Western societies base most of their ideals on emotional stability and creating intimate bonds with others. ... She is trying to contend with the loss of her husband to the work force overseas, the loss of her children as they become adults, the rental of her house to another family, and the exile from her youth as she lies on the brink of menopause. Kate's husband had to go overseas to earn more money to support the family, at the same time renting out the house that they had built their lives together in. ...
Fashion and the Pressure to Conform The following is a selection from the play Fashion, or Life in New York (1845) by Anna Cora Ogden Mowatt. It involves a conversation between Mrs. Tiffany, a lady who imagines herself fashionable, and Millinette, a French ladies maid. Mrs. Tiffany is part of the...
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands... ... Supposedly, they are strong, autonomous and confident however, simultaneously, they are made slaves to an ideal physical image which cannot be achieved by the vast majority of women. ...
VOCABULARY Archaeology: the scientific study of ancient people and cultures principally revealed through excavation. Cromlech: a circle of megaliths. Henge: a Neolithic monument, characterized by a circular ground plan. Used for rituals and marking astronomical events. Megalith: a stone of great size used in the construction of a prehistoric structure. ...