#world's most beautiful person of 1760
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Character Profile - Canada
Character Name: Canada. Matthieu Marc Jean-Luc Bonnefoy. Matthew Williams. Matt. Mattie. Mattie-no-mates. Frostbite. Mo leanbh.
Age: 10-12 by 1760, 13-14 by 1815, 18 by 1867, 22 by 1945.
Height: 6'0/183cm by 1867, 6'4/194cm by 1949.
Physical Description: A beautiful but disappointing baby that grew into a tall and oddly hollow adult, Matt will surprise people a little when he's not dressed like a flannel onion. He's a little too tall and thin to look normal unless he's in the woods, and then his body proportions look correct compared to the winter-stripped trees. He's got shit posture, so it's easy to forget how tall he is until he's reaching to get something off the top shelf someone asked for, and suddenly he's unrolling himself a whole new half-spinal column. He got some of Francis' beauty but much of Arthur's sharpness. He looks somewhat fragile, but in the way an axe with a poorly proportioned handle does. He'll get the fucking job done, but the damage accrued will be impressive.
Eye colour: Blue on a technicality but a shade of deep arctic water grey-blue. The sky in the dead of winter when the cloud cover is so thick the whole world is tinged with carbon, charcoal and iron.
Hair colour/style: A few shades lighter than Alfred's and just a hue or two shy of being strawberry blond. When it's his own choice (and for much of history, it wasn't), he wears it longer than Alfred generally, so the curl shows more than on Alfred. He's spent so much time in the bush that it's gotten disgusting and needed to be cropped short again because he wasn't keeping it up on it. Still, in modern times he has an embarrassing amount of hair care products he's always hiding when Alfred comes over and throws a 15 in one bottle of something in the shower, or he'll get the absolute mickey taken out of him.
Other distinguishing physical traits: He's got some scars floating around but not many, all things considered.
Personal Appearance/Style: He can look extremely nice and put together, with a very fashionable closet of options at certain times, especially for official events, but otherwise, he's a creature of comfort. Flannel pyjama pants, sweaters, two pairs of socks, a collection of plaid shirts he's barely updated in decades. His entire existence relied on French fashion for half his life, so he knows the rules and can look like a fashion plate if he wants to; the problem is he generally doesn't want to, and his own tastes are quite homely. Even Arthur is like, "come on now, lad, you can do better than that."
Verbal Style: He mostly has a fairly mild Canadian accent and honestly plays it up around others to further distinguish himself from Alfred. He speaks a very standard version of French around others most of the time because he's easily embarrassed when laughed at about Quebecois or the rest of his non-standard dialects but drunk or upset, it's pure joual and ironically the only person who understands him is Arthur because English kept weird pieces of the Norman dialects that made up most of the early Canadien French. His Gaelic is good but has some French sounds in there. His Dutch sounds, unfortunately, Flegmish to Jan because he spoke French natively and learned a lot of it in Flanders during WW1. Russian + German, he speaks with a raging Ukrainian accent just for the raging fuck you from Katya. Those Gs of his are a pure hique from the steppes or downtown Lviv.
Level of Education: He had a very good classical education under Francis in the 17th and early 18th centuries, when he still thought he might be useful. Still has quite a lot of skills in Greek, Latin and Hebrew when he wants to. He's never been much good with math or financial things; his math somewhat stopped at what he needed to be an effective clerk for the fur trade. The only time Alasdair ever yelled at him was when Matt just completely blanked for decades with Algebra and Calculus. Did very well in almost all applied versions, though. He has much knowledge of many things and surprises people quite often with how much he has retained from being the first dominion. That position gave him a very pragmatic political education under Arthur and some really sharp peacekeeping skills. He got more into forestry after WW2. He's the most educated nation in the world now, and its probably because showing up for class keeps him out of the woods and going feral.
Occupation: Diplomat, forest ranger, government minister, arctic conservation.
Past Occupations: Soldier, sniper, infantry, pilot, paratrooper, ship's boy, lumberjack, fisherman, apothecary, fur trapper, merchant's clerk, farmer, hunter.
Skills, Abilities or Talents: He can go practically unnoticed by other nations, especially when those with stronger identities are around. He was practically born a part of the forest. He can survive in woodlands practically indefinitely, even when he's so mentally ill he turns off the human parts of his existence. Knows practically every animal and plant in his country and a good chunk of the world. As almost as natural on the water as Arthur but better in smaller crafts meant for freshwater.
Admirable Personality Traits: Deeply loyal, compassionate, giving, gentle, polite, and welcoming.
Negative Personality Traits: Loyalty is a really two-edged sword, anxious, depressive, reserved, cold, and passive-aggressive.
Sense of Humor: Gentle, ironic, self-deprecating.
Physical/Mental illness or affliction: Absolutely terrible lungs and horrible ankles from snowshoeing and hockey, he started having back pain during his last growth spurt, and it never went away. He's a fucking tinderbox of mental problems. Just throw the fucking DSM at him, honestly, because he's been a wreck his entire life. He might tie his father, but he happens to hide it even better than Arthur because he doesn't end up drunk on his brother's doorstep because he's got even less of a wish to be a nuisance than Arthur. And also, he doesn't affect international policy like Arthur or Alfred's, so no one really gives a shit how moody he's been for most of his life as long as he goes and does it out of view, so he's not wrecking the mood or being a nuisance.
Hobbies/Interests: Reading, hockey, hiking, camping, woodwork and carving in practically any material, even ice. Sailing, kayaking, skiing, snowboarding. He and Alfred go good old-fashioned sledding almost every year.
Favourite Foods: Anything warm; he's not about to be fussy, annoying and picky. He loves poutine, the good stuff with duck fat demi-glace, but nothing satisfies as much as oven fries from the frozen section, cheese curds and packet or jarred gravy. He's the holy mother of carb whores. Potatoes, bread, pancakes, doughnuts, pastry, Montreal bagels. Remember, we're the fucking people who looked at pizza and spaghetti and went "hmmm..... that's not enough carbs" and put the fucking spaghetti on the pizza.
Most important personal item: When he plays some important hockey matches he uses the laces from the combat boots he was wearing for VE-Day to hold his leg pads on. He had a rosary with the largest piece made from the bulla Rome gave Francis he carried everywhere, but Francis took that with him 'for safe keeping' when the Seven Years War started to go against them, and Matt never saw it again. He still has the one Alasdair made him from whatever rocks and wood were around in a trunk of keepsakes.
Person/friend close to character: Alfred is the most important person in his life, whether he likes it or not. He usually prefers it that way but only sometimes. Maria has been a close friend since the 90s. Jan is very special and was almost exclusive until the 90s, but still a large part of his life. Arthur's really important still. Jack and Zee are a fixture. Francis is important but a massive dick. He and Aditya have always gotten on extremely well, especially with Sikh culture strongly represented in Canada. Katya is ungodly important to him, being his most distinctive formative part besides indigenous, French and British.
Brief family history: He was born a baby hot potato between Scotland, France and England, getting tossed around constantly because fuck he was useless and expensive. Assuming Arthur is his father, he's got two uncles (one of whom Arthur considered his 'actual' father for a while) and an Aunt. One older brother, one younger and a sister. He might have more 'family' on Francis' side, but his global relations are still very much informed by the Anglosphere today. Diversity win! your favourite gay couple committed war crimes and produced a nervous wreck! Everyone waited in anticipation of the third North American child after the impressive shows put on by Maria and Alfred. It was probably the greatest letdown of 17the century European bullshit in the Americas after the silver collapse, and that set the tone for his familial relationships for the rest of time.
Most painful experiences in the character’s past: 1760, the Rising of 1837-1838, Passchendaele, Halifax going boom.
Their Song: The Unlikely Candidates – Follow My Feet
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CHAPTER I.
Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage; there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents; there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs changed naturally into pity and contempt as he turned over the almost endless creations of the last century; and there, if every other leaf were powerless, he could read his own history with an interest which never failed. This was the page at which the favourite volume always opened:
“ELLIOT OF KELLYNCH HALL.
“Walter Elliot, born March 1, 1760, married, July 15, 1784, Elizabeth, daughter of James Stevenson, Esq. of South Park, in the county of Gloucester, by which lady (who died 1800) he has issue Elizabeth, born June 1, 1785; Anne, born August 9, 1787; a still-born son, November 5, 1789; Mary, born November 20, 1791.”
Precisely such had the paragraph originally stood from the printer’s hands; but Sir Walter had improved it by adding, for the information of himself and his family, these words, after the date of Mary’s birth—“Married, December 16, 1810, Charles, son and heir of Charles Musgrove, Esq. of Uppercross, in the county of Somerset,” and by inserting most accurately the day of the month on which he had lost his wife.
Then followed the history and rise of the ancient and respectable family, in the usual terms; how it had been first settled in Cheshire; how mentioned in Dugdale, serving the office of high sheriff, representing a borough in three successive parliaments, exertions of loyalty, and dignity of baronet, in the first year of Charles II, with all the Marys and Elizabeths they had married; forming altogether two handsome duodecimo pages, and concluding with the arms and motto:—“Principal seat, Kellynch Hall, in the county of Somerset,” and Sir Walter’s handwriting again in this finale:—
“Heir presumptive, William Walter Elliot, Esq., great grandson of the second Sir Walter.”
Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot’s character; vanity of person and of situation. He had been remarkably handsome in his youth; and, at fifty-four, was still a very fine man. Few women could think more of their personal appearance than he did, nor could the valet of any new made lord be more delighted with the place he held in society. He considered the blessing of beauty as inferior only to the blessing of a baronetcy; and the Sir Walter Elliot, who united these gifts, was the constant object of his warmest respect and devotion.
His good looks and his rank had one fair claim on his attachment; since to them he must have owed a wife of very superior character to any thing deserved by his own. Lady Elliot had been an excellent woman, sensible and amiable; whose judgement and conduct, if they might be pardoned the youthful infatuation which made her Lady Elliot, had never required indulgence afterwards.—She had humoured, or softened, or concealed his failings, and promoted his real respectability for seventeen years; and though not the very happiest being in the world herself, had found enough in her duties, her friends, and her children, to attach her to life, and make it no matter of indifference to her when she was called on to quit them.—Three girls, the two eldest sixteen and fourteen, was an awful legacy for a mother to bequeath, an awful charge rather, to confide to the authority and guidance of a conceited, silly father. She had, however, one very intimate friend, a sensible, deserving woman, who had been brought, by strong attachment to herself, to settle close by her, in the village of Kellynch; and on her kindness and advice, Lady Elliot mainly relied for the best help and maintenance of the good principles and instruction which she had been anxiously giving her daughters.
This friend, and Sir Walter, did not marry, whatever might have been anticipated on that head by their acquaintance. Thirteen years had passed away since Lady Elliot’s death, and they were still near neighbours and intimate friends, and one remained a widower, the other a widow.
That Lady Russell, of steady age and character, and extremely well provided for, should have no thought of a second marriage, needs no apology to the public, which is rather apt to be unreasonably discontented when a woman does marry again, than when she does not; but Sir Walter’s continuing in singleness requires explanation. Be it known then, that Sir Walter, like a good father, (having met with one or two private disappointments in very unreasonable applications), prided himself on remaining single for his dear daughters’ sake. For one daughter, his eldest, he would really have given up any thing, which he had not been very much tempted to do. Elizabeth had succeeded, at sixteen, to all that was possible, of her mother’s rights and consequence; and being very handsome, and very like himself, her influence had always been great, and they had gone on together most happily. His two other children were of very inferior value. Mary had acquired a little artificial importance, by becoming Mrs Charles Musgrove; but Anne, with an elegance of mind and sweetness of character, which must have placed her high with any people of real understanding, was nobody with either father or sister; her word had no weight, her convenience was always to give way—she was only Anne.
To Lady Russell, indeed, she was a most dear and highly valued god-daughter, favourite, and friend. Lady Russell loved them all; but it was only in Anne that she could fancy the mother to revive again.
A few years before, Anne Elliot had been a very pretty girl, but her bloom had vanished early; and as even in its height, her father had found little to admire in her, (so totally different were her delicate features and mild dark eyes from his own), there could be nothing in them, now that she was faded and thin, to excite his esteem. He had never indulged much hope, he had now none, of ever reading her name in any other page of his favourite work. All equality of alliance must rest with Elizabeth, for Mary had merely connected herself with an old country family of respectability and large fortune, and had therefore given all the honour and received none: Elizabeth would, one day or other, marry suitably.
It sometimes happens that a woman is handsomer at twenty-nine than she was ten years before; and, generally speaking, if there has been neither ill health nor anxiety, it is a time of life at which scarcely any charm is lost. It was so with Elizabeth, still the same handsome Miss Elliot that she had begun to be thirteen years ago, and Sir Walter might be excused, therefore, in forgetting her age, or, at least, be deemed only half a fool, for thinking himself and Elizabeth as blooming as ever, amidst the wreck of the good looks of everybody else; for he could plainly see how old all the rest of his family and acquaintance were growing. Anne haggard, Mary coarse, every face in the neighbourhood worsting, and the rapid increase of the crow’s foot about Lady Russell’s temples had long been a distress to him.
