A place for friends to meet... with reflections on politics, history, art, music, books, morals, manners, and matters of faith.
A blog by Elena Maria Vidal.
"She was not a guilty woman, neither was she a saint; she was an upright, charming woman, a little frivolous, somewhat impulsive, but always pure; she was a queen, at times ardent in her fancies for her favourites and thoughtless in her policy, but proud and full of energy; a thorough woman in her winsome ways and tenderness of heart, until she became a martyr."
"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."
"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."
~Edmund Burke, October 1790
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Unless otherwise noted, any books I review on this blog I have either purchased or borrowed from the library, and I do not receive any compensation (monetary or in-kind) for the reviews.
Again, now we have the CHOICE, but when the choice arises, do we really have the choice of the old workable roles? I am not sure, as I have heard from SO many woman over this past year that would love to be SAHM or SAHW and yet feel they do not have the choice. Be it money or what have you. Again, I feel if we could ,as a society, look at what is important to us we might find that most of the THINGS we are working for our plastic/media/easy use items that are replacing our own free time and enjoyment. Are we working harder so the new flat screen TV with 150 dollars worth of cable a month can stay home all day while we toil away at jobs we hate? Are those premade frozen foods happy and content in the freezer while we are out working so they have a nice cool home to live in? I don’t know. I think if many of us ask that question and really evaluate our lives we may be surprised at the answer.
If I may go back to the aspect of fashion, as an example, as we move closer to the 1960’s the feminine form is becoming slighter and more masculine. Soon, pants will be the norm. Now, I am not saying, again, that we should not have the CHOICE of what to wear or that we should be DICTATED to what the female form is, but the early 1950s silhouette is much more feminine in that is has a fuller look which is actually how women look. Certainly High fashion exaggerated this, but the daily outfit of a middleclass homemaker was a comfortable dress that allowed movement and yet still made one feel pretty and feminine. Do our current fashions dictate the role of woman as a free woman or as a sham version of a man who, in fact, also has to have the babies, cook the food and clean the house? It would be an interesting study, don’t you think.
Good points wrt the staying home part. The same ones I raise when fellow women say they can't afford to stay at home. It's amazing what you can afford if you cut back on all the foo-foo extras!
As for fashion: yes indeed! Even "women's clothes" in my favorite catalogs (Such as LL Bean) are very gender-neutral and promote a stick-thin and straight-line figure for women. In other words... rather mannish. No hips. No bosoms. Just plain, ordinary *non-threatening* nothingness, no imagination required.
I've gone through so many different styles of clothing in my quest to find what fits my figure and fits my personality and also fits my lifestyle. I've discovered that I absolutely LOVE modified old-fashioned styles. So that's what I do. Because I have a **choice** in the matter and I don't have to wear exactly what society dictates. I also have the confidence ~ something that took years to build up! Even to this day I'm cut down for my **choices** which shows that it's true: women really don't have much choice, do they? Not even now, in 2010.
Some of my favorite places to buy modified old-fashioned things from is www.hat-a-tude.com www.fashionsintime.com www.katiesmercantile.com and a newly discovered treasure trove: http://recollections.biz/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
Modest dress is so beautifully feminine. I think what a lot of people don't realize though is that the Bible and Holy Mother Church do not have carefully detailed clothing designs that must be adhered to or else you go to hell. There's actually so much FREEDOM with modest dress! We women can *choose* from a huge array of gorgeous, feminine styles from so many eras. The choices from the secular world are so very limited to "what's in this season" and what is no longer "fashionable"...
Modern, "liberated" women are so full of fear about everything. About following their hearts and staying home if they wish... all the way to what kind of clothes they wear. What I would love to see is a return to truly confident and strong women ~ because they trust in God and don't worry about what other sinful human beings think! Now THAT is liberation!
Coffee Catholic, last paragraph, I like your point about your desire to see a return to truly confident and strong women--those were the women I saw in my childhood and I would love to see them return, too. :>
I see just the opposite....confident strong intelligent educated women who have to constantly jolt the men out of their perpetual extended adolescence.
