tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post3729225033569386136..comments2023-05-16T12:26:09.102+01:00Comments on The Historical House: A Very Dangerous WomanMrs McLeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-70478494121457807642016-09-09T17:29:31.013+01:002016-09-09T17:29:31.013+01:00That was one of the things that Jane Austen illust...That was one of the things that Jane Austen illustrated so well in Sense and Sensibility. Although neither of its heroines was much like her, the book mirrored her own situation after her father's death rather closely. She and her mother and sister were left dependent on the random generous impulses of their brothers rather than being given a steady income by them. Her clerical brothers all allowed themselves to be talked out of doing so by their wives. Only her naval brother (I forget his name) behaved really well, with the result that naval officers come out better in her books than clergymen. Or at least that is what I remember reading in one biography. An unpleasant way to live. <br /><br />alias clioAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-45584316616352116442016-09-09T05:42:01.581+01:002016-09-09T05:42:01.581+01:00Oh yes, I can well believe that spiteful people wi...Oh yes, I can well believe that spiteful people will hit below the belt. All I meant was to highlight how much worse it used to be to be a never-married, financially dependent on a brother, perhaps. --MrsM on her new tablet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-64544472179802269592016-09-08T23:52:06.142+01:002016-09-08T23:52:06.142+01:00Just to sound a note of warning here: it is possib...Just to sound a note of warning here: it is possible for a single woman in her 40s to attract hostile attention from the people around her if she looks too confident, happy or successful, or even if she seems just a little luckier than average. Men and other women are more reluctant to risk taking on married women with families. Also, I recall noticing that my most beautiful single friends were especially likely to attract negative attention, not when they were very young, but if they remained unmarried beyond the usual age. <br /><br />Alias ClioAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com