Elizabeth did not quite equal her father in personal contentment. Thirteen years had seen her mistress of Kellynch Hall, presiding and directing with a self-possession and decision which could never have given the idea of her being younger than she was. For thirteen years had she been doing the honours, and laying down the domestic law at home, and leading the way to the chaise and four, and walking immediately after Lady Russell out of all the drawing-rooms and dining-rooms in the country. Thirteen winters’ revolving frosts had seen her opening every ball of credit which a scanty neighbourhood afforded, and thirteen springs shewn their blossoms, as she travelled up to London with her father, for a few weeks’ annual enjoyment of the great world. She had the remembrance of all this, she had the consciousness of being nine-and-twenty to give her some regrets and some apprehensions; she was fully satisfied of being still quite as handsome as ever, but she felt her approach to the years of danger, and would have rejoiced to be certain of being properly solicited by baronet-blood within the next twelvemonth or two. Then might she again take up the book of books with as much enjoyment as in her early youth, but now she liked it not. Always to be presented with the date of her own birth and see no marriage follow but that of a youngest sister, made the book an evil; and more than once, when her father had left it open on the table near her, had she closed it, with averted eyes, and pushed it away.
She had had a disappointment, moreover, which that book, and especially the history of her own family, must ever present the remembrance of. The heir presumptive, the very William Walter Elliot, Esq., whose rights had been so generously supported by her father, had disappointed her.
She had, while a very young girl, as soon as she had known him to be, in the event of her having no brother, the future baronet, meant to marry him, and her father had always meant that she should. He had not been known to them as a boy; but soon after Lady Elliot’s death, Sir Walter had sought the acquaintance, and though his overtures had not been met with any warmth, he had persevered in seeking it, making allowance for the modest drawing-back of youth; and, in one of their spring excursions to London, when Elizabeth was in her first bloom, Mr Elliot had been forced into the introduction.
He was at that time a very young man, just engaged in the study of the law; and Elizabeth found him extremely agreeable, and every plan in his favour was confirmed. He was invited to Kellynch Hall; he was talked of and expected all the rest of the year; but he never came. The following spring he was seen again in town, found equally agreeable, again encouraged, invited, and expected, and again he did not come; and the next tidings were that he was married. Instead of pushing his fortune in the line marked out for the heir of the house of Elliot, he had purchased independence by uniting himself to a rich woman of inferior birth.
Sir Walter had resented it. As the head of the house, he felt that he ought to have been consulted, especially after taking the young man so publicly by the hand; “For they must have been seen together,” he observed, “once at Tattersall’s, and twice in the lobby of the House of Commons.” His disapprobation was expressed, but apparently very little regarded. Mr Elliot had attempted no apology, and shewn himself as unsolicitous of being longer noticed by the family, as Sir Walter considered him unworthy of it: all acquaintance between them had ceased.
This very awkward history of Mr Elliot was still, after an interval of several years, felt with anger by Elizabeth, who had liked the man for himself, and still more for being her father’s heir, and whose strong family pride could see only in him a proper match for Sir Walter Elliot’s eldest daughter. There was not a baronet from A to Z whom her feelings could have so willingly acknowledged as an equal. Yet so miserably had he conducted himself, that though she was at this present time (the summer of 1814) wearing black ribbons for his wife, she could not admit him to be worth thinking of again. The disgrace of his first marriage might, perhaps, as there was no reason to suppose it perpetuated by offspring, have been got over, had he not done worse; but he had, as by the accustomary intervention of kind friends, they had been informed, spoken most disrespectfully of them all, most slightingly and contemptuously of the very blood he belonged to, and the honours which were hereafter to be his own. This could not be pardoned.
Such were Elizabeth Elliot’s sentiments and sensations; such the cares to alloy, the agitations to vary, the sameness and the elegance, the prosperity and the nothingness of her scene of life; such the feelings to give interest to a long, uneventful residence in one country circle, to fill the vacancies which there were no habits of utility abroad, no talents or accomplishments for home, to occupy.
But now, another occupation and solicitude of mind was beginning to be added to these. Her father was growing distressed for money. She knew, that when he now took up the Baronetage, it was to drive the heavy bills of his tradespeople, and the unwelcome hints of Mr Shepherd, his agent, from his thoughts. The Kellynch property was good, but not equal to Sir Walter’s apprehension of the state required in its possessor. While Lady Elliot lived, there had been method, moderation, and economy, which had just kept him within his income; but with her had died all such right-mindedness, and from that period he had been constantly exceeding it. It had not been possible for him to spend less; he had done nothing but what Sir Walter Elliot was imperiously called on to do; but blameless as he was, he was not only growing dreadfully in debt, but was hearing of it so often, that it became vain to attempt concealing it longer, even partially, from his daughter. He had given her some hints of it the last spring in town; he had gone so far even as to say, “Can we retrench? Does it occur to you that there is any one article in which we can retrench?” and Elizabeth, to do her justice, had, in the first ardour of female alarm, set seriously to think what could be done, and had finally proposed these two branches of economy, to cut off some unnecessary charities, and to refrain from new furnishing the drawing-room; to which expedients she afterwards added the happy thought of their taking no present down to Anne, as had been the usual yearly custom. But these measures, however good in themselves, were insufficient for the real extent of the evil, the whole of which Sir Walter found himself obliged to confess to her soon afterwards. Elizabeth had nothing to propose of deeper efficacy. She felt herself ill-used and unfortunate, as did her father; and they were neither of them able to devise any means of lessening their expenses without compromising their dignity, or relinquishing their comforts in a way not to be borne.
There was only a small part of his estate that Sir Walter could dispose of; but had every acre been alienable, it would have made no difference. He had condescended to mortgage as far as he had the power, but he would never condescend to sell. No; he would never disgrace his name so far. The Kellynch estate should be transmitted whole and entire, as he had received it.
Their two confidential friends, Mr Shepherd, who lived in the neighbouring market town, and Lady Russell, were called to advise them; and both father and daughter seemed to expect that something should be struck out by one or the other to remove their embarrassments and reduce their expenditure, without involving the loss of any indulgence of taste or pride.
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GimmeRomance Glossary:
We’ve put this glossary together to give you all definitions for some of the words you’ll see both on this blog and in Romance in general. If you have any questions or think we’re missing a word, please send us an ask!
This glossary is organized alphabetically.
A/B/O: Short for Alpha/Beta/Omega, this is... complicated, but we recommend you take a look here if you don't already know what A/B/O is.
* Please don’t use the term A/B/O without the slashes -- Abo is considered a derogatory term for Aboriginal, and we honor the wishes of the Australian Aboriginal peoples who prefer that the term A/B/O not be used without the defining slashes.
Alien Romance: Usually, one MC is human, other(s) are from another planet. May include non-human genitalia and sexual acts.
Alpha: May refer to Alpha from A/B/O 'verse or Alpha of a werewolf/shifter pack. Generally sexually dominant. May also be shorthand for Alpha Hero.
Alpha Hero: One MC (usually the MMC) has a dominant personality.
Ancient World Romance: A Romance which takes place in an ancient civilization: eg. Ancient Rome, Greece or Egypt.
BBW: Big Beautiful Woman. A fat heroine.
Bestiality: Technically illegal on Amazon, but dinosaur erotica somehow still exists. Please don't make us go looking for titles to suggest to you -- though you might see the occasional Tingler on our lists!
Beta: Someone in an A/B/O 'verse or someone in a werewolf/shifter pack who's not the leader, but also not the lowest position in the pack. May also be shorthand for Beta Hero.
Beta Hero: A Beta Hero is the opposite of an Alpha Hero -- generally a man who is not dominant but softer and kinder.
The Black Moment: The moment (often around the 60% mark) where all hope of a happy ending seems lost. Often includes a temporary breakup.
Black Romance: Both (all, if it's polyamorous) main characters are Black.
BMWW: Black Man/White Woman. A specific sub-genre within Interracial Romance.
Bully Romance: One of the MCs bullies another one, usually before the romance begins.
BWWM: Black Woman/White Man. A specific sub-genre within Interracial Romance.
Chick Lit: A subgenre of Women’s Fiction which focuses on the trials and tribulations of a young woman and often includes a romance. Differs from Romance in that the romance is not necessarily the main focus of the story. Differs from Women’s Fiction in that the protagonists are usually younger and there’s often more romance. It's a fine line and some books are hard to precisely categorize, or may be considered to fit into multiple categories.
Clean Romance: We prefer not to use this term, but it can mean either Closed Door or No Sex.
Cliffhanger: A Romance which ends on a dramatic, unresolved issue. Common in contemporary romance trilogies where all books follow the same couple; rarely seen in historicals.
Closed Door: Sex occurs in the course of the story, but is not described.
Contemporary Romance: A Romance that takes place in the modern day.
Courtesan: A historical sex worker, usually on the expensive end of the scale.
Dark Romance: At least one MC who is not a good person. The romance can include such things as kidnapping, stalking, sexual assault, imprisonment, gaslighting, domestic abuse, and a whole slew of other things that are generally frowned upon in western society and might be considered illegal in some places. In the fandom world, stories featuring these themes might have the tags non-con/dub con, dead dove do not eat, and dark themes.
Dystopian Romance: Romance which takes place in a failed-state society where the government or the powers that be are often a totalitarian state and often end up being the antagonists of the series or story. Many of these take place in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world, but not all.
Equal Triad: A polyamorous triad where all parties have sex with each other.
Erotica: Sex is the point of the story and often is the plot. Happy endings aren't necessary in this genre, but they do often happen. Not quite a part of Romance but very closely related.
Fade to Black: A method in which sex is often handled in Closed Door stories.
Family Series: A Romance series which follows a family, each book focusing on a different member of the same family finding their love interest. (Like Bridgerton!)
Fantasy Romance: Takes place in another world (not to be confused with Sci-Fi Romance which takes place ON another world). There might be magic, dragons, or other mythical beasts.
F/F: Female/Female
FMF: Female/Male/Female. A polyamorous triad where the two women have sex with the man but not each other.
Gilded Age Romance: American Historical Romance, from about 1870-1900, usually among the wealthy upper classes (e.g. the Astor 400).
The Grovel: The moment where (usually) the MMC is brought to his knees by love and has to apologize to the MFC for all his stuff-ups. We love a good grovel here at GimmeRomance!
Harem Romance: One man/many women. Generally the women do not have sexual contact with each other, only with the man. Some exceptions.
* In Manga, Harem Romance involves one man flirting with multiple women but ending up with only one. In Romance, Harem Romance involves one man ending up with multiple women.
HEA: Happily Ever After. A story cannot be a romance without either an HEA or HFN.
Hero: The male love interest of a Romance. Sometimes abbreviated as a capital H.
Heroine: The female love interest of a Romance. Sometimes abbreviated as a lowercase h.
HFN: Happy For Now -- not quite Happily Ever After, but the characters are together and doing OK at the end of the story.
Highlander Romance: Historical sub-genre, takes place in the Scottish Highlands. Can cover an enormous range of dates from ancient world up to early 20th century. The men usually wear kilts.
Historical Romance: A Romance that takes place at least twenty years ago.
Inspirational Romance: Usually explicitly Christian, a Romance that includes religion and/or faith playing a major role. Usually does not include sex, swearing, or a lot of violence.
Interracial Romance: The main characters are of different racial backgrounds to each other. Some people only count Black/white Romances as interracial; we count two people of any races.
Love Triangle: One of the MCs eventually has to choose between two potential love interests.
Mafia/Bratva/Yakuza Romance: The MMC (usually) is a member of an organized crime gang. These often fall into Dark Romance, but not always.
MC: Main Character
MC Romance: Not to be confused with the MC -- this is Motorcycle Club Romance. One protagonist is a member of a Motorcycle Club.
Medieval Romance: Takes place between 500 and 1500 CE.
Meet-Cute: Something cutesy which happens to bring the protagonists together for their first meeting.
MFC: Main Female Character. May sometimes be styled FMC. See also Heroine.
MFF: Male/Female/Female. A polyamorous triad where the two women have sex with each other as well as the man.
MFM: Male/Female/Male. A polyamorous triad where the two men have sex with the woman but not each other.
M/M: Male/Male
MMC: Main Male Character. See also Hero.
MMF: Male/Male/Female. A polyamorous triad where the two men have sex with each other as well as the woman.
New Adult Romance: One or more MCs is 'college age', generally 18-25.
No Sex: There is no sex in the book.
Omega: Usually only used in either A/B/O or werewolf/shifter. Generally either the sexual submissive or the lowest-ranked in the pack.
Open Door: Sex occurs on the page.
Paranormal Romance: A Romance that includes a supernatural element.
Pioneer Romance: 1760-1880, mostly American, sometimes Australian. The Romance version of the Old West.
Plus-Sized Romance: A Romance that includes at least one character (most often the woman) being plus-sized.
Polyamorous Romance: 3 or more persons find their HEA/HFN in a Romance. May include any combination of genders.
* If you want to shorten Polyamorous, use Polyam rather than Poly -- Poly is a shorthand for Polynesian, and we honor the wishes of the Polynesian community who have asked that the Polyamorous community use Polyam instead.
Post-Apocalyptic Romance: Romance which takes place after a cataclysmic event that decimates human population and destroys our society as we know it.
Protagonist: A gender-neutral term for a main character.
Pseudo-Incest: Actual incest romance is banned on Amazon. Pseudo means step-siblings, a step-parent or grandparent, uncle/niece (no blood relation), etc.
Rake: A historical fuckboi.
Redemption Arc: The journey of one character who has behaved badly, to understanding what they did was wrong and making amends.
Regency Romance: Romance centered around the period when the future George IV was acting as regent for his father, George III. Technically the Regency was 1810-1820, but the genre includes 1795-1837.
Reverse Harem Romance: One woman/many men. Generally the men do not have sexual contact with each other, only with the woman. Some exceptions.
