Essay Questions

What does Vera Brittain’s father embody in the ‘Testament of Youth’?

Vera's father symbolically represents the conventional ideologies that women's education is a waste of resources and time. In ancient times, many societies treated women as lesser beings and prioritized the boy child in every aspect, including education. However, Vera pursues her education even though her father's opinion educating a girl child is a waste of time. Vera is left in Oxford and attends a local college where she graduates with a university degree to pursue her dreams.

Why is Brittain mentally distressed while working as a nurse in a war zone?

After the first year of her college education, Brittain joins the battlefields to serve as a nurse to the wounded soldiers. Brittain finds herself exposed to horrific incidences where she faces fatally injured soldiers and decapitated bodies. The scene of the dead soldiers' bodies is awful and terrifying, which negatively impacts Brittain's ability to execute her duties as a nurse. Brittain suffers from mental distress and finds it challenging to continue encountering dead bodies and other horrendous scenes at war.

Why does G love Brittain and express his desire to marry her?

Brittain is an open-minded woman who speaks her mind and defends the rights of women. As a child, Brittain witnessed women's unfair treatment, and her childhood experiences shaped her into the woman she wanted to be. After meeting G, she told him that she is a woman of substance and will never accept being subjected to the traditional culture that humiliates women and denies them equal opportunities. She reminds G that in the event she is married to him, he must respect her space, and she has to achieve her goals by freely executing her career without limitations. G realizes that the woman before him is of substance, and there is no way he will let her go. He proudly accepts to marry her because he loves her even more.