 White was raised in Boston in a Roman Catholic household, and kept the faith for the rest of her life. She graduated from the Girls'High School and Radcliffe College. After completing her master's degree, she taught at Smith College for two years before moving West to study for her doctorate in Madison. White loved the city and became an assistant professor there upon completing her Ph.D. in 1924 with a dissertation on William Blake. She taught courses including freshman English and metaphysical poetry graduate seminars. White's students included writers such as August Derleth, Herbert Kubly, and Mark Schorer. Graduate students called her "the Purple Goddess" partly due to her predominantly purple wardrobe and exceptional height.