* In Manga, Reverse Harem Romance involves one woman flirting with multiple men but ending up with only one. In Romance, Reverse Harem Romance involves one woman ending up with multiple men.
Rogue: A rogue is a character who misbehaves in some way. This includes characters who drink, gamble, and sleep around -- but also includes pirates and gentleman thieves. Not all rogues are rakes, but all rakes are rogues.
Romance: Stories where the romantic relationship is central and integral to the plot which end in an HEA or HFN. If a book does not end with the couple (or moresome) in a happy relationship, it is not a Romance.
Romantic Comedy: A Romance which makes you laugh. The best ones are especially failboaty. Often features sitcom or slapstick antics but many just feature funny banter. A lot of contemporary Women's Fiction gets classified as Romantic Comedy and at least one of our mods gets very mad about that because having a cute illustrated cover and/or having a cat/dog in it doesn't make it funny
Romantic Suspense: The MCs must face and overcome a serious external threat to life and limb while finding their way to a HEA/HFN. Often overlaps somewhat with Mystery and/or Thriller.
Royal Romance: At least one MC is a member of a (usually fictional) royal family.
Rural Romance: The Australian version of Western Romance. The front cover almost invariably features a woman wearing an Akubra hat.
Science Fiction/Sci-Fi Romance: On another world or in space. MCs are usually human, but this sometimes crosses over with Alien Romance.
Shared World Series: A Romance series where each book is written by a different author, but locations and many characters are shared in common.
Shifter Romance: A Romance that includes a character or characters who can shift into animals. Includes (but is not limited to) werewolves. Sex generally occurs when the couple is in human form, but there may be knotting or other animalistic characteristics.
Small Town Romance: A Romance that takes place in a small town, usually in America but there are some Australian ones out there. Tend toward the very white. Often part of series that include lots of characters from the same town.
Soulmates: Not usually an abstract concept in the Romance world. Regularly seen in Paranormal or Fantasy Romance.
Standalone: A Romance which is not part of a series. Or it may be part of a series, but you do not need to read other books in the series to follow the plot.
Steamy Romance: We prefer not to use this term, but it means Open Door or sometimes Erotica.
Sweet Romance: We prefer not to use this term, but it can mean either Closed Door or No Sex.
Taboo Romance: Pseudo-incest, Teacher/Student, Underage. A romance which may be criminalized or considered unacceptable for other reasons in various jurisdictions.
Time Travel Romance: A Romance where at least one of the characters travels in time (usually to the past). In order to have a happy ending, may end with the present character staying in the past, the past character coming to and staying in the future, reincarnation, or some other solution.
Tudor Romance: 1485-1603, during the reign of the Tudor monarchs (Henry VII, Henry VIII and his three children, to the end of the reign of Elizabeth I). Sometimes Romances that take place during the Stuart period (particularly before the English Civil War) are grouped here.
Uneven Triad: A polyamorous triad where two of the parties do not have sex with each other, but only with the third party.
Unknown: As used by the GimmeRomance Mods, we don’t know how much sex there is in the story. This may be because we have not read the book or it may be because we have read the book but don’t remember how much sex there is.
Urban Fantasy: A subgenre of Fantasy which takes place in a world that’s often somewhat like our own and often includes a romance. Differs from Paranormal Romance in that the romance is not the main focus of the story. It's a fine line and some books are hard to precisely categorize, or may be considered to fit into both.
Victorian Romance: 1837-1901, the reign of Queen Victoria.
Western Romance: Takes place in a Western state, usually rural. There's probably a ranch and horses involved. Someone's wearing a cowboy hat.
Women’s Fiction: A genre which focuses on a woman’s life and may or may not include a romance. Differs from Romance in that the woman’s individual journey is the main focus of the story.
YA: Young Adult. Fiction written for teens with teens as the main characters. May or may not be Romance.
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This post will be updated as needed.
Last Updated: 06/05/2021
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PRIMED FEELINGS
With the Romantic period one has a multifaceted movement originating in Europe that made its way to the US with the onset of the nineteenth century. Actually, the movement started in the late 1700s and can be seen as one of those social forces that served to heighten people’s awareness of the detrimental effects of a growing political upheaval and the initial industrialization of European life.
Central to its messaging was a focus on emotions and individualism. Part and parcel of its impact was its influence on liberalism, conservatism, nationalism, and radicalism.[1] While the movement’s most observable affect was on that time’s art and literature, the political world was also highly impacted. But to appreciate in which ways it moved politics, one needs to appreciate the directions it maneuvered the creative world of the arts – both the physical arts and in their written forms.
The Enlightenment adopted the classical tradition; the Romantics favored medieval expression. In that, it turns away from concerns of balance, proportion, and idealistic form (the bedrocks of classical art) to expressions of raw emotions and seeing art as the opportunity to be exposed to real experiences. That even included stirring the emotions of horror, terror, fear, and awe. But in the main, it shifted people’s attention to nature and its abundant beauty in its raw states.
With these focuses, Romantic art placed newfound appreciation for what had been previously judged to be common and plebian, that being folk art and national expressions. Now, with this newer view, such traditions were judged as worthy of being honored as noble. This included ascribing honor on national traditions of artistic endeavors that originated in those medieval days before firm national borders and national institutions took hold.[2]
An early expression of this newer sensitivity can be traced to Germany. There the Sturn und Drang (“storm and desire”) movement in that nation’s music and literature – taking place in the late 1760s to early 1780s – one finds works highlighting extreme emotions. They were considered as concerted efforts to rebel against rationalism as dictated by the Enlightenment. Credited with its early expression in words was the works of the philosopher, Johann Georg Hamann, an early proponent of the philosophy of language.
The movement, first in Europe and then in the US, had a recurring tangible target, that being industrialism and urban living as it sprawled with the rise of factories and other manufacturing centers. It was a recurring reaction to the lasting consequences of the Enlightenment, not the least being the French Revolution, even soliciting criticism among many Romantics who initially supported that overthrow of the French monarchy.
As this messaging matured, definite themes emerged. Those included placing high credit on the spokespeople of the movement judged to be heroic as individuals and artists, championing a better society. Especially honored were those seen as leading the way by the expressions of their individual imaginations. A general sense of liberation took hold, that being free from classical dictates as to what was legitimate art and it ushered in a Zeitgeist of this visceral expression.
A German artist, Casper David Friedrich, captured the new thrust with his summary remark, “the artist’s feeling is his law” or the English poet, William Wordsworth’s notion that art is the product of an artist’s powerful feelings that gets refined through the tranquility of his/her recollection. Handed down rules from previous disciplined schools of art were merely considered obstacles to the creation of legitimate art, for after all, these rules were artificial and not the product of the creative process.
The new criteria were authenticity, originality, and the expression of genius. Ultimately, great art was the creation of an expression from nothing. Interpretation or derivation were belittled, originality or novelty were praised. To this one can readily see the role of emotions, not well-thought-out plans or rationales, to calculate what should be done, what should be expressed, and what should be illustrated.
And what better source of such inspiration than nature? While not an essential attribute of Romanticism, nature turned out to be a recurring subject that Romantics exploited in their works. It functioned as a normative standard of goodness, unaffected by societal corruption. People are born as a product of nature and as such are initially innocent as they begin their lives. It is society that corrupts not only humans but defaces nature as well.
Nature, sans society, is pure and worthy of almost spiritual esteem. It took on a status among many Romantics as being worthy of devotion. A painting that is often is depicted as symbolizing this association between the movement and nature is Friedrich’s Wanderer above a Sea of Fog.
Born with the backdrop of war in Europe, this movement had first the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Wars up until 1815 as its setting. In France, the generation that took up the Romantic movement was weaned with the sounds and turmoil associated with this upheaval. According to Alfred de Vigny, the initial artists of this movement were “conceived between battles, attended school to the rolling of drums.”[3]
As for political views, Romantics are judged to have been mostly liberal to progressive but not exclusively. Within their ranks, mostly due to their emotional strains, conservative and even nationalist biases developed. In the extreme, this line of thought or feelings even led to fascism in the twentieth century. Constant attacks on reason led to the questioning – even rejection – of objective truth.
Before finishing these initial introductory remarks on Romanticism, a word on its relation to nationalism seems in order. It, the Romantic inclination, became a source of ongoing messaging or linking of emotional ties to this excessive attachment to one’s nation. And that, as just mentioned above, survived into the twentieth century, and some would argue, the twenty-first century.
This is attributable by historians to the emotionalism of that time. It led to ties not only to a person’s nationality but his/her ethnicity, and race. Of special interest was/is national language and a nation’s folklore. With that, people expressed increased interest in local customs with their accompanying traditions. It also led to national policies that had little concern about the legitimate claims of other nations or peoples.
During that time, Europe, partly because of this emotional bias, experienced various redrawing of national boundaries and even the creation of newer national polities, for example, the unification of Italy and Germany. In addition, nationalism incentivized people to become familiar with the medieval history of their nations when many of the folkloric traditions they could still identify got started and added to their sense of peoplehood.
Renewed popularity in epic poems from that past took on a special interest. And some of that digging into the past even stretched to pre-Roman, Latinization days especially in Germany and Celtic Scotland and Ireland. In many areas of Europe, Napoleonic Wars caused further motivation to heighten national commitments to first fight off this threat and then the actualization of French control.
This is a bit ironic in that the initial reaction to the French Revolution, as alluded to above, stirred Romantics to support its aims and successes. But as Napoleon expanded his control over the various nations of the continent, those nationalists became anti French and anti-Napoleon. Johann Gottlieb Fichte, a German philosopher, provides an eloquent expression of this line of thought:
Those who speak the same language are joined to each other by a multitude of invisible bonds by nature herself, long before any human art begins; they understand each other and have power of continuing to make themselves understood more and more clearly; they belong together and are by nature one and an inseparable whole … Only when each people, left to itself, develops and forms itself in accordance with its own peculiar quality, and only when in every people each individual develops himself in accordance with that common quality, as well as in accordance with his own peculiar quality – then, and then only, does the manifestation of divinity appear in its true mirror as it ought to be.[4]
And that sets the stage for this blog to look at the way Romanticism made its presence known in the US.
[1] John Morrow, “Romanticism and Political Thought in the Early 19th Century,” in The Cambridge History of Nineteenth-Century Political Thought: The Cambridge History of Political Thought, eds. Garth Stedman Jones and Gregory Claeys (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 39-76.
[2] Nuria Perpinya, “Ruins, Nostalgia and Ugliness: Five Romantic Perceptions of Middle Ages and a Spoon of Game of Thrones and Avant-Garde Oddity,”, Logos Verlag Berlin (2014), accessed September 9, 2021, Buchbeschreibung: : (logos-verlag.de) .
[3] “Neoclassicism and Romanticism,” Lumen: Boundless Art History (n.d.). Accessed September 9, 2021, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/neoclassicism-and-romanticism/.
[4] Johann Gottlieb Fichte, “Modern History Sourcebook: Johann Gottlieb Fichte: To the German Nation, 1806,” Fordham University (n.d.), accessed September 9, 2021, Internet History Sourcebooks (fordham.edu) .
#Romanticism#Casper David Friedrich#Wanderer above a Sea of Fog#French Revolution#nationalism#Napoleonic Wars#Classical Art#civics education#social studies
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The Stars Map the Way
The Stars Map the Way: A Bruce Banner Fanfic
Buy me a ☕
Square: @brucebannerbingo - R2 Crown
Rating: G
Warning: Weddings
Word Count: 1760
Pairing: Bruce Banner x Reader
Summary: It’s your wedding day and Bruce has aligned the stars to guide you to him.
The Stars Map the Way
The reflection looking back at you in the mirror didn’t seem totally real to you. It was an idealized version. Something from a fairytale. You looked like a princess, both beautiful and magical. You smoothed down the skirt. The satin and lace glittering with crystals as they shifted in the light.
Your bridesmaid stepped up beside you and placed your tiara on your head. It glittered in silver and diamonds and sat on your head so your veil fell down behind it and a small emerald rested in the middle of your forehead that matched the two teardrop-shaped jewels from your ears.
“You look beautiful,” she said. “Like a queen.”
“You think he’ll like it?” You asked.
She chuckled and gently pinched your cheek. “I think you could show up in a hessian sack and he’d look at you like you hung the stars in the sky.”
“So you’re saying I wasted a lot of time and money to make myself look like this?” You asked.
She laughed. “Come on, your prince is waiting for you. You don’t want him to think you’re not coming.”
You chuckled softly and nodded. “No. That would not end well for anyone.”
She handed you your bouquet of white rose, eucalyptus leaves, and fern fronds and the two of you went outside to the vintage Rolls Royce that was waiting for you outside. She helped you in, making sure your skirt didn’t get caught anywhere it shouldn’t and the car made its way through the New York Streets. The sun was setting and it sent beams of orange light up the streets as the sky above you turned pink.
It pulled up at the American Museum of Natural History and you climbed the stone steps and went inside. The halls were mostly empty, only staff members and the occasional stray visitor making their way back out.
Each staff member you passed directed you to where you were going. Up the stairs and to the large sphere that housed the planetarium.
Pepper and Laura were waiting outside with Morgan and Nathaniel. Morgan wore a white dress with a green sash and held a basket of flower petals, while Nathaniel had a little black suit on and held a green satin pillow with your rings tied to it.
“Wow, look at you,” Pepper said smiling. “You look like a princess.”
“Thank you,” you said. “I feel like I’m gonna be sick.”
