I have been reading Lady Audley’s Secret all last week and while it’s a fun fast-moving book, I am a bit miffed at its very Victorian attitudes to women (or the fairer sex as they put it in those times).
Here are a few thoughts on women and tea (of all the things):
Surely a pretty woman never looks prettier than when making tea.
and again…
To do away with the tea table is to rob woman of her legitimate empire.
and on and on…
Better the pretty influence of the teacups and saucers gracefully wielded in a woman’s hand, than all the inappropriate power snatched at the point of the pen from the unwilling sterner sex.
Imagine all the women of England elevated to the high level of masculine intellectuality; superior to crinoline; superior to pearl powder and Mrs. Rachael Levison; above taking the pains to be pretty; above making themselves agreeable; above tea tables, and that cruelly scandalous and rather satirical gossip which even strong men delight in; and what a dreary, utilitarian, ugly life the sterner sex must lead.
Ugh! So glad I live in more modern times.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
So, SO glad to live in modern times. I don’t even like tea! :p
@readingtheend:disqus I like tea all right, but the expectations that surround the making and serving of it is so annoying.
It’s funny how universal it is. Even in India here, we have high expectation around this ritual. After reading this book, I now know where it came from 😀