Catherine Nicoll: A Wakeful Wife

When a man is renowned as a teacher in a particular field, his presence tends to eclipse that of his spouse in the eyes of his followers. Although the events surrounding and even the thoughts expressed by Maurice Nicoll are recorded in print, little is generally known about his wife, Catherine. It is apparent from the way she lived her life that this is exactly as she would have preferred. Although she was careful to stay in the background, however, her career and her attitude to life were equally extraordinary.
    A feature notable in the characters of both was the equanimity with which they sacrificed the security that most couples, especially parents, take some pains to establish. Unselfishness by individuals for the sake of an ideal is not too unusual, of course, but in this story the correspondence of husband and wife's response to fate and, it could be fairly said, the demands of destiny may strike readers as being exceptional, as it did those who knew them.