She laughed and rubbed your arm. “He’s looking a little green himself. So you might want to get in there.”
“Are you ready?” Laura asked.
You nodded and the staff opened the door. You heard the harp start-up and Pepper and Laura ducked inside to take their seats.
“And I'd give up forever to touch you, 'cause I know that you feel me somehow, you're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be, and I don't want to go home right now.” As words floated out from inside the dome, you sent Morgan inside and she made her way down the aisle, scattering flower petals as she went.
“And all I can taste is this moment, and all I can breathe is your life, and sooner or later it's over, I just don't wanna miss you tonight.” Nathaniel went in after him, looking up at the ceiling as he half skipped/half jogged his way down the aisle.
“And I don't want the world to see me, 'cause I don't think that they'd understand, when everything's meant to be broken, I just want you to know who I am.” Your bridesmaid went next, walking down the center of the room slowly. You started to psych yourself up, bringing your bouquet in close to your body and stepping up to the doors.
“And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming or the moment of truth in your lies. When everything feels like the movies, yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive.”
You stepped inside the darkened room. Above your head, the milky way glittered. Your guests were seated in a circle around an arch in the middle, a row of small lights on the floor marked the path you needed to walk to reach it. Standing under the arch was the celebrant, Tony Stark, Thor, and Bruce. Bruce looked up at where you stood and his face lit up like a fire had ignited inside him.
The lights above your head changed, a bright, green glow of the Northern Lights curled out, mapping your path to your groom.
“And I don't want the world to see me, 'cause I don't think that they'd understand, when everything's meant to be broken, I just want you to know who I am.”
You began to make your way down the path, every eye on you, but none more excited than Bruce. He was bouncing where he stood and he held his hands clenched in front of him.
“And I don't want the world to see me, 'cause I don't think that they'd understand, when everything's meant to be broken, I just want you to know who I am.”
You reached the arch and held your hands out to Bruce. He took them, holding them tight like he was worried you might just float off on him and part of you felt like that wasn’t impossible.
The celebrant cleared his throat and began to speak, but you couldn’t take your eyes off Bruce.
“Marriage is but one path that can be taken on a course of human relationship. No ceremony can create your marriage, no piece of paper can make it work. Only you can do that through your love for each other and your commitment to creating it. It takes love and patience, dedication and perseverance, talking, listening, help, support, and believing in each other. A marriage needs tenderness and laughter, forgiveness and appreciation of each other’s differences, and making the important things matter while letting go of everything else. All this ceremony can do is allow you both to affirm the choice you have made to stand together as lifemates and partners as you walk your paths together,” he said. “Do you take this woman to be your wedded wife?”
Bruce took a deep breath and nodded. “I do.”
“And do you take this man, to be your wedded husband?”
You smiled and squeezed his hands. “I do.”
“When you walk the roads your lives take you, there are many relationships that are important to help you on your way. In the spirit of the importance of strong friendships, Natasha Romanoff will be reading from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières,” the celebrant said.
Natasha got out of her chair and moved up to the arch. “Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion, it is not the desire to mate every second minute of the day, it is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every cranny of your body. No, don't blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being 'in love', which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.”
She smiled at you both and took her seat again and the celebrant spoke again. “We’ve come to the point of the ceremony where you say your vows to each other. But before you do that, I ask you to remember that love - which is rooted in trust and acceptance - will be the foundation of your relationship. No other ties are more tender. No other vows stronger. If you are able to, keep your vows here today, not because of any civic law, but out of a desire to love and be loved by another person fully and without limitation. Please now, read the vows you have written to each other.
You cleared your throat and looked deep in Bruce’s eyes. He gave your hands a reassuring squeeze. “I take you to be my husband, my friend, my partner, and my love. I promise to be patient with you when you’re in the lab working on one of your passions and forget to come home. I promise to give you a safe and comfortable place to land when you’ve been on a mission and you’re doubting your place in the world. I promise to listen to your excited ramblings about your new discoveries, and never once make you think I’m anything less than as excited as you are. Mostly though, I promise to love you, every part of you, unconditionally and freely from the bottom of my heart.”
Bruce smiled and leaned in towards you a little. You pressed your forehead against his and ran your hands up his arm. “I take you to be my wife,” he said. “I promise to share with you my excitement and fears of the world and let you share yours with me with safety and without judgment. I promise to protect you when I can, but respect your choices and accept that I might not always be able to. I promise to allow you to help carry my fears and burdens and help you carry yours too. But most of all, I promise to love you, every part of you, unconditionally and freely from the bottom of my heart.”
“May I have the rings?” The celebrant said. Tony took the cushion from Nathaniel and untied them, handing them to the celebrant who then offered them to both you and Bruce. “Now repeat after me; I give you this ring as a daily reminder of my love for you.”
You and Bruce slid the rings onto each other’s fingers. “I give you this ring as a daily reminder of my love for you.”
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife!” The celebrant announced. “You may now kiss each other.”
Bruce wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close, he leaned in, and you bridged the distance as he dipped you back. Above you, on the domed screens the sun came out and you kissed for the first time as husband and wife.
#brucebannerbingo2019#bruce banner#bruce banner x reader#hulk#hulk fanfic#fanfic#fanfiction#reader insert#fluff#the stars will map the way
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Fairy Tale Retellings with POC
@anjareedd asked:
Hello, Writing with Color! First of all, thank you for all you do. Second, do you have any advice for a white person retelling fairy tales, both European fairy tale and non-European fairy tales? Is it okay to retell non-European fairy tales? I would feel bad if all fairy tales I retold were European as those are over represented, but given how much white people have erased and whitewashed other culture's fairy tales I understand if that were off-limits for a white person. Thank you!
Fairy tale retellings are my favorite thing. I love reading, rewriting and creating new fairy tale-style stories with People of Color!
As you write, keep in mind:
European does not mean white.
The possibility of PoC in European or Western historical settings tends to throw off so many. There are plenty of European People of Color, then and today. You can have an Indian British little red riding hood and it isn’t “unrealistic.” And we wanna read about them!
Still, research the history of your settings and time period. Use multiple credible sources, as even the most well-known ones may exclude the history of People of Color or skim over it. The stories might be shoved into a corner, but we live and have lived everywhere. The specific groups (and numbers of) in a certain region may vary, though.
How and when did they or their family get there, and why?
Has it been centuries, decades, longer than one can remember?
Who are the indigenous people of the region? (Because hey, places like America and Australia would love to have you believe its earliest people were white...)
Is there a connection with the Moors, trade, political marriage; was it simply immigration?
No need to elaborate all too much. A sentence or more woven into the story in passing may do the trick to establish context, depending on your story and circumstance.
Or if you want to ignore all of that, because this is fantasy-London or whatever, by all means do. POC really don’t need a explanation to exist, but I simply like to briefly establish context for those who may struggle to “get it”, personally. This is a side effect of POC being seen as the Other and white as the default.
Although, if PoC existing in a fairy tale is the reader’s biggest stumbling block in a world of magic, speculation, or fantasy, that’s none of your concern.
Can you picture any of the people below, or someone with these backgrounds, the protagonist of their own fairytale? I hope so!
Above: Painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle (1760s - 1800s), British Heiress with her cousin. Check out her history as well as the movie, Belle (2013).
Source: English Heritage: Women in History - Dido Belle
Above: Abraham Janssens - The Agrippine Sibyl - Netherlands (c. 1575)
“Since ancient times Sybils were considered seers sent by god, priestesses foretelling the coming of great events. This model serves to depict the Sybil of Agrippina, one of the 12 that foretold the coming of Christ. Notice the flagellum and crown of thrones which are symbolic objects reminding the viewer of Christs suffering.” X
Above: “Major Musa Bhai, 3 November 1890. Musa Bhai travelled to England in 1888 as part of the Booth family, who founded the Salvation Army.” X
Above: Eleanor Xiniwe and Johanna Jonkers, respectively and other members of the African Choir, who all had portraits taken at the London Stereoscopic Company in 1891.
“The African Choir were a group of young South African singers that toured Britain between 1891 and 1893. They were formed to raise funds for a Christian school in their home country and performed for Queen Victoria at Osborne House, a royal residence on the Isle of Wight.” X
The examples above just scratch the surface. Luckily, more and more historians and researchers are publishing lesser known (and at times purposefully masked) PoC history.
More Sources
PoC in History (WWC Search Link)
POC in Europe (WWC Search Link)
The Black Victorians: astonishing portraits unseen for 120 years
Hidden histories: the first Black people photographed in Britain – in pictures
Let’s talk about oppression and slavery
There is a hyper-focus on chattel slavery as if the times when and where it occurred is the only narrative that exists. And even when it is part of a Person of Color’s history, that is seldom all there is to say of the person or their lives. For example, Dido Elizabeth Belle.
People of Color were not all slaves, actively enslaved, or oppressed for racial reasons at all times in history! Dig deep into the research of your time period and region. Across the long, wide history of the world, People of Color are and were a norm and also NOT simply exceptions. Explore all the possibilities to discover the little known and seldom told history. Use this as inspiration for your writing.
PoC (especially Black people) were not always in chains, especially in a world of your making.
Don’t get me wrong. These stories do have a place and not even painful histories should be erased. I personally read these stories as well, if and when written by someone who is from the background. Some might even combine fairy tale, fantasy, and oppression in history. However...
There are plenty of stories on oppressed PoC. How many fairy tales?
Many European tales have versions outside of Europe.
Just because a tale was popularized under a western setting doesn’t mean that it originates there. Overtime, many were rewritten and altered to fit European settings, values and themes.
Read original tales.
You might be inspired to include a story in its original setting. Even if you kept it in a western setting, why not consider a protagonist from the ethnicity of the story’s origin?
For example: the Cinderella most are familiar with was popularized by the French in 1697. However, Cinderella has Chinese and Greek versions that date back from the 9th Century CE and 6th Century BCE, respectively.
Choosing a Setting: European or Non-European?
I do not see anything wrong with either (I write tales set in western and non-western settings, all with Heroines of Color). There is great potential in both.
Non-Western Settings (pros and cons)
Normalizes non-Western settings. Not just the “exotic” realm of the Other.
Potential for rich, cultural elements and representation
Requires more research and thoughtfulness (the case for any setting one is unfamiliar with, though)
European or Western Setting (pros and cons)
Normalizes PoC as heroes, not the Other, or only fit to be side characters.
Representation for People of Color who live in Western countries/regions
Loss of some cultural elements (that character can still bring in that culture, though! Living in the West often means balancing 2+ cultures)
Outdated Color and Ethnic Symbolism
Many fairy tales paint blackness (and darkness, and the Other) as bad, ominous and ugly, and white as good and pure.
Language that worships whiteness as the symbol of beauty. For example: “Fair” being synonymous with beauty. Characters like Snow White being the “fairest” of them all.
Wicked witches with large hooked noses, often meant to be coded as ethnically Jewish people.
Don’t follow an old tale back into that same pit of dark and Other phobia. There’s many ways to change up and subvert the trope, even while still using it, if you wish. Heroines and heroes can have dark skin and large noses and still stand for good, innocence and beauty.
Read: Black and White Symbolism: Discussion and Alternatives
Non-European Fairy tales - Tips to keep in Mind:
Some stories and creatures belong to a belief system and is not just myth to alter. Before writing or changing details, read and seek the opinions of the group. You might change the whole meaning of something by tweaking details you didn’t realize were sacred and relevant.
Combine Tales Wisely:
Picking stories and beings from different cultural groups and placing them in one setting can come across as them belonging to the same group or place (Ex: A Japanese fairy tale with Chinese elements). This misrepresents and erases true origins. If you mix creatures or elements from tales, show how they all play together and try to include their origin, so it isn’t as if the elements were combined at random or without careful selection.
Balance is key:
When including creatures of myths, take care to balance your Human of Color vs. creatures ratio, as well as the nature of them both (good, evil, gray moral). EX: Creatures from Native American groups but no human Native characters from that same group (or all evil, gray, or too underdeveloped to know) is poor representation.
Moral Alignment:
Changing a good or neutral cultural creature into something evil may be considered disrespectful and misappropriation.
Have Fun!
No, seriously. Fairy tales, even those with the most somber of meanings, are meant to be intriguing little adventures. Don’t forget that as you write or get hung up on getting the “right message” out and so on. That’s what editing is for.
--Colette
#writing advice#representation#history#people of color#writing#fairy tales#fantasy creatures#supernatural beings#guides#long post#slavery#slavery mention tw#culture#images#asks
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Anonymous asked: You sound like a remarkable woman out of her time. Your posts suggest you are modern and feminine yet your cultured intelligence and cleverness seems from an earlier lost time. Would you prefer to be living in 18th Century Georgian England? One imagines you would fit right in as a heroine in Jane Austen’s Regency world of aristocratic manners and clever barbs over tea in the drawing room.
I had to smile to myself a little because the last thing I ever saw myself was a Jane Austen character. I certainly don’t see myself as heroine of Austen’s world. After all don’t most if not all of Austen’s literary heroines spend their time pathetically pining away for the socially aloof and yet heroically vulnerable gentlemen they profess to love, men who are usually too dense to know that these whining women have childish schoolgirl crushes on them? I know I’m going to angry mails now from pouting Austen fans but I have to speak my mind.
Like most people I do profess to liking a nice, cosy Jane Austen adaptation on television. The fabulous frocks, fans, feathers and finery soothe us with images of a gentler, well-mannered time when gentlemen in cravats and breeches wooed perfumed ladies across ballrooms and well-manicured lawns.
