-violence. She quickly became prominent in the National Union, and was editor of its weekly journal, The Common Cause from 1909–1912. She remained on the NUWSS Executive until 1915. She was also a member of the Labour Party
.
On the outbreak of World War I
, she began campaigning for a negotiated peace. In 1915, together with such other prominent suffragists as Catherine Marshall
and Agnes Maude Royden, she resigned from the National Union over its refusal to send delegates to the International Women's Congress at the Hague. She was one of the founding members of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
. From 1914 she had already been active in the Union of Democratic Control
. G. K. Chesterton
would criticize her pacifism in the 2 September 1916 issue of Illustrated London News
:
In fact, this was far from the only opposition she suffered both as a suffragist and internationalist, including physical violence.
After the war she maintained her internationalist views, opposing the punitive terms of the Treaty of Versailles
and serving as the United Kingdom substitute delegate to the League of Nations
. In the 1930s she became increasingly depressed by the growing cult of violence and oppression, which was increased by the death of her husband in 1934. After the outbreak of the Second World War she committed suicide with an overdose of veronal in November 1939.
Her autobiography I Have Been Young gives a remarkable account both of the non-militant women's suffrage campaign and of anti-war campaigning in the First World War, together with philosophical discussions of non-violence.
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
(1864, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
– 16 November 1939) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
feminist and pacifist.
Life
Helena Sickert was the only daughter of the painter Oswald SickertOswald Sickert
Oswald Adalbert Sickert was a Danish-German artist, considered a painter of dramatic genre, landscapes and an engraver from the English school.-Early life:...
(technically of Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
nationality, though he always considered himself German and did not speak Danish) and the Englishwoman Eleanor Louisa Henry, an illegitimate daughter of astronomer Richard Sheepshanks
Richard Sheepshanks
Richard Sheepshanks was an English astronomer.He graduated from Trinity College of Cambridge University in 1816...
, a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
and an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
dancer. Helena's brother was the well-known painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
Walter Sickert
Walter Sickert
Walter Richard Sickert , born in Munich, Germany, was a painter who was a member of the Camden Town Group in London. He was an important influence on distinctively British styles of avant-garde art in the 20th century....
. As a schoolgirl, reading John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
's On the Subjection of Women influenced her to become a feminist. She was educated at Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. It was England's first residential women's college, established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon. The full college status was only received in 1948 and marked the official admittance of women to the...
, and she married the Manchester University lecturer Frederick Swanwick in 1888.
Helena Swanwick worked as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, initially as a sort of protegée of C.P. Scott, and wrote articles for the Manchester Guardian. In 1906 she joined the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies , also known as the Suffragists was an organisation of women's suffrage societies in the United Kingdom.-Formation and campaigning:...
in preference to the Women's Social and Political Union
Women's Social and Political Union
The Women's Social and Political Union was the leading militant organisation campaigning for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom...
, because of her belief in non-violence. She quickly became prominent in the National Union, and was editor of its weekly journal, The Common Cause from 1909–1912. She remained on the NUWSS Executive until 1915. She was also a member of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
On the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, she began campaigning for a negotiated peace. In 1915, together with such other prominent suffragists as Catherine Marshall
Catherine Marshall
Catherine Wood Marshall was an American author of nonfiction, inspirational, and fiction works. She was the wife of well-known minister Peter Marshall.-Biography:...
and Agnes Maude Royden, she resigned from the National Union over its refusal to send delegates to the International Women's Congress at the Hague. She was one of the founding members of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom was established in the United States in January 1915 as the Woman's Peace Party...
. From 1914 she had already been active in the Union of Democratic Control
Union of Democratic Control
The Union of Democratic Control was a British pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifist organization, it was opposed to military influence in government.-World War I:...
. G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
would criticize her pacifism in the 2 September 1916 issue of Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
:
- Mrs. Swanwick, the Suffragist who has reappeared as a Pacifist, has recently declared that there must be no punishment for the responsible Prussian. She puts it specifically on the ground that they were promised, or promised themselves, the conquest of the whole world; and they have not got it. This, she says, will be punishment enough. If I were to propose, to the group which is supposed to inspire the Pacifist propaganda, that a man who burgled their strong boxes or pilfered their petty cash should suffer no punishment beyond failing to get the money, they would very logically ask me if I was an Anarchist. If I proposed that anybody trying to knife or pistol another person should walk away and resume his daily amusements if the knife broke or the pistol missed fire, they would certainly ask me if I had contemplated the possibility of encouraging the employment of knives and pistols. Crime can be only insufficiently restrained when the alternative is between success and punishment. It could hardly be restrained at all if the alternative were only between success and failure; that is, between success and freedom—including freedom to try again.
In fact, this was far from the only opposition she suffered both as a suffragist and internationalist, including physical violence.
After the war she maintained her internationalist views, opposing the punitive terms of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
and serving as the United Kingdom substitute delegate to the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
. In the 1930s she became increasingly depressed by the growing cult of violence and oppression, which was increased by the death of her husband in 1934. After the outbreak of the Second World War she committed suicide with an overdose of veronal in November 1939.
Her autobiography I Have Been Young gives a remarkable account both of the non-militant women's suffrage campaign and of anti-war campaigning in the First World War, together with philosophical discussions of non-violence.
Books
- The Future of the Women's Movement (1913)
- Builders of Peace, Being Ten Years History of the Union of Democratic ControlUnion of Democratic ControlThe Union of Democratic Control was a British pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifist organization, it was opposed to military influence in government.-World War I:...
(1924) - I Have Been Young, autobiography, (1935)1935 in literatureThe year 1935 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* June 15 - W. H. Auden enters a marriage of convenience with Erika Mann.* July 30 - Allen Lane founds Penguin Books to publish the first mass market paperbacks in Britain....
. - The Roots of Peace: A Sequel to Collective Insecurity, Being an Essay on Some of the Uses, Condition (1938)
External links
- Helena Swanwick at www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
- The Suffragist and the 'Average Woman' Sandra Stanley Holton, University of Adelaide