Barbara Pym
Barbara Pym
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Born Barbara Margaret Wilson, she is more commonly known as Barbara Pym, the celebrated English novelist.
Birth and Death Dates
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Born: February 2, 1913
Died: October 11, 1980
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Nationality: British
Profession: Novelist
Early Life and Background
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Barbara Pym grew up in a relatively affluent family in Leicester, England. Her father was a solicitor's clerk, and her mother was a homemaker. Pym developed an early love for literature and the arts, which would become integral to her writing career.
Pym attended Northampton High School for Girls, where she demonstrated a talent for languages and drama. She then went on to study English at Somerville College, Oxford University. It was during this time that she began writing short stories and poetry.
In 1934, Pym converted to Anglicanism, an event that significantly influenced her later work. Her conversion marked the beginning of a lifelong exploration of themes related to faith, morality, and social class.
Major Accomplishments
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Pym's novels often explored the intricacies of middle-class life in post-war England. Her writing was characterized by its subtlety, nuance, and insight into human relationships. Some of her most notable works include:
Excellent Women (1952): A novel that explores the lives of three unmarried women living together.
Less than Angels (1955): A story about a young woman's experiences as a secretary in a church community.
* An Unsuitable Attachment (1982, published posthumously): A novel that examines the complexities of human relationships and social norms.
Notable Works or Actions
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Pym's writing often focused on themes related to faith, morality, and social class. Her novels were known for their subtle characterization, nuanced exploration of human relationships, and insightful portrayals of middle-class life in post-war England.
Despite her talent and dedication to writing, Pym faced significant challenges throughout her career. Many of her early manuscripts were rejected by publishers due to concerns that they did not conform to traditional notions of romance or social realism.
Impact and Legacy
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Pym's impact on English literature is undeniable. Her novels have been praised for their subtlety, nuance, and insight into human relationships. Her exploration of themes related to faith, morality, and social class continues to resonate with readers today.
In recent years, Pym's work has experienced a resurgence in popularity. Scholars and readers alike are drawn to her nuanced portrayals of middle-class life in post-war England and her insightful explorations of human relationships.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Pym's legacy extends far beyond her literary contributions. Her writing continues to inspire new generations of writers, scholars, and readers. Her exploration of themes related to faith, morality, and social class serves as a reminder of the importance of nuance and subtlety in storytelling.
Today, Pym is remembered for her thoughtful portrayal of human relationships, her insightful explorations of social norms, and her nuanced characterization.
Quotes by Barbara Pym
Barbara Pym's insights on:
Once you get into the habit of falling in love you will find that it happens quite often and means less and less.
It was odd how one found oneself making trivial conversation on important occasions. Perhaps it was because one could not say what was really in one’s mind.
Prudence’s flat was in the kind of block where Jane imagined people might be found dead, though she had never said this to Prudence herself; it seemed rather a macabre fancy and not one to be confided to an unmarried woman living alone.
He had sometimes attempted to keep a diary himself, the kind of record of his daily life that could rival famous clerical diarists of the past, a nineteen-seventies Woodforde or Kilvert. What was he to write about the events of this morning? ‘My sister Daphne made a gooseberry tart and told me that she was going to live on the outskirts of Birmingham’? Could that possibly be of interest to readers of the next century?
Belinda decided that she could miss doing her room with a clear conscience, as there were so many more important things to be done. It was unlikely that Miss Liversedge would be visiting them and putting them to shame by writing ‘E. Liversedge’ with her finger, as she had once done when Emily had neglected to dust the piano.
It seems to be a kind of lounge,′ she added, tripping over a small footstool. The floor seemed to be littered with them, like toadstools.
A youngish woman of about thirty-five who had come in to shelter froma heavy shower of rain, pricked up her ears and looked away from the book she had not been reading. To realize that two men could apparently be quarrelling almost publicly over a woman in this unchivalrous age sent her on her way with new hope.
She saw herself perhaps as an Elizabeth Bowen heroine – for one did not openly identify oneself with Jane Austen’s heroines – and ‘To The North’ was her favourite novel.
But surely liking the same things for dinner is one of the deepest and most lasting things you could possibly have in common with anyone,′ argued Dr. Parnell. ‘After all, the emotions of the heart are very transitory, or so I believe; I should think it makes one much happier to be well-fed than well-loved.
Oh, yes, men are very simple and obvious in some ways, you know. They generally react in the way one would expect and it is often rather a cowardly way.