However the reality was not quite so lovely. It’s not that women - like Austen’s literary women - were caught up in the social constraints of their time but also I would get restless just sitting down all day to tea and gossip. I would sooner catch the first ship bound for India and have adventures in the Orient along the way. Tea with Mr Darcy in well stuffed breeches might not be enough for me but then again a well stocked library as most landed gentry homes had would make me reconsider.
I’m fortunate that within my family we have a wealth of diaries, correspondence, private papers, and other family heirlooms that go back a few centuries which we have scrupulously stored to hopefully pass onto future generations.
So when I can decipher some letters of my ancestors it gives me some insight into what life was like for them as men and women of their time. It’s not always easy to read as they loved to scribble in ink (now faded) in the margins on nearly every page of the books they read. And so the penmanship is stylish but minuscule and therefore sometimes hard to make out. The letters are somewhat more legible but it requires patience and perseverance to make sense of what they were writing about. It’s a wonderful way to flesh out the genealogical tree with titbits of personal anecdotes that could be perfunctory, mundane, scandalous, salacious, romantic, and even political.
I’ve read Jane Austen like every other girl at boarding school I imagine. I like her writings but I wouldn’t say my heart is in it to actually live through that time.
Life for Georgian women, even of high birth, was harsh enough in a time when men still held all the power and husbands could beat and even rape their wives. Noblewomen caught diseases passed on from their husband's prostitutes and were still subjected to confinement and the barbaric medical practice of bleeding when pregnant. Even their fashions and frippery provided cold comfort when their make-up poisoned them, unwashed dresses and undergarments stank and their fancy foods made their teeth rot and fall out.
The fact that women did survive and even thrive is a testament to their strength and fortitude which I find admirable.
I’m used to mud and sweat and even living rough because as ex-army officer I was trained to suck it up but it’s also in my nature because I love going rough when I hike or climb mountains or trek to other places off the beaten track. So I’m not squeamish so long as at the end of the day I can bathe or shower my aches away and I can put on a fresh change of clothing. However even I recoil in some horror when I consider that despite their elegant appearance, Georgian women carried a world of stench. While hands and faces would be washed daily, immersive bathing was considered bad for the health and was only indulged in occasionally.
The heavy gowns of the period would have caused the wearer to sweat profusely, with only perfumes such as rose water and orange blossom to mask the smell. The clothes themselves would also be pungent. Due to the huge amount of work involved in laundering, most households would have a maximum of one wash-day a month. Linen undergarments were changed as often as possible, but their "clean" smell would still be unappealing to us. Linen was often bleached in chamber lye, a kind of soap made from ashes and urine.
As if bodily odour was not bad enough, there was also the whiff of rotting teeth. A sugar-rich diet led to frequent tooth-decay in the upper classes. Cleansing tooth-powders had started to emerge but most of these featured "spirit of vitriol", known to us as sulphuric acid, and stripped teeth of their enamel. Often the best remedy for smelling teeth and bad breath was to chew herbs such as parsley. Where a tooth was past hope of redemption, it would be pulled with pliers or a tooth key, a claw that would fix to the teeth so it could be loosened in the jaw. To avoid a gummy smile, ladies of fashion sought false teeth made from ivory or porcelain but, where possible, they preferred to have "live" teeth in their dentures. Poor people were encouraged to sell healthy teeth for this purpose. While such a practice was unethical, it was better than the other method of sourcing human teeth: pillaging them battlefields and graveyards.
Georgian women were renowned for their snowy faces and dark eyebrows but achieving the fashionable skin tone could be extremely dangerous. White face powders were lead-based and some also featured vinegar and horse manure. Years of coating the entire face, shoulders and neck with such a mixture could lead to catastrophic consequences. Society beauty Maria Gunning died at the age of just 27, having spent her life addicted to cosmetics. Lead-poisoning could cause hair loss and tooth decay but ingeniously, these problems were elegantly adapted into the fashion and it became desirable to have a high forehead and pencil-thin eyebrows. If your own eyebrows failed you completely, you could always trap a mouse in the kitchen and use its fur to make a new artificial pair.
I usually wear my hair straight or tied up in a bun so I don’t fuss too much over my hair. This would certainly be out of place if I lived in Georgian times. Georgian ladies were the mistresses of big hair. They piled their frizzed and curled locks over pads or wires to create show pieces for the drawing room. Often their own hair was not sufficient and had to be supplemented by horse hair and false pieces. Styles from the 1760s were domed or egg-shaped, elongating into the pouf in the 1780s. But Georgiana, the infamous Duchess of Devonshire, had to take things a step further. She introduced the three-foot hair tower, ornamented with stuffed birds, waxed fruit and model ships. Following her example, women competed with one another to make the tallest headdress.
Since these styles were costly and took hours to arrange, they were worn for several weeks. Ladies had to sleep sitting up and travel on the carriage floor to avoid spoiling their creations. With no combing possible, lice were inevitable so a special scratching rod was invented for irritated ladies to poke into their piled up hair.
It wasn’t any real fun being a woman and I often think Jane Austen is selling a false bill of goods in her books. You never see women in her novels deal with their menstrual problems. No one has proved for certain what they did, if anything, for sanitary hygiene. With no knickers to hold in strips of linen or rag, they were left to Mother Nature’s mercy. I can imagine that being a conversation stopper in the drawing room over tea with the vicar and his prissy wife.
Their toilet habits were a little more civilised. When ladies at the royal court were caught short, they resorted to porcelain jugs much like a modern-day gravy boat. This contraption, called a bourdaloue, was stuffed up beneath the skirts and clenched beneath the thighs. Apparently it was quite normal for a lady to continue her conversation while urinating into the device! I think Jane Austen missed a trick by not having at least one scene with Elizabeth Bennet urinating under her skirts whilst trading clever barbs with Mr Darcy.
Speaking of which marriage was not a box of chocolates in the early 18th Century or indeed later in Austen’s day. Upon marriage, a lady and all her worldly goods would become property of her husband. It was therefore essential to guard a well-to-do bride’s interests with a legal marriage settlement before the ceremony took place. I read somewhere that Henrietta Hobart, later mistress to George II, had reason to be thankful for the settlement drawn up before her marriage to Charles Howard in 1706. It stipulated that two thirds of her dowry should be invested, with the interest at her sole disposal. Should Henrietta die, the funds were to pass to her children. This arrangement was to prove life-saving when her husband became an abusive gambling-addict and alcoholic.
Lower class women were known to take extreme measures to protect their future husbands from their own debts. "Smock weddings" were intended to show that the bride brought no clothes or property to the union, thus exempting each spouse from the other’s financial liabilities. The woman would be married wearing only her undergarment or smock – or sometimes nothing at all.
Of course no marriage settlement, however generous, could save a woman from a violent husband and it remained legal for a man to rape or kidnap his wife. While excessive beating was frowned upon, whipping was considered a reasonable measure to discipline a wife. Even so, it would appear many men pushed their rights beyond the limit, for laws were later amended to say a man could only beat his wife with a stick "no thicker than his thumb".
Escaping an abusive marriage then was well-nigh impossible. Divorces were so expensive that they remained the privilege of the very rich. Even if a lady did have the money to appeal for divorce, she was by no means certain of success. She would have to prove both adultery and "life-threatening cruelty". And if she won her freedom, it would come with more than just a social cost - any children from the marriage would remain property of the husband. Certainly in my family - on my father’s English side of the family - they had their fair share of scandalous behaviour that didn’t reflect well to our 21st Century minds.
Certainly the Georgians were not sexless and they enjoyed their carnal pleasures but of course being aristocratic they never did things that would publicly expose them to scandal. I was reading one such letter of an ancestor who was writing to her older sister about how hard it was for her to conceive her first child - a son naturally - that her rakish husband first took to prostitutes in an era when such things were common and the risk of infection from sexually transmitted diseases was rife. And then later settled on one mistress whom he seriously gave thought to impregnate her. However the mistress was an actress and thus such a union was frowned upon in landed gentry circles and so he was shamed back to his high born wife and to ‘try harder by God’s Providence’. The duty of any aristocratic wife was to produce a healthy son and heir but if nature did not take its course, they could seek help and so these ancestors of mine did.
Like many other aristocratic couples with trouble conceiving children they sought out quacks who made promises to cure infertility. One such person was a Dr James Graham who had invented what he called ‘The Celestial Bed’ that guaranteed conception and unearthly sexual pleasure. The bed itself was electrified and stood on insulating glass legs. The mattress was stuffed with stallion hair to increase potency. Mirrored floors and music from a glass harmonica heightened the experience, while the air swirled with exotic perfumes. Having made love on this bizarre contraption, the couple were encouraged to take ice baths and have a firm massage. The lady would also be advised to douse her genitals with champagne.
It must have worked because the family line did not die out but flourished. It proves to me that champagne is the answer to almost every question in life.
A woman’s travails were not over just because she was successfully pregnant. More hazards lay in her path. Despite advances in medicine, a shocking number of medieval practices remained in the Georgian birthing chamber.
The long period of rest or "confinement" leading up to the birth was still enforced for wealthy women. The rooms would be kept dark and sweltering with the expectant mother wrapped up in fustian waistcoats and petticoats. As soon as she had given birth, the room was made even hotter, with the curtains round the bed pinned and even the keyhole in the door stopped to prevent a draft. When I lived in China I discovered this is what Chinese mothers did and still do to this day. So I wasn’t so surprised when I read such a practice happened in other cultures like my own.
Those more fortunate might find themselves in a birthing chair. This had a sloped back and a semi-circle cut from the seat, designed to let gravity aid nature. It was certainly a better option than staining expensive bedding and linen. With only female relatives and an unofficially trained midwife to help, many women and their babies died in childbed, as it was known. Even when male surgeons became involved in obstetrics toward the end of the century, treatments were woefully inadequate. I read in the correspondence of one of my female ancestors that she was frequently ‘bled’ during her pregnancy. Somehow she survived any risk of post-partum haemorrhage.
Even when a birth was successful without complication the wife/mother was not out of the woods just yet. In keeping with custom in landed gentry circles of the times, the new mother would not suckle their own babies. In keeping its custom this taks was given over to a wet nurse. In the case of one of my ancestors whose correspondence I read she got a village girl from the family estates to breast feed the baby. The reason for doing so was brutally simple. Firstly, it was to ensure that the lady could conceive again as soon as possible. And secondly, Wealthier women often had difficulty breastfeeding due to their tight corsets or stays. It was also believed that a child would grow up stronger and hardier with a country-woman’s milk.
But even when the baby sprog was weaned, it was common practice for it to be handed to foster-parents until it was old enough to run about and talk. Interestingly enough Jane Austen and her siblings were fostered by a cottager in Deane village, two miles from their family home.
So overall I’m no so sure I would be thrilled to be living in the Georgian and Regency era even if it meant challenging that scoundrel Mr Wickham to a sword duel (and kicking his arse), match making with Emma, or even missing out on the pleasure of taking tea with Mr Darcy.
Sorry Mr Darcy.
Of course I’m fascinated with history and one sometimes wonder what it might be like to live in a particular time. However it’s just a flight of the imagination because to paraphrase Sir Roger Scruton I prefer to live in “the pastness of the present” rather than the past itself. This is the difference between being an historically illiterate reactionary and being a true conservative.
Thanks for your question
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911.
5k Survey XXXIV
1751. Do you think that it is okay for a homosexual or a woman to become a priest?
>> Of course. I’m sure some sects think they’re justified in barring certain kinds of people from being priests, but I think it’s kind of fucked up to deny someone that kind of religious stature based on nothing but some arbitrary fact of birth or design.
1752. Which would you rather give up forever, religion or sex?
>> Why can’t you love god in your bed? said Steve Vai and he was fucking right, god dammit. Give me both at the same time.
1753. What comes to mind when you think of these places:
Canada? Moose.
UK? Those red double-decker buses. I’ve seen way too many pictures of London and not enough of the rest of the UK.
USA? The White House.
Australia? The movie The Nightingale.
Germany? Beer.
Italy? The canals in Venice.
1754. What does your favorite bumper sticker say?
>> Oh fuck, I’ve forgotten! I saw one a while ago that just slayed me but I’ve forgotten what it said by now. Unfortunate.
1755. Have you ever taken a shower with another person?
>> Yes.
1756. What bath toys do you have, if any?
>> I don’t have any bath toys.
1757. Would you rather propose to someone you love or would you rather be proposed to by someone you love?
>> Does it matter?
1758. How can you reject someone nicely?
>> By being tactfully honest about the fact that you’re not interested in what they’re offering.
1759. What kinds of diary names make you interested enough to check out the diary?
>> ---
1760. What do you think are three common passwords people use to secure their diaries?
>> ---
1761. Pick an object in the room. Give that object a name.
>> I’m cheating and picking a plushie. Its name is Marshmellow and it’s a white dog with pink accents.
1762. What is the quickest way to make you blush?
>> ---
1763. Do you usually feel that you deserve it when other people compliment you?
>> I don’t always feel like I deserve it, but I try to accept it gracefully anyway. It’s a kind gesture to give a compliment and I'd hate to alienate the giver by denying it.
1764. If you were to start your own business what kind of business do you think it might be?
>> I don’t want to do that.
1765. What is one of your pet peeves?
>> When I’m taking a walk and have to dodge into the fucking street to avoid lawn sprinklers.
1766. What question do you get asked too frequently?
>> I used to get asked constantly if my septum ring hurt. Luckily I haven’t heard that question in a while.
