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WOMEN IN HISTORY

HELEN KELLER

By Ruth Elizabeth StiffPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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Helen Keller is one of the most “Inspirational” women I have ever read about. This woman had every reason to ‘give up’ but refused to let her difficulties to stop her in anything that she wanted to do.

Let Me Explain:

Helen Adams Keller was born on 27th June, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. At 19 months old, Helen contracted an unknown illness (possibly scarlet fever or meningitis) which left her deaf and blind. She lived “at sea in a dense fog.” (Helen Keller = autobiography)

By the age of seven, Helen had more than 60 home signs so that she could communicate with her family, and could distinguish people by the vibration of their footsteps.

The family were referred to Alexander Graham Bell, who was working with deaf children at the time. He advised the Kellers to contact the Perkins Institute for the Blind, where they met Anne Sullivan (herself visually impaired), who became Helen’s instructor. This was the beginning of a nearly 50 year long friendship, in which Anne turned into Helen’s governess and companion.

As soon as Anne arrived at the Keller’s house, she started to teach Helen how to spell words “into her hand.” Even though she was full of frustration, Helen eventually began to understand. She says:” The living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, set it free!” (Autobiography)

Helen then wanted to learn the names of all the other familiar objects in her world. Helen was viewed as isolated (remember this is the 1800’s), but in herself, Helen was very much in touch with the outside world. She was able to enjoy music by ‘feeling the beat’ and she was able to have a strong connection with animals through touch. Helen may have been delayed in picking up language, but that did not stop her from having a voice.

In May 1888, Helen started to attend the Perkins Institute for the Blind. In 1894, Anne and Helen moved to New York to attend the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf and also, learnt from Sarah Fuller at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf. In 1896, Anne and Helen returned to Massachusetts, and Helen entered The Cambridge School for Young Ladies. In 1900, Helen gained admittance to the Radcliffe College of Harvard University. In 1904, at 24 years of age, Helen graduated from Radcliffe, and became the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. An amazing achievement for a young woman in the late 1800’s! This, in itself, was a ‘triumph’ but Helen did not stop here!

Helen Keller was determined to communicate with others, and so she learned to ‘speak’ and spent much of her life giving speeches and lectures on aspects of her life. Helen used the “Tadoma” method (which was using her fingers to feel the lips and throat of the speaker) --- in this way she learned to “hear” people speak. Helen became proficient at using braille and reading sign language with her hands.

From one of Helen’s lectures, a quote from the weekly Dunn County News (22nd January, 1916): “According to those who attended, Helen Keller spoke of the joy that life gave her. She was thankful for the faculties and abilities that she did possess and stated that the most productive pleasures she had were curiosity and imagination. Keller also spoke of the joy of service and the happiness that came from doing things for others. Although the entire lecture lasted only a little over an hour, the lecture has a profound impact on the audience.”

Remember, Helen Keller was deaf and blind, but she did not let this stop her!

Helen wrote a total of 12 published books and several articles. She travelled the world to encourage others with disabilities to fully enjoy life. One such visit was in 1948, when Helen went to New Zealand and visited deaf schools in Christchurch and Auckland.

In 1961, Helen suffered a series of strokes and spent these later years in her home. On 1st June, 1968, Helen died in her sleep. It was a few weeks before her 88th birthday. Helen Keller was buried at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

Helen Keller’s life is one of real “Inspiration” to me personally. I was born almost deaf, brought up with sign language (my mother was deaf), but was lucky enough to have an operation at 10 years of age, which means that today I can actually hear and understand others talking to me. I, in no way, compare myself to Helen but I have a “small” insight into being deaf.

Yet, Helen did not let ‘anything’ stop her but, with her sheer determination, showed that any disability can be overcome and that the person can live a rich and fulfilling life.

Helen Keller is up there with Elizabeth I in my esteem. Helen showed me personally that: you can do anything when your heart desires it!

(Helen Keller Autobiography "THE STORY OF MY LIFE" I can recommend reading)

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About the Creator

Ruth Elizabeth Stiff

I love all things Earthy and Self-Help

History is one of my favourite subjects and I love to write short fiction

Research is so interesting for me too

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