#6: Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo and Lillian Gish (both film stars from 1920s) were contenders for this spot on the list, but while Gish is still better known for her stardom rather than her spinsterhood, Garbo has become most remembered for her desire for solitude. While Garbo insists that she herself never said “I want to be alone” (she says her actual words were “I want to be left alone,” and emphasized the difference between the two phrases), she did utter that line in the film Grand Hotel, leading to her image forever being tied to that single sentence.

However it’s undeniable that Garbo did indeed want to be left alone. Though she loved acting from childhood, she disliked the attention her career brought. She became famous off-screen for snubbing Hollywood, preferring her privacy to its social parties.

It is also clear that while she was in love with her on-again, off-again lover and fellow actor John Gilbert, she refused to get married. She is quoted as fearing that Gilbert would try to “boss” her if they became husband and wife. Later she said, “There are some who want to get married and others who don’t. I have never had an impulse to go to the altar. I am a difficult person to lead.”

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If you’d like to learn more about Greta Garbo, here are a few recommended resources.

GretaGarbo.com

Greta Garbo: Divine Star

Garbo: A Biography

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See the full list of Top 10 Real-Life Spinsters here.

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7. Emily Dickinson

One of history’s most famous reclusive writers.

Dickinson, from the outside, may have been the image of a madwoman in the attic. However, her extreme social phobia didn’t prevent her from being an incredibly prolific (albeit, posthumous) poet. Dickinson wrote about 1800 poems, but published less than a dozen during her life. This apparent shyness could be due to what many scholars now see as an anxiety disorder. Dickinson effectively retreated from society in her twenties, rarely leaving the house in her older years. She was even reported to have once fled from the sound of neighbors approaching her home. The only company she seems to have enjoyed was that of her family, a few close friends, and some of the neighborhood children.

Whether her aversion to most social interactions was truly the result of a medical condition or simply a desire to live a cloistered life, Dickinson used her time alone to create volumes of poetry that are beloved throughout the world today. Her lyrical style, descriptive imagery, and universal themes have given her a level of fame she never wanted in life.

Though some scholars speculate Emily Dickinson had a secret love interest (derived from passionate letters written only to “Master”), she never had any open romantic relationships. And although she got along well with children, her poems don’t mention of any longing for one of her own. She was a spinster until the very end.

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 8. Anne Brontë

Writer, Social Critic, Lifelong Spinster

Of the three sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne), only Anne Brontë makes this list. While Charlotte’s Jane Eyre rightly receives praise for its surprisingly strong-willed and independent female protagonist, Charlotte – like Jane – was happily married. The other two sisters remained unmarried until their early deaths, and Anne in particular made a somewhat revolutionary stand against the very image of marriage that Victorians so idealized.

Critique of Marriage

Anne Brontë ‘s novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall shines a light on the extreme lack of control married women had over their own lives and the well being of their children. In Victorian England, women could rarely sue for divorce, even in abusive situations. Further, a woman who fled from her husband could be charged with theft, since her income was legally her husband’s. If she fled with her children, she could even be charged with kidnapping. Wildfell Hall exposes these injustices as they occurred in real life.

The novel sold out within weeks of its first printing, and remained popular in Anne’s lifetime. This was due largely to the then-scandalous nature of the story. While it may not have fared well over time, it presented an unflinching look at the misery Victorian wives sometimes endured.

Personal Life and Spinsterhood

Anne’s own life was a picture of the struggle unmarried women faced. Thanks to a limited number of acceptable professions for women, she constantly struggled financially. Like her sister Emily, Anne supported herself by working, mainly as a governess and a writer. Wildfell Hall was initially published under a male pseudonym, which likely contributed to its success.

There are no records of courtship, marriage proposals, or even romances in Anne’s life. Her only dying regret was that she believed she had accomplished very little with her time on earth.

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Next up on our Sunday list of real-life spinsters comes the Lady of the Lamp…

9. Florence Nightingale

Famous for her role in the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale revolutionized how nursing was seen and practiced, especially regarding the treatment of soldiers during foreign wars. She was also a gifted mathematician, and turned her keen and logical mind toward the prevention of illness in hospitals. Many of the very common practices involving sanitation that we take for granted today gained attention through her work.

While Nightingale may sometimes falls short of the modern definition of a feminist, her ideas about women’s roles and responsibilities were very forward-thinking for the time. In fact, her contributions to the practice of medicine drastically changed Victorians’ ideas about women working in traditionally male fields.  Her achievements are even more impressive when we consider that she was from a prominent aristocratic family, in which women didn’t hold jobs.

Nightingale is an inspirational, real-life spinster because she didn’t let social standards dictate her life. She had a dream and pursued it, despite the fact that it had never been done before. By daring to show her mental brilliance, she proved that women and men could be intellectual equals. And through it all she lived devoutly single life.

In short, she broke down nearly every Victorian stereotype about women, pushing us all into the modern age.

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If you’d like to learn more about Florence Nightingale’s incredible life, here are a few excellent resources:

• Books

Florence Nightingale: The Making of a Radical Theologian

Life or Death in India

• Website

3 Ways Florence Nightingale Brought Innovation to Nursing

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Each Sunday for the next two months, The American Spinster will be counting down our list of Top Ten Real-Life Spinsters. These brief biographies will examine the lives of extraordinary single, childfree women who left their mark on the world and made a name for themselves in history. Starting the list of is Joan of Arc.

10. Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc is famous for leading the French army against the English during the Hundred Years War, turning the tide and helping France gain the upper hand. Know also as the Maid of Orleans, the young, uneducated peasant girl claimed she experienced visions from Heaven instructing her to lead the army to victory.

Despite being untrained in any type of war strategy and having no known relatives of a higher station, she was able to convince the members of the court that she and her divine instructions were meant to lead the army. For a 17 year old girl, particularly one of no noteworthy background, to become a military leader in 15^th century France was a truly unprecedented accomplishment.

Joan was eventually captured, traded to the English, and faced accusation by the church. Impressively, Joan was reported to have bested her accusers in argument during her trial, causing the remainder to be held behind closed doors. Despite her bravery and skill, Joan was ultimately burned alive as a heretic at the age of 19. She was has long been revered as a martyr and heroine of France, and in 1920 she was canonized as a saint.

Why she makes the Top 10 List

Due to her early death, it isn’t clear whether or not Joan would have remained a spinster. But whether her visions were divinely inspired or she was a strategic prodigy, she inspired centuries of ‘maiden’ women. This youthful, unmarried girl attained a very high-ranking position in a male-only field. And if she could, why can’t we all?

Want to learn more?

To learn the details about Joan of Arc, I recommend the following resources:

• Books

Joan of Arc: By Herself and Her Witness

Joan of Arc: Her Story

• DVD

Joan of Arc: Virgin Warrior

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