1767. You notice a ring is priced $40.00, but the cashier only charges you $10.00. Do you mention this to the cashier?
>> Yeah. Back in the day, I wouldn’t have, because an extra $30 in my pocket would have been beyond lucky. But I don’t have to worry about that so much anymore, so I can indulge the luxury of uprightness.
1768. Could a kiss on the ___ be considered cheating?
Cheek?
Lips?
Nose?
Hand?
Ear?
Neck?
1769. Would it bother you if your lover occasionally flirted with others?
>> Of course not. That person’d better flirt back too, she’s a catch.
1770. How long has it been since you last played truth or dare?
>> I don’t play that.
1771. Should people who are living now be obligated to do things that will make the world better for people who will live 100 years from now?
>> I don’t know. I mean, we’re struggling trying to make the world better for ourselves, let alone hypothetical people who don’t even exist yet.
1772. Imagine you have a dream in which someone you care for acts mean to you. Is it possible you will still be angry with this person when you wake up?
>> I know it’s possible for some people because I’ve heard this kind of story before. It’s not possible for me, I don’t think of the people in my dreams as actual avatars of real-life people. Dream folks are just wearing faces they’ve pulled from my memory.
1773. Have you ever left someone a note with a picture in it? If yes, how do you do it?
>> Er, no, I don’t think so.
1774. What do you fear more, death or pain?
>> Pain, definitely pain. When I think of the various things I fear about death, they all come down to being afraid of some kind of pain (physical, mental, psychic).
1775. Are the questions still interesting this far into the survey?
>> Some of them are, like the previous one. And then there are whole sections that have just annoyed me, lol.
1776. Do you like the cartoon Inspector Gadget?
>> I’ve never seen it.
1777. You know how Gadget wears the same outfit all the time, and his closet is full of outfits that are exactly identical to the one he wears? If your closet was full of just one outfit that you had to wear everyday what would it be like?
>> Sweatpants (or shorts, in summer) and a band t-shirt. And a hoodie, in chilly weather.
1778. Would you rather time travel to the future or the past?
>> No.
1779. Would you rather know how the world began or how it will end?
>> I think we’ve learned a lot about how the world began, right? Or at the very least, we have sound theories about it. Now, how the universe began... that’s the kind of shit I’m into.
1780. Would you rather meet your ancient ancestors or your great great great great great great grandchildren?
>> ---
1781. Out of these 4 which is most important (1=most, 2= second most, 3 = 3rd most, 4 = least)?
Curing diseases such as aids, cancer:
Preserving wildlife areas:
Ending terrorism:
Building colonies in space:
1782. In your opinion should every child be entitled to a good education?
>> Sure. I mean, why not, right?
1783. What news item are you tired of hearing about?
>> The presidential election.
1784. Speaking of 9/11 the anniversary is coming up. What will you be doing?
>> Nothing. It doesn’t mean anything to me, I wasn’t there and neither was anyone I know.
1785. If this were a recipe for you, how would it go?
>> ---
1786. Which of the following would YOU be more likely to survive:
A fall from a 3 story building
Driving a car into the water
>> A fall from a 3-storey building. I can’t swim, so I’m definitely not surviving the second one.
1787. What philosophy was manifested in the communist manifesto?
>> Was it not Communism? Or is that not a philosophy, per se... hmm.
1788. Who is your exact opposite?
>> No one is my exact opposite. That just doesn’t make any sense.
1789. Would you rather have serenity or insanity?
>> ---
1790. What do these phrases mean?
Moulin Rouge:
Le voyage sur le bateau:
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir: something about would you like to sleep with me tonight, idk. I just remember it from that one song.
1791. What is the longest distance you have ever walked?
>> I have no idea. Miles and miles.
1792. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato believes that beauty truth and justice all basically mean the same thing. What are your feelings about this?
>> I don’t understand what Plato was trying to say here, I need the context.
1793. How did you first begin to assert yourself as independent from your parents?
>> I mean, that... happens in childhood, right? The development of the self as a separate entity from one’s caregivers?
1794. If you had a magic bracelet, would you use it to gain luck, money, health, creativity or love?
>> No.
1795. What would you do if every time you used your magic bracelet something bad would happen to someone else?
>> I wouldn’t have used the bracelet in the first place, because all shit like that has some kind of equivalent-exchange side effect. I know my magic devices, okay.
1796. This is a story about a girl. While at the funeral of her own mother, she met a guy whom she did not know. She thought this guy was amazing, so much her dream guy she believed him to be that she fell in love with him then and there, although she didn’t even see him after the funeral ended. A few days later, the girl killed her own sister.
What is her motive for killing her sister?
>> Oh, I’ve heard this one before. It’s some kind of crack “test” to see if you’re a psychopath. The supposed “psychopath answer” is that she was hoping that the guy would appear at her sister’s funeral.
1797. Have you ever intentionally hurt someone’s feelings?
>> Sure.
1798. What do you think of Franz Ferdinand?
>> As far as the band is concerned, I like that Take Me Out song, but I don’t know any of their others. Alas, I don’t know anything about the Archduke except that he was assassinated, so I can’t say I have an opinion on him.
1799. What do you think of the band Modest Mouse?
>> I liked Float On, but I don’t know any of their other songs.
1800. What do you think of Morrissey?
>> I like Morrissey. Well, his music, anyway.
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RIP Per Olov Enquist
Per Olov Enquist is dead at the age of 85, and since he was one of Sweden's few authors of international stature, with many of his books translated to English and German and many other languages, i guess i should talk about him in english some, especially since most of my online friends are not swedish.
He was IMO, the greatest living author writing in Swedish. Maybe the greatest ever, he is certainly more enjoyable than the traditional choice for that role, August Strindberg (whose misogynist views Enquist depicted critically in a play, the Night of the Tribades (and yes tribades as in lesbians))
He just wrote excellent books, in a beautiful stripped-down prose style. Many were based in history, like Livläkarens Besök, translated into english as The Visit of the Royal Physician, a late book that was his breakthrough outside of Sweden. It is about how Struensee, the doctor who treated the mentally ill king of Denmark Christian VII. in the late 1760s/early 1770s. Struensee used the king’s condition to basically rule Denmark and impose reforms in the spirit of the enlightenment.
Enquist’s book “Legionärerna” from 1968 is basically a history book, Enquist sticks rigidly to the facts, written in the style of a novel about how the Swedish government after WWII extradited soldiers from the Baltic states who fought for Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union, which was a massively controversial thing.
As a history book “Legionärerna” greatly impressed me both because of its attempt to present a nuanced view of the events, while also being aware of the impossibility of true objectivity. Enquist himself and his gathering of information about the extradition is part of the story, even the reasons for it, possibly to emphasize that it is written by a subjective human, not some impossible objective spirit. The book even outright tells the reader:
“Don't accept a story, think for yourself, be suspicious. There is no saintly objectivity, no ultimate truth, free from political bias. Examine, be suspicious. Question" (my translation)
His book Ett Annat Liv (another life, but it has been translated as “the Wandering Pine”) had a different factual basis: his own life and struggles with alcoholism. His life after becoming sober in 1990 was like another life for Enquist, and the reason for the swedish title.
He was often described as a pessimist, and i can see how his books can give that impression, there is a dark element to nearly everything i read from him.
Lots of failed reformers and revolutionaries, like Struensee (who spoilers /s was executed). One of his short story collections is actually called Berättelser från de Inställda upprorens tid (stories from the age of cancelled revolts). The story of the baltic soldiers can be read as the dark side of the Swedish social democratic project.
Or failure in general. In his book about himself, the story is about how his own success as a writer couldn’t keep him from becoming an alcoholic.
Another theme is how the darkness in the world leads people to comforting illusions, and a need for charlatans who provide them. His early book “Magnetisören’s femte vinter” (translated as the Magnetist’s fifth Winter) is about a german “magnetist” (an early form of hypnotism) based loosely on Franz Mesmer who becomes famed as someone who can cure diseases, including blindness. A story about the need for comforting illusions and the often unscrupulous people who provide them.
There is in general an interest in people who try to change the world on a large scale and who influence great numbers of people. Like Struensee. He also wrote a book about Lewi Pethrus called Lewis resa (translated as Lewi’s Journey) who was a major leader of the Swedish pentecostalist movement, maybe not a charlatan, but certainly a complicated figure.
But there is always hope in his books, something noble in even a failed attempt to better the world that can inspire those who come later. For Enquist, the legacy of people like Struensee would always live on.
And in the end, his memoirs is about how he managed to create another life from his failures. I have personally given away a copy of his memoirs to a family member with alcohol problems in the hope of helping them.
One of his books that illustrates this most starkly is Musikanternas uttåg (translated as the march of the musicians). It is probably my favourite of his books. It is a dark story about how the growth of the socialist movement in northern Sweden was hindered by widespread religiousness. The socialist agitator Elmblad in the novel is another failed reformer. The book also involves rape, a child being mutilated and suicide.
But the motto of the book is a hopeful one: Det gives alltid något bättre än döden. There is always something better than death, a quote from the fairy tale of the Town musicians of Bremen.
I carried that message with me. That book gave me a lot of needed catharsis in a dark time in my life.
And Enquist did not live a life of pessimistic quietism. He had an admirable and strong conviction that a writer could be, no, had the responsibility to be a moral-political force. His books are far from polemical, but he always saw a need to take a strong stand in the Swedish cultural and poltical debates.
He has admitted to his mistakes in doing that, but it was that conviction that was part of what made him a great author. In doing this he felt like a part of a literary tradition that includes people like Victor Hugo and Thomas Mann.
It’s hard to think of another author in Sweden who could still inspire such respect in so many, maybe there are none left in Europe.
An inspiring author in many ways, and his passing feels like the death of a literary titan, maybe the last of the titans.
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Just a Crush
Edward Cullen x Plus size!reader
Word Count: 1760 words
Warnings: none
Summary: Werewolf reader x Edward. Reader has feelings for Edward that she knows the pack wont accept so she goes to the Cullen’s to see if they could help her but he already knows.
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You knew that you weren't supposed to be even a little bit cordial to the bloodsucker on the other side of the river. That had never been a question, it was practically in your blood to heat them, and taught from when you were children. That being said, you couldn't stop thinking about one vampire in particular.
His name was Edward, and he was one of the adopted sons of Dr. Cullen's clan of misfits. He was brooding and quiet, with the ghost of a heavy temper and a heart to match. That being said, you couldn't keep him off your mind. It didn't matter to you that you weren't supposed to look at them, or speak to them, or even consider their kind at all.
There was just something about him that you couldn't comprehend. He was captivating, and made your heart skip a beat...you hated it.
Your interactions were scarce, and happened rarely but when they did, you could hardly calm your heartbeat, and the thoughts racing through your head. Something in his thoughtful stare forced a smile to your face every time he looked at you.
You'd been able to stifle the little crush for the most part, until the day came that Sam decided your pack was going to help the Cullen's fight an army of newborn vampires. In the day leading up to it, you were going to be interacting very closely with all of them as you trained for the upcoming battle.
That being said, you were fully prepared to have a heart attack.
Keeping your thoughts away from the man and controlling your heartbeat was easy for a few minutes in passing around the pack but for a whole day, you would slip up for sure. A slip up of any kind, even a minor one, would mean the end of everything as far as you were concerned.
If Sam found out that you had feelings for a vampire, that would be the end of it for you. He probably wouldn't even let you leave the house-your life as you knew it, would cease to exist.
But there had to be some way to keep that from happening...there had to be something you could do to get those feelings to subside. Maybe you weren't connected to them enough, or you hadn't spent enough time with the clan to understand that the feelings you had for Edward were just a silly crush that you had no control over.
If you could convince yourself that that was the truth, then maybe you could convince the rest of the pack as well.
You knew what you had to do, but it wasn't going to be easy.
You didn't stop until you reached the boarder. As if on instinct, you couldn't make yourself cross the river, even though you easily could have. Every fiber in your being was screaming for you to go home, but you just couldn't do it.
It didn't matter how dangerous the trek may have been a few day, weeks, or years prior to today because you were safe now. The two groups had agreed to suspend the treaty until the battle ended just to keep you all safe in the first place, so you wouldn't be killed if you crossed.
Still, you had to consciously cross the river, fighting your every desire to sprint back to your home as quickly as possible. The pack bond was forcing you away, you knew that but you didn't have a choice...you had to go talk to the Cullen's before the big battle.
The biggest problem was, you had no idea what you were going to say once you got there.
~
It didn't take very long for you to find the Cullen's house in the woods, it stunk and made your skin crawl, but there was something about it that felt right too. You couldn't explain it, it was as if your feet were following where your heart knew you should go.
You weren't even in control of your body by the time you knocked on the front door, all of the choices you'd made crashing down around you the moment the door opening, a small, brown haired woman standing in its wake.
Her name was Esme, she was Carlisle Cullen's wife, and the mother of his children for all intensive purposes. You didn't know what to say, but luckily, she'd opened the door instead of one of the others, who were liable to just slam it in your face.
"Hello Y/N, is everything okay?" She asked, shocking you first with the fact that she knew your name. You hadn't been expecting her to even recognize you, so instantly you felt more at home because she could at least recall your face, and knew your name.
That didn't, however, make the words on your tongue any easier to say.
"I was hoping to talk to Carlisle about something? Do you think that would be possible?" you wondered, honestly waiting for her to say no. For all you knew, everyone was out hunting in the woods or doing something else uniquely vampire.
