World War I and its Lasting Political, Emotional, and Educational Effects on Women

This thesis navigates the political, emotional, and educational effects of World War I on middle- and upper-class British Women. Through this research, it becomes evident that the war created an opportunity for women to achieve suffrage through their political participation. Similarly, this thesis shows how the war emotionally impacted the wealthier women of Great Britain as they fulfilled different jobs for their emotional benefit as well as the wholistic benefit of society. Lastly, this research demonstrates the lasting educational impacts the war had on the women of the time, particularly as it relates to the university level. The information discussed in this research is based on the analysis of documents that show the political involvement of Women during the period of the Great War as well as the writings produced throughout this time. Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth is a key memoir that reveals personal testimony from a woman active in this period and encounters many of the subjects covered in this research. Primary sources found through the British Newspaper Archives were also used to demonstrate first-hand accounts of the experiences of Women as a result of the war