Adrian Stephen
Encyclopedia
Adrian Stephen was a member of the Bloomsbury Group
, an author and psychoanalyst, and the brother of Virginia Woolf
and Vanessa Bell
. He and his wife became interested in the work of Sigmund Freud
, and were among the first British psychoanalysts.
Stephen, educated at Westminster School
, was the youngest of four children of Leslie Stephen
; their father's death in 1904 resulted in the four siblings moving to Bloomsbury
, and their house there became the nucleus of the Bloomsbury Group. By his mother's first marriage, he was also a half-brother of George
and Gerald Duckworth
.
Among his romantic liaisons was his affair with the artist Duncan Grant
, which led to Grant's introduction to, and eventual unusual romance with, Stephen's sister Vanessa Bell. In 1914 Stephen married Karin Costelloe, a philosophy graduate and expert on Bergson. On the introduction of conscription
in 1916 during World War I
Stephen became a conscientious objector
, like many other members of the Bloomsbury Group, and, with Costelloe, lived out the remainder of the war working on a farm in Essex.
Following the war they became interested in psychoanalysis
, training medically at the request of Ernest Jones
and later with James Glover, and becoming qualified in the late 1920s.
In 1936 Stephen decided to recount in detail the Dreadnought Hoax
, in which he had taken part a quarter of a century earlier, completing an account published by Hogarth press.
In World War II
Stephen became so angered by the Nazis' brutality and anti-semitism
that he abandoned his pacifist stance of the previous war and volunteered to become an army doctor at the age of 60 in 1942, shortly after his sister Virginia's suicide. He died in 1948.
Bloomsbury Group
The Bloomsbury Group or Bloomsbury Set was a group of writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists who held informal discussions in Bloomsbury throughout the 20th century. This English collective of friends and relatives lived, worked or studied near Bloomsbury in London during the first half...
, an author and psychoanalyst, and the brother of Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
and Vanessa Bell
Vanessa Bell
Vanessa Bell was an English painter and interior designer, a member of the Bloomsbury group, and the sister of Virginia Woolf.- Biography and art :...
. He and his wife became interested in the work of Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
, and were among the first British psychoanalysts.
Stephen, educated at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, was the youngest of four children of Leslie Stephen
Leslie Stephen
Sir Leslie Stephen, KCB was an English author, critic and mountaineer, and the father of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell.-Life:...
; their father's death in 1904 resulted in the four siblings moving to Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
, and their house there became the nucleus of the Bloomsbury Group. By his mother's first marriage, he was also a half-brother of George
George Herbert Duckworth
Sir George Herbert Duckworth CB FSA was an English public servant.-Early life and family:The son of Herbert Duckworth, a barrister, of Orchardleigh Park, Somerset, by his marriage to Julia Princep Jackson, a niece of the photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, Duckworth had a brother, Gerald, who...
and Gerald Duckworth
Gerald Duckworth
Gerald de l'Etang Duckworth was a British publisher.-Background and early life:Duckworth was a son of Herbert Duckworth, a London barrister, by his wife Julia Jackson. His middle name, de l'Etang, was the surname of one of his mother's ancestors, Antoine de l'Etang, a page to Queen Marie Antoinette...
.
Among his romantic liaisons was his affair with the artist Duncan Grant
Duncan Grant
Duncan James Corrowr Grant was a British painter and designer of textiles, potterty and theatre sets and costumes...
, which led to Grant's introduction to, and eventual unusual romance with, Stephen's sister Vanessa Bell. In 1914 Stephen married Karin Costelloe, a philosophy graduate and expert on Bergson. On the introduction of conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
in 1916 during 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...
Stephen became a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
, like many other members of the Bloomsbury Group, and, with Costelloe, lived out the remainder of the war working on a farm in Essex.
Following the war they became interested in psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
, training medically at the request of Ernest Jones
Ernest Jones
Alfred Ernest Jones was a British neurologist and psychoanalyst, and Sigmund Freud’s official biographer. Jones was the first English-speaking practitioner of psychoanalysis and became its leading exponent in the English-speaking world where, as President of both the British Psycho-Analytical...
and later with James Glover, and becoming qualified in the late 1920s.
In 1936 Stephen decided to recount in detail the Dreadnought Hoax
Dreadnought hoax
The Dreadnought Hoax was a practical joke pulled by Horace de Vere Cole in 1910. Cole tricked the Royal Navy into showing their flagship, the warship HMS Dreadnought to a supposed delegation of Abyssinian royals...
, in which he had taken part a quarter of a century earlier, completing an account published by Hogarth press.
In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Stephen became so angered by the Nazis' brutality and anti-semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
that he abandoned his pacifist stance of the previous war and volunteered to become an army doctor at the age of 60 in 1942, shortly after his sister Virginia's suicide. He died in 1948.