It was just now occurring to you, in the back of your mind, that you knew nothing about vampires. In all the years that you'd been taught to hate them, you'd learned nothing regarding what they were actually like. Maybe this realization had something to do with what you were sitting in the kitchen with Esme, waiting for Carlisle Cullen with a cup of tea in your hand.
If Jacob could see you now, he would lose his mind, that was the only thing you were confident of.
Esme may have been welcoming, offering you the tea and having polite conversation like you weren't on enemy turf but even she was wondering why you'd come. The battle wasn't for a few days, so it didn't make sense for you to be there this early.
More than curious, she was worried. Sure, you weren't her responsibility per say but you were a person, and the mother in her couldn't let you struggle on your own. She just had to know what was swimming around in that head of yours...and Carlisle had felt it too upon his arrival. The angst was radiating off you in waves.
"So tell me Y/N, what's on your mind?" the man asked, sitting down across from you, that caring but stern look ever present on his handsome face. He had this presence about him that you just, trusted, no matter how much you'd been taught to think you couldn't.
You weren't sure how to answer at first. Could you just come out and tell him why you'd really come? That would be crazy, though it wasn't like you really had much of a choice. There was a good chance that Edward already knew, so getting some help in dealing with it couldn't hurt.
"I think I have feelings for Edward, trust me, I'm about as happy about it as you are...the point is, I don't know how to keep it from the pack, and I was hoping you could help me" you rambled, instantly regretting thinking you could come here.
It had been a crazy plan to begin with, but now you felt like a real idiot. Both Esme and Carlisle were staring at you, trying to process what you had told them, but if they were being honest, they'd noticed before now. The reason they were shocked wasn't because they didn't know, it was because they didn't expect you to admit it so flippantly.
"Alright...and you want us to help you hide those feelings from the pack?" he clarified, already knowing the answer. It was the only way that you could actually go back home. If the pack found out, you'd be a wolf without a pack, and no land to live on.
All you could do was nod, panicking at the idea that they may not be able to help you, luckily though, before you could get too far in your worrying, Edward himself stepped through the door.
And of course he did, because nothing could make this moment any worse.
Without your control, your pulse began to race, your mind swimming with a million thoughts, and your face erupting in a blush. He already knew...you could tell, and of course he did, he had all those stupid vampire powers that you had no hope of understanding.
Great. That was just what you needed, your every feeling for Edward to be out in the open.
"Hello Y/N" he greeted, smiling at you as he made his way past, only stopping once he'd reached the hallway, extending a hand out to you. There was nothing you could say or do that would change what he already undoubtedly knew, so you just followed him. "I'll take over from here" he whispered, leading you up the winding stairs until you reached his room.
The space was neat, and clean, save for the Cd's that littered one of his shelves. The farthest wall from you was all windows, and brought a lot of natural light into the room, it was beautiful and so uniquely him in the best way.
"I shouldn't have come here, I'm sorry" you tried, turning back to see Edward just waiting for you in the doorway. He still had that smile on his face as he watched you take in the sights. It was true that he hadn't been expecting your thoughts to flood his mind the moment you two were together but the feelings you had for him were strong, and sparked something in him that he'd never felt before.
Edward laughed, in this moment, looking at you with eyes sparkling. "Don't apologize, I'm glad you came here" he assured, taking a step closer to you with his hand out to you again. You took in slowly, enjoying the feeling of the cool flesh against your own. It felt good, in stark contrast against your heated skin.
The things you were feeling were unnatural, and against everything that the world intended for your species and his but it didn't matter. You couldn't, and wouldn't fight against what you were feeling, or else you would both go mad.
The second your hand touched his, you knew that there was no going back. It didn't matter how the pack reacted to you being with him, or acting out. With Edward was where you belonged, you knew that now and any challenge was worth weathering now that you knew that.
#edward cullen#edward cullen x plus size imagine#edward cullen x ps reader#twilight#twilight x reader#twilight x ps reader#twilight x plus size reader
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NESARC dataset
I chose NESARC dataset to explore. The main reasons were:
��� the size of the dataset (over 40K rows, which makes it more interesting to operate programmatically);
– high detalization of parameters, which provides great opportunities for asking questions.
I am going to focus on specific phobias (SP), particularly on animal phobia (AP). This kind of phobia appears to be rather widely spread and, according to some studies (see below) has rather specific distinctions from other kinds of SP, such as fear of heights, water, dentists, etc. So, it might be a good reason to single out just one phobia in order to narrow down my analysis. The variable is S8Q1A1 (EVER HAD FEAR/AVOIDANCE OF INSECTS, SNAKES, BIRDS, OTHER ANIMALS).
My original question is if there is any particular association between this AP and the origin of a person (I would cautiously suggest that different origins probably mean different cultural backgrounds). The variable is S1Q1E (ORIGIN OR DESCENT).
Next I would like to have a look at whether there is any association between having AP and the self-perception of health. The variable is S1Q16 (SELF-PERCEIVED CURRENT HEALTH).
So here are the basic questions:
– Is there any association between animal phobia and the origin?
– Is there any association between animal phobia and self-perceived current health description?
There is one more additional question (just in case I have more time for that). After taking a look at the national dimension of AP, it might be interesting to also consider possible cultural/perception changes over time and check out the percentage of people with AP across different age groups.
Based on the literature review (below), my hypothesis is:
– AP shows some association with national / cultural background or context and may be associated with the perception of health condition.
Literature review:-
AP in the course of other SPs or vs. other SPs, anxiety and various disorders/mental conditions.
[1] Vladeta Ajdacic-Gross, Stephanie Rodgers, Mario Müller, Michael P. Hengartner, Aleksandra Aleksandrowicz, Wolfram Kawohl, Karsten Heekeren, Wulf Rössler, Jules Angst, Enrique Castelao, Caroline Vandeleur, Martin Preisig
Pure animal phobia is more specific than other specific phobias: epidemiological evidence from the Zurich Study, the ZInEP and the PsyCoLaus
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, September 2016, Volume 266, Issue 6, pp 567–577
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00406-016-0687-4
This study states that pure animal phobia is principally different from other kinds of SP:
“Pure animal phobia and mixed animal/other specific phobias consistently displayed a low age at onset of first symptoms (8–12 years) and clear preponderance of females (OR > 3). Meanwhile, other specific phobias started up to 10 years later and displayed almost a balanced sex ratio. Pure animal phobia showed no associations with any included risk factors and comorbid disorders, in contrast to numerous associations found in the mixed subtype and in other specific phobias. Across the whole range of epidemiological parameters examined in three different samples, pure animal phobia seems to represent a different entity compared to other specific phobias. The etiopathogenetic mechanisms and risk factors associated with pure animal phobias appear less clear than ever”.
Based on this, I should probably also take into account the distinction between ‘pure’ (not combined with other SPs) and ‘mixed’ (goes in combination with other SPs) animal phobia.
So I may need to see the proportion of those who have had only AP symptoms (variable S8Q1A1, EVER HAD FEAR/AVOIDANCE OF INSECTS, SNAKES, BIRDS, OTHER ANIMALS) and those combining AP with other SP episodes.
[2] Kevin Hilbert, Ricard Evens, Nina Isabel Maslowski, Hans-Ulrich Wittchen, Ulrike Lueken
Neurostructural correlates of two subtypes of specific phobia: A voxel-based morphometry study
Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 231, Issue 2, 28 February 2015, Pages 168-175
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925492714003308
Abstract: “The animal and blood-injection-injury (BII) subtypes of specific phobia are both characterized by subjective fear but distinct autonomic reactions to threat. Previous functional neuroimaging studies have related these characteristic responses to shared and non-shared neural underpinnings. However, no comparative structural data are available. This study aims to fill this gap by comparing the two subtypes and also comparing them with a non-phobic control group“.
This study shows more complicated dependencies in the comparative analysis of SPs. To be taken into consideration while comparing. Particularly variable S8Q1A8 (EVER HAD FEAR/AVOIDANCE OF SEEING BLOOD/GETTING AN INJECTION) may be of interest.
[3] K. J. Wardenaar, C. C. W. Lim, A. O. Al-Hamzawi, J. Alonso et al.
The cross-national epidemiology of specific phobia in the World Mental Health Surveys
Psychological Medicine, Volume 47, Issue 10 July 2017 , pp. 1744-1760
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/crossnational-epidemiology-of-specific-phobia-in-the-world-mental-health-surveys/A0EDD4B22E19CDB63269D7A34F2C21AA
Results: “The cross-national lifetime and 12-month prevalence rates of specific phobia were, respectively, 7.4% and 5.5%, being higher in females (9.8 and 7.7%) than in males (4.9% and 3.3%) and higher in high- and higher-middle-income countries than in low-/lower-middle-income countries. The median age of onset was young (8 years). Of the 12-month patients, 18.7% reported severe role impairment (13.3–21.9% across income groups) and 23.1% reported any treatment (9.6–30.1% across income groups). Lifetime co-morbidity was observed in 60.5% of those with lifetime specific phobia, with the onset of specific phobia preceding the other disorder in most cases (72.6%). Interestingly, rates of impairment, treatment use and co-morbidity increased with the number of fear subtypes“.
This study indicates some association with age and sex. It also states associations with other disorders. This means that variables, such as sex and probably age as well should be taken into consideration. Luckily, the dataset provides SEX and AGE parameters.
AP in the context of culture / nationality
[4] Cultural Clinical Psychology Study Group, W.A. Arrindell, Martin Eisemann et al.
Phobic anxiety in 11 nations: Part I: Dimensional constancy of the five-factor model
Behaviour Research and Therapy, Volume 41, Issue 4, April 2003, Pages 461-479
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0005796702000475
(and Part 2 here https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886903004057)
Abstract: “The Fear Survey Schedule-III (FSS-III) was administered to a total of 5491 students in Australia, East Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and Venezuela, and submitted to the multiple group method of confirmatory analysis (MGM) in order to determine the cross-national dimensional constancy of the five-factor model of self-assessed fears originally established in Dutch, British, and Canadian samples. The model comprises fears of bodily injury–illness–death, agoraphobic fears, social fears, fears of sexual and aggressive scenes, and harmless animals fears. Close correspondence between the factors was demonstrated across national samples. In each country, the corresponding scales were internally consistent, were intercorrelated at magnitudes comparable to those yielded in the original samples, and yielded (in 93% of the total number of 55 comparisons) sex differences in line with the usual finding (higher scores for females). In each country, the relatively largest sex differences were obtained on harmless animals fears. The organization of self-assessed fears is sufficiently similar across nations to warrant the use of the same weight matrix (scoring key) for the FSS-III in the different countries and to make cross-national comparisons feasible. This opens the way to further studies that attempt to predict (on an a priori basis) cross-national variations in fear levels with dimensions of national cultures.”
And quoting the abstract for the other part: “Hofstede’s dimensions of national cultures termed Masculinity–Femininity (MAS) and Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) (Hofstede, 2001) are proposed to be of relevance for understanding national-level differences in self-assessed fears. The potential predictive role of national MAS was based on the classical work of Fodor (Fodor, 1974). Following Fodor, it was predicted that masculine (or tough) societies in which clearer differentiations are made between gender roles (high MAS) would report higher national levels of fears than feminine (or soft/modest) societies in which such differentiations are made to a clearly lesser extent (low MAS). In addition, it was anticipated that nervous-stressful-emotionally-expressive nations (high UAI) would report higher national levels of fears than calm-happy and low-emotional countries (low UAI), and that countries high on both MAS and UAI would report the highest national levels of fears“.
So, to summarize:
National / cultural differences show up when it comes to animal fears (particularly harmless)
Such fears are more common for ‘masculine’ cultures with more rigid gender roles; and also more typical for ‘nervous/emotionaly expressive’ countries.
So there is some cultural association with such animal fears.
And here is where I am going to rely on S1Q1E (ORIGIN OR DESCENT) parameter.
[5] Eva Landová1, Natavan Bakhshaliyeva et al.
Association Between Fear and Beauty Evaluation of Snakes: Cross-Cultural Findings
Front. Psychol., 16 March 2018
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00333/full
The study states that the fear of snakes has evolutionary reasons and is particularly connected to geogrphical and natural conditions in which a country’s culture was formed. Well, just another case to show that researchers do establish some cultural association with fears (and ultimately phobias).
SPs (including AP) and physical conditions
[6] Cornelia Witthauer, Vladeta Ajdacic-Gross, et al.
Associations of specific phobia and its subtypes with physical diseases: an adult community study
BMC Psychiatry, 2016
https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-016-0863-0
Results: “Specific phobia was associated with cardiac diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, respiratory diseases, arthritic conditions, migraine, and thyroid diseases (odds ratios between 1.49 and 2.53). Among the subtypes, different patterns of associations with physical diseases were established“.
[7] Ella L.Oar, Lara J.Farrell et al.
Blood-Injection-Injury Phobia and Dog Phobia in Youth: Psychological Characteristics and Associated Features in a Clinical Sample
Behavior Therapy, Volume 47, Issue 3, May 2016, Pages 312-324
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0005789416000058
Abstract: “Blood-Injection-Injury (BII) phobia is a particularly debilitating condition that has been largely ignored in the child literature. The present study examined the clinical phenomenology of BII phobia in 27 youths, relative to 25 youths with dog phobia—one of the most common and well-studied phobia subtypes in youth. Children were compared on measures of phobia severity, functional impairment, comorbidity, threat appraisals (danger expectancies and coping), focus of fear, and physiological responding, as well as vulnerability factors including disgust sensitivity and family history. Children and adolescents with BII phobia had greater diagnostic severity. In addition, they were more likely to have a comorbid diagnosis of a physical health condition, to report more exaggerated danger expectancies, and to report fears that focused more on physical symptoms (e.g., faintness and nausea) in comparison to youth with dog phobia. The present study advances knowledge relating to this poorly understood condition in youth“.
