“But if Albert makes off, it won’t be for lack of telling.
You ought to be ashamed, I said, to look so antique.
(And her only thirty-one.)
I can’t help it, she said, pulling a long face,
It’s them pills I took, to bring it off, she said.
(She’s had five already, and nearly died of young George.)
The chemist said it would be all right, but I’ve never been the same.
You are a proper fool, I said.
Well, if Albert won’t leave you alone, there it is, I said,
What you get married for if you don’t want children?
HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME”
Clearly, there’s a lot to discuss in these few lines, but since we talked a lot in class already, what I really wanted to bring up was some research I did. So this is all really just harebrained speculation, but here’s what I found:
Edward VII (the son of Queen Victoria) was actually named Edward Albert. He married Alexandra of Denmark. Actually, she wasn’t the royal family’s first choice of wife for their son. However, they eventually decided she was “the only one to be chosen” after eliminating other candidates. She had six kids…the third of whom was named George. During her third child’s birth, Alexandra contracted rheumatic fever, which almost killed her. She had a limp for the rest of her life.
She also wasn’t your typical women (I guess). She really liked hunting, a hobby Queen Victoria disapproved of. However, Alexandra would not concede to Victoria’s wishes and continued hunting.
Finally, her oldest son, Albert Victor, died in 1892, which was a huge blow to Alexander.
If you see the fetus Lil aborted as another child, both of these women had six kids. Or, alternatively, if you’re only counting Alexandra’s living children after 1892, both had five kids. (Either way is kind of sad.) Both of them wearied married to Alberts, had children named George, and almost died from birth complications. Both defied stereotypes and traditional roles for women at the time, and had to deal with other women telling them they weren’t acting like proper women. For both of these women, I’d say there was just one little (okay, really big) problem with how people treated them. They were expected to conform to roles and practices that constrained them, that didn’t treat them like real people—whether that was the expectation that Lil get new teeth and keep popping out babies, or the expectation that Alexandra give up her love of hunting. Maybe that’s just all a coincidence (and it probably is), but I just thought it was interesting to look at the parallels.
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1 comment:
Interesting!
I couldn't find Edward VII's opinion on Alexandra's affection for hunting and riding, but another comparison I'd like to point out is that both Lil and Alexandra of Denmark drew criticism —Lil for her teeth and not wanting to have a lot more babies and the fact that her husband might wander, and Alexandra for her riding—but this criticism was not directly from their husbands; it was from other women.
Another similarity is that Lil's "friend" implies that Lil's husband might have an affair if she doesn't appease him. Edward was actually known for his numerous affairs, and eventually later in life he and his wife began to live separately.
I find it peculiar that the criticism and warnings Lil draws are not from her husband; all the speculation about her teeth and babies and affairs is second-hand, from her friend. Perhaps this friend is not ill-intentioned, but she could also be a little more supportive! I think the interaction highlights how ingrained certain sexist societal expectations were at the time, even as women were seemingly gaining more recognition for their large part in the war after so many of the men went off to fight (although when the men returned, most women were ushered back to just be housewives).
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