I’ve just finished reading a book, An Affair Before Christmas, by Eloisa James…
A book set in the 18th century, in the circle of dukes and duchesses…
Wow.
All dukes do are to be born to a father who’s a duke.. And wait til he inherits the title.
And pretend like he cares about the society while he indulges in the luxury of the 18th century life.
And marry a woman and make her his duchess.
And have an affair when he’s bored with his duchess.
All duchesses do are to wake up, spend 3 hours sitting down while their maids style (pin, glue, stick feathers and flowers) their tresses into grandiose centrepieces.
Then… do nothing.
Maybe have a soiree with her fellow duchesses.
Knit woolly blankets for the needy.
Or create a revolution in the male-dominant world of chess-playing.
Then go home and let her duke make love to her.
Or have her own affair if her duke is having one.
Wow wow wow.
I wish I was a duchess.
I wish I lived in the 18th century.
Where there were expectations of how women should behave in public and how ladies should shyly but coyly smile at available monsieurs so as to not give themselves away but also to lure the very dashing dukes in at the same time.
What an interesting game.
What then?
They get married, the girl is his.
Blah blah blah.
THE GIRLS DO NOTHING!
Wow.
I can’t imagine how bored they’d be…
No internet… No phones…
Just their own circle of mak datins after their morning hairdressing session and then go home and make love and then another few hours to take down the hair and sleep and then wake up and repeat cycle.
But really, I’d like to live a few weeks in their places.
:D
To be living in the very extravagant 18th century.
But then again… I’m Chinese… So I’d either end up a country peasant… Or married off by my family to a son of another same-rank/same-class family for business purposes…
Or end up being one of the Emperor’s 3000 concubines?
Now THAT is another interesting thing to ponder on.
I really wonder what it’d be like to live then…
Speaking about giant hairpieces…
I just got reminded of a poem I read a few years back.
I thought it was great.
I read it once…then I went back to the top and read it allllll over again.
Word by word. I read it out aloud to myself.
And wow…
I just stopped for awhile in awe.
How ridiculous we humans are.
How true and how ridiculous.
What Are Big Girls Made Of?
by Marge Piercy
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/what-are-big-girls-made-of/
And yet after reading that, I still love to wear shoes of heights that make other people go “What the hell is wrong with her wearing them everywhere?”
Oh, Vanity. Thou art a pretty murderess.
Yes you did Talk (type) so much one.. two also :p so just to get it straight you want to be a concubine or dutchess where all you do is wait around do nothing and wait for your "duties"? Interesting... :p
"Waves hand" This is not the admin you want to complain to.