Here I can note that Blood-Injection-Injury phobia is often mentioned (and explored) in combination with animal phobia (like here and in [2] for instance, but I have come across other cases as well).
To summarize:
SP (AP among them) may be an indication to some physical conditions.
Which makes me think there might be some reflection in self-perception.
Unfortunately, I failed to find any studies of association between SP and hypochondria, which would be more appropriate for my intention to check exactly subjective perception of health.
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Moon and The Sun
By Amina Asceric 6.7. 2019
Warning everting in this story i have wirte is bad describe please be aware that i'm not a doktor and i have no expirients in that matter
1760 was the largest battle of the world between Russia and Norway. In the same year Princess Moon Flower was born. The moonflower is a godsend. She is the most beautiful child in the world. Her black hair is like wood, her brown eyes are like fresh off-earth and her skin white like snow and red lips like roses. Her parents was the richest familiy in china. The princess had everthing she was beautiful and had a good and pure personality and a heart like gold or like a gem. But sadly she was brain dead her brain was sick and cursed.She couldn talk normal without to mumbl and she couldn read because she was to dumb. And she couldn walk. The only thing she could do was see.But not just normal colors she could see the same colors that butterflys could see. The Moonflower lifed 5 years than she died from brain tumor. The doctor know that the princess wouldn survive but the parents din'd believe the true and so tey lied to themself. A year after the princess died her parents wanted to try again with a baby. And in the same year was her littel brother born.The name of her brother was Sunflower. Sunflower was just like his sister beautiful, kind, good hearted but the only diffrence they had was that he wasn't sick or cursed. He was a healthy littel boy with a bright smile like the sun.18 years had pasted and the littel prince is now a man or will be a man.Because today was his birthday.Sunflower is 18 years old
To be continued
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50 Awesome Women To Know: Part 8
As we complete the latest set of 50, we ask: Are they somehow getting more awesome? Possibly. But then, they all are.
Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718-1799): Italian, philosopher, philanthropist for the poor, mathematician, mystic, theologian. Spoke seven languages, wrote the first textbook on differential and integral calculus, and was appointed professor of mathematics at the University of Bologna.
María Parado de Bellido (1777-1822): Indigenous Peruvian, spy and revolutionary during Peru’s fight for independence from Spain, heroine of the movement and of folk legend alike.
Marta Brilej (1917-2016): Slovenian, member of the partisan resistance against the Nazis during WWII with her husband as they made many attempts to catch her, courier and war hero, ambassador and diplomat (again with her husband) in London, Mexico City, Egypt, Yemen, and other places; died at age 99.
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955): African-American, the daughter of slaves, an educator, humanitarian, and civil rights activist, appointed as a national adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt; founded Bethune-Cookman University, a historically black college, along with other efforts to improve education and the lives of recently freed slaves.
Mary Ritter Beard (1876-1958): American, historian of women’s rights and the labor movement, social justice advocate and activist, author of several seminal historical works (along with her husband) and dedicated suffragist.
Maryana Marrash (1848-1919): Syrian, author and poet, figure of the Arabian Renaissance, journalist and first woman to write in Arabic-language newspapers, patron of literary salons and intellectuals.
Mihrimah Sultan (1522-1578): Ottoman Turkish, daughter of Suleiman the Magnificent, the most powerful Ottoman princess in history and recognized as a huge political and economic mastermind in the empire, key figure in the “Sultanate of Women,” sponsor of major architectural projects and a patroness of the arts and sciences.
Mina Spiegel Rees (1902-1997): American, mathematician, pioneer of computer science, head of the math department at the U.S. Naval Research Office, first female president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, instrumental to the entire post-war direction of math and computer science in America.
Moremi Ajasoro (12th century): Yoruba, princess and tribal heroine, who was said to have married a rival prince and then returned to her people with information on how to defeat him, described as brave and beautiful.
N.K. Jemisin (1972 -- ): African-American, novelist, psychologist, and activist, three-time winner of the Hugo Award (the only author to have done so in three straight years) for her insightful, original, and compelling sci-fi and fantasy.
Nodira (1792-1842): Uzbek, poet, stateswoman, outspoken cultural critic, advocate for women’s rights in Central Asia under conservative 19th-century Islamic regimes, public figure, political advisor to her son who ruled as khan of Kokand, hanged after she refused to marry a rival.
Pearl Connor-Mogotsi (1924-2005): Trinidadian, actress, activist, promoter of Afro-Caribbean artistic cultures, institutions, and traditions; worked to represent black artists and authors as a literary agent in the UK in the 1950s; studied law at King’s College London.
Pearl Witherington (1914-2008): British/French, special operations agent during World War II, member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, described as “the best shot the [entire Special Operations Executive] had ever seen,” leader of a ring of spies and so effective that the Nazis put a bounty of one million Reichsmarks on her head; presided over the surrender of 18,000 German troops, LITERALLY JUST. GO READ ABOUT HER.
Peretta Peronne (15th century): French, Parisian surgeon who was prosecuted by the medical faculty of the University of Paris in 1411 for being unlicensed (read: female, as part of a wider effort to restrict and professionalize medicine as an elite male university career).
Raufa Hassan al-Sharki (1958-2011): Yemeni, feminist, activist, first female journalist in Yemen, fierce advocate for women’s education and opponent of conservative Islamist groups; historian of culture, clothing, and society.
Regina Salomée Halpir (1718-c.1763): Lithuanian, doctor, travel writer, adventurer, who was self-taught as a physician while living in Constantinople with her husband, befriended Empress Anna and Empress Elizabeth of Russia; doctor to the women of the sultan’s harem, eventually wrote her own (if somewhat tall-tale-prone) autobiography.
Rosa María Hinojosa de Ballí (1752-1803): Tejana; rancher and “cattle queen” of Mexican Texas, was left 55,000 acres by her husband in 1790 and owned more than one million acres by the time she died thirteen years later.
Rufaida Al-Aslamia (7th century): Arabian; recognized as the first professional nurse in the history of medicine and the first Islamic female surgeon (c. 620), trained and taught other women medical skills and also was a social worker for the poor, children, and the needy; knew the Prophet Muhammad personally.
Ruža Petrović (1911-1958): Croatian, anti-fascist activist who refused to give up her companions under torture; after having her eyes put out with a dagger in a hideously violent crime, she kept on fighting fascists, and provided strength and moral support to her comrades, was elected to the Antifascist Front and founded an organization for the blind.
Sara Forbes Bonetta (1843-1880): Egbado (West African) princess, kidnapped and sold into slavery, ended up arriving in England and became the goddaughter of Queen Victoria; married a wealthy Yoruba businessman and moved back to Africa; her descendants are still notable in Nigeria.
Sayyida al-Hurra (1485-1561): Moroccan, stone-cold badass governmental administrator and pirate queen, counterpart of the corsair captain Barbarossa of Algiers (who controlled the eastern Mediterranean while she controlled the west); married a king later on but made him come to her to do it; described as “living a life of adventure and romance” (WHERE IS HER MOVIE DAMMIT).
Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850-1891): Russian, mathematician, first woman to earn a doctorate in mathematics, described as “the greatest known woman scientist before the twentieth century,” first woman to edit a scientific journal, professor at Stockholm University in Sweden, feminist and author.
Therese of Bavaria (1850-1925): Bavarian, princess, daughter of Prince Liutpold of Bavaria; ethnologist, zoologist, travel writer, explorer of the Amazon, contributor and student of the (now-absolutely-tragically-destroyed) National Museum of Brazil, member of scientific and geographical learned societies.
Ulrika Eleonora Stålhammar (1683-1733): Swedish, dressed up as a man and served in the army for many years and reached the rank of corporal, married a woman named Maria and won the eventual court case trying them for homosexuality; they served brief sentences and lived happily ever after.
Zofia Potocka (1760-1822): Greek, known for her great beauty and adventurous life, born into a poor Greek family, but became the lover of high-profile nobles/royals, served as a Russian spy; friends with Marie Antoinette; later became a Polish noble, gave generously to the poor in her later years.
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Day 8, 2018 - Belle
Belle – 2013 – Asante, Amma
(Costume Thursday)
“How lovely she is. So much of her mother. Do not be afraid. I am here to take you to a good life. A life that you were born to.” – Sir John Lindsay
Where do you belong? This is a central question in Belle, Amma Asante’s beautiful film based on the real life story of Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay.
We are in 1760s England, and the slave trade is making wealthy men in Britain wealthier. Within that society of the wealthy, there are also many codes of propriety that dictate appropriate behavior and treatment of a person based on their station – and here is where the exceptional story of Dido (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) takes place.
Dido was the daughter of a wealthy English father, Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode), who was a decorated naval officer and an African mother, Maria, who was most likely a freed slave[i]. Dido is illegitimate, but John loves her and brings her as a child to his uncle’s estate for him to raise her with all comforts that a Lindsay should have.
This uncle, Lord Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson), agrees to take in Dido and raise her as a daughter alongside another niece in his care, Elizabeth Murray (Sarah Gadon). The two girls get along very well and consider each other sisters.
But Dido is subject to rules that Elizabeth is not; She cannot eat meals with the family when company is over – but her station is too high to eat with servants. Her uncle and aunts (Emily Watson, Penelope Wilson) assume that because of Dido’s blackness she won’t be able to find a husband befitting her standing as a Lindsay.
Dido is also affected by Lord Mansfield���s job. He’s the highest ranking judge in Britain, and has to rule on many court cases that pertain to the slave trade and the treatment of enslaved African people.
Many profiteers worry that Lord Mansfield’s biracial niece will mean that he’s too soft on slavery and won’t rule in favor of commerce, while Abolitionists targeted the judge to tear down slavery through the law, using Dido as evidence that slavery was immoral.[ii]
Mbatha-Raw’s portrayal of Dido is impeccable. She imbues Dido with pathos and an interior life that’s palpable. She’s navigating this world that she’s both in and outside of, as a Black person and as a woman. She is confined and entitled.
The interplay of propriety and family expectation come into play as both Dido and Elizabeth go “out” into society to find husbands. While Elizabeth is white and legitimate, she’s undesirable because of her lack of an inheritance, whereas Dido will be looked after financially. Dido has a good family name behind her, but what English society man would be willing to marry a black woman? Well, some do.
Dido is caught between her love of a parson’s son, John Davinier (Sam Reid) who is below her station, and the marriage offer of Oliver Ashford (James Norton), who seems to genuinely like her but who also comes from a family of pricks.
Also of note, is an interesting theme in the movie of the portrayal of Africans in European art at the time and the portrait being painted of Dido and Elizabeth.[iii]
Belle was a lovely film expertly directed by Assante[iv]. In the end, Dido does make a place where she belongs – and we see the struggle and moral cost of finding that place.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Trailer: https://youtu.be/9Qx90wdRD2I
Review: http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/reviews-recommendations/film-week-belle
See also: Mansfield Park, A United Kingdom
NOTES:
[i] I have not been able to find anything definitive about Maria’s status as a free-woman. Nor have I been able to find something about the nature of the relationship between Maria and John. It does seem clear that he did not “own” her, but the power dynamics may have been such that she did not have a lot of options other than to be with him (i.e.: she was being assaulted by him). The movie does not tackle that issue either, but we are lead to believe that John cared for Maria. I believe Assante wanted to tell a story about Dido with this movie and not her mother.
[ii] In real life, the judge often ruled against slave-traders, but used strict interpretations of the law to do so.
[iii] This portrait, while looking different from the one in the movie, is real.
[iv] No one else could have directed this movie. I truly appreciate how the film interrogated the “beauty” of period films with the actual cost of human lives that went into creating that beauty. It’s rot underneath.
#film penance#film penance 2018#filmpenance#belle#amma asante#gugu mbatha-raw#sarah gadon#emily watson#tom wilkinson#costume drama#film#2013#film review#costume thursday#lent#catholic#movie#movie review#cinema#dido elizabeth belle#abolition#abolitionists
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"Representations of Antinous rank among the greatest masterpieces of late classical art. Winckelmann called the noble and superbly finished Mondragone head, disinterred at Frascati in 1760, “one of the finest things in the world” and the relief from the Villa Albani “the crown and glory of sculpture in this age.”95 The most majestic statue is the powerful Antinous-Dionysos of the Vatican Sala Rotunda; the finest is the ephebe of Delphi, the so-called Antinous-Apollo, discovered in 1893. In all of them there appears a strikingly new conception of beauty, inspired by a single living person but multifaceted. The unique face and the stalwart figure are unmistakable in the more than two hundred portraits that have come down to us, but the expressions vary. The bas relief of Antinous as the agricultural god Sylvanus, dug up by vine-workers in the Campagna at the beginning of the last century, is bucolically placid; in contrast, the statue from Eleusis, though stiff and technically awkward, looks with painful sympathy on the sufferings of humanity. Into these likenesses of a boy loved and deified by an emperor, different artists have poured a multitude of aspirations. Their homage to divine beauty and grace embodies a synthesis of Greek religious and aesthetic ideals, Roman power, and oriental mysticism."
Louis Crompton, 'Homosexuality and Civilization'
#homosexuality and civilization#louis crompton#hadrian#emperor hadrian#antinous#ancient rome#ancient history#history#history of homosexuality#gay history#books and libraries
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