My frustration with the hideously ugly unisex clothes offered to women today has been to purchase vintage clothing and accessories. This year I added feminine hats and gloves to my daily ensembles and the compliments from total strangers has been overwhelming. My Grandmother used to quote from Deuteronomy "It is an abomination in the sight of God for a woman to wear men's apparel or a man to wear women's apparel". How many devout Christian women have ever heard that mentioned in a homily? The god of unisex conformity and comfort demands women dress slovenly; don't pay homage to that false god. Dress as modest ladies and create a beautiful oasis from the barren modern vulgar desert of grotesque fashion.
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And some thoughts from "50s Gal" on contemporary women's roles. To quote:
11 comments:
Good points wrt the staying home part. The same ones I raise when fellow women say they can't afford to stay at home. It's amazing what you can afford if you cut back on all the foo-foo extras!
As for fashion: yes indeed! Even "women's clothes" in my favorite catalogs (Such as LL Bean) are very gender-neutral and promote a stick-thin and straight-line figure for women. In other words... rather mannish. No hips. No bosoms. Just plain, ordinary *non-threatening* nothingness, no imagination required.
I've gone through so many different styles of clothing in my quest to find what fits my figure and fits my personality and also fits my lifestyle. I've discovered that I absolutely LOVE modified old-fashioned styles. So that's what I do. Because I have a **choice** in the matter and I don't have to wear exactly what society dictates. I also have the confidence ~ something that took years to build up! Even to this day I'm cut down for my **choices** which shows that it's true: women really don't have much choice, do they? Not even now, in 2010.
Some of my favorite places to buy modified old-fashioned things from is www.hat-a-tude.com
www.fashionsintime.com
www.katiesmercantile.com
and a newly discovered treasure trove:
http://recollections.biz/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
Modest dress is so beautifully feminine. I think what a lot of people don't realize though is that the Bible and Holy Mother Church do not have carefully detailed clothing designs that must be adhered to or else you go to hell. There's actually so much FREEDOM with modest dress! We women can *choose* from a huge array of gorgeous, feminine styles from so many eras. The choices from the secular world are so very limited to "what's in this season" and what is no longer "fashionable"...
Modern, "liberated" women are so full of fear about everything. About following their hearts and staying home if they wish... all the way to what kind of clothes they wear. What I would love to see is a return to truly confident and strong women ~ because they trust in God and don't worry about what other sinful human beings think! Now THAT is liberation!
I know of many devout Catholic women who dress with flair and style yet manage to avoid anything that would be considered outlandish or immodest.
Coffee Catholic, last paragraph, I like your point about your desire to see a return to truly confident and strong women--those were the women I saw in my childhood and I would love to see them return, too. :>
I see just the opposite....confident strong intelligent educated women who have to constantly jolt the men out of their perpetual extended adolescence.
I agree, Coffee, and SF I know exactly what you mean. Yes, Julygirl, it can be done.
My frustration with the hideously ugly unisex clothes offered to women today has been to purchase vintage clothing and accessories. This year I added feminine hats and gloves to my daily ensembles and the compliments from total strangers has been overwhelming. My Grandmother used to quote from Deuteronomy "It is an abomination in the sight of God for a woman to wear men's apparel or a man to wear women's apparel". How many devout Christian women have ever heard that mentioned in a homily? The god of unisex conformity and comfort demands women dress slovenly; don't pay homage to that false god. Dress as modest ladies and create a beautiful oasis from the barren modern vulgar desert of grotesque fashion.
Carmen, it sounds like you and I have the same taste in clothes.
This banter sounds like the dialog from the film "The Women" - the original - not the remake. ;)
I love the styles back then. I too wish that we could recapture that era. Its such grace beauty and strength all in one....and I love the hat!
http://muse-in-the-fog.blogspot.com/
I agree, Muse!
Terry, you're funny!
I watched cuts of The Women on youtube after I wrote this - very funny movie.
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