I frequently peruse the 7 day book shelf at the library, but often do not get a 7 day book, depending upon what I know my reading schedule to be. Last week, I looked at the 7 day shelf, and saw the title That Woman http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8735153/That-Woman-The-Life-of-Wallis-Simpson-Duchess-of-Windsor-by-Anne-Sebba.html and knew immediately about whom it referred.
Years ago, when Princess Diana and Prince Charles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana,_Princess_of_Wales were all the publicity rage, an older co-worker of mine talked about the abdication of Edward VIII because he wanted to marry Wallis Simpson. My co-worker always referred to her as "that woman." When I saw the book title, and knew immediately about whom the book was written, it struck me as how monumental an event the entire saga of Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII was and is.
At the mystery book club meeting tonight, while we were visiting, I mentioned reading this book, and several of the members immediately knew, without a hint from me, who "that woman" was.
As I read the book, it became obvious to me that this story was more than a love story, or gossip magazine fodder. The story of the king who abdicated his throne is the story of a major shift in the way politics would be handled in the United Kingdom during that period in history.
Of course, the story had so many levels: it said something about the way Edward VIII perceived himself and what he thought was his power. It said something about how the Royal Family behaved in public and in private. It said something about how the common people of the United Kingdom perceived the Royal Family. It said something about the character and persona of Wallis Simpson, and Edward VIII. It spoke volumes about the double standard of the role, rights, responsibilities, freedoms, expectations and enfranchisement of women during that time period.
Wallis Simpson, like so many women prior to that time period, during that time period, and since that time period was stuck being dependent upon men for her welfare and well being. Although women's rights have come a long way since then, many women still face that stifling dependency on men for their existence.
There are many lessons to be learned from this story. I think one of the most important for women is to appreciate and safeguard the freedoms, rights, and responsibilities we have gained by the struggles of women who came before us. And, to help promote those freedoms, rights and responsibilities so women, who still in this day and age do not have them, may move closer and closer to having them.
We forget about how much the United Kingdom changed during the 20th century, when so many of the countries became independent of England, but still in some ways are more or less loyal to England and the monarchy. It is certainly a different way of life and different attitude than what we have in the United States. Yet the lessons regarding women's rights ring true and solid in both cultures, and around the world.
One person can change history, intentionally or inadvertently, especially because of the impact that one person has on those that person impacts. What a lesson!
Showing posts with label suffragettes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suffragettes. Show all posts
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Women's Rights and Historical Novels
I am currently reading two series of historical fiction mysteries: one by Tasha Alexander
http://www.tashaalexander.com/index.html set in late 19th Century England, about Emily Ashton, a fairly liberal, for the time, independent thinking woman.
The second series is by Miriam Grace Monfredo, http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/miriam-grace-monfredo/must-maiden-die.htm set in Seneca Falls, New York shortly before the War
Between the North and the South. Seneca Falls was a place where women's rights suffragettes were active, and was part of the underground railroad.
Both series discuss the constraints on women during these periods in history: their lack of rights, their dependency on husbands for support and standing in society, their lack of credence as capable professionals.
We take for granted how far women have come in the equal rights realm. I remember as a yound child there were many things I could not do because I was a girl. In junior high, I wanted to take shop. I wanted my parents to go to the school board and open the opportunity for me. My father said he would do that if my mother agreed. She did not. Some few years later, shop was opened to girls.
When I was in high school, I wanted to take the NRA rifle safety course. This was not an original idea. My neighbor, Kate, had taken the course some few years before, and she was my role model for this. My father had to go into the session the first night and clear the way for me. The instructors of the session literally giggled at having a girl in the class. Many of the participants were male students in my class, and they knew I was smart. I passed all the tests with 100%. The instructors were chastened by my performance.
The point is women have come a long way. When I bought my house in 1992, I was not concerned about credit or having the right to sign for property, but these were issues as late as the 1980s.
We are not just fortunate to have the rights we have as women. History is replete with stories of the sacrifice and sufferening that suffragetes endured to enable women of the future to have the rights and the closer equality that we have. As women, it is important to be mindful of past suffering that gave us our place in the social, political and employment strata.
http://www.tashaalexander.com/index.html set in late 19th Century England, about Emily Ashton, a fairly liberal, for the time, independent thinking woman.
The second series is by Miriam Grace Monfredo, http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/miriam-grace-monfredo/must-maiden-die.htm set in Seneca Falls, New York shortly before the War
Between the North and the South. Seneca Falls was a place where women's rights suffragettes were active, and was part of the underground railroad.
Both series discuss the constraints on women during these periods in history: their lack of rights, their dependency on husbands for support and standing in society, their lack of credence as capable professionals.
We take for granted how far women have come in the equal rights realm. I remember as a yound child there were many things I could not do because I was a girl. In junior high, I wanted to take shop. I wanted my parents to go to the school board and open the opportunity for me. My father said he would do that if my mother agreed. She did not. Some few years later, shop was opened to girls.
When I was in high school, I wanted to take the NRA rifle safety course. This was not an original idea. My neighbor, Kate, had taken the course some few years before, and she was my role model for this. My father had to go into the session the first night and clear the way for me. The instructors of the session literally giggled at having a girl in the class. Many of the participants were male students in my class, and they knew I was smart. I passed all the tests with 100%. The instructors were chastened by my performance.
The point is women have come a long way. When I bought my house in 1992, I was not concerned about credit or having the right to sign for property, but these were issues as late as the 1980s.
We are not just fortunate to have the rights we have as women. History is replete with stories of the sacrifice and sufferening that suffragetes endured to enable women of the future to have the rights and the closer equality that we have. As women, it is important to be mindful of past suffering that gave us our place in the social, political and employment strata.
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