Yellow Journalism - part 06
May. 28th, 2020 03:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sailorkittyThis one is for the ladies. Both Anglophone, although one of them probably also spoke French as expected of lady.
(Also the last Yellow Journalism to be unsourced - If I write more, and I probably will, they'll be backed up by sources.)
(I'm always happy to quote my sources on previous writings and admit mistakes made via personal bias, providing that the inquiry is done in good faith.)
Today, we're going to talk about a lady of the classic Jane Austen type. Well, technically a little earlier than the Regency, but it's been argued that Austen's work was drawing heavily on the 18th century anyway.
Dido Elizabeth Belle was born in 1761, the daughter of an enslaved courtesan attached to a British officer in exchange for her freedom. Such relationships were not uncommon, they were known to be very temporary and sometimes resulted in children, who would often become courtesans in turn. Belle’s father, Sir John Lindsay, presumably didn’t think that this was a very good course for a young lady with aristocratic blood. He sent Dido to his huge family home in England to be raised by her great-uncle, William Murray, Earl of Mansfield and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Murray. They were not wholly unopposed to the idea of raising an extra servant. After all, they had a little great-niece of their own who would need a maid one day. And until then, she would need a playmate.
Except when you’re raising a little girl and another little girl and they both look kind of like people you hold dear, things sometimes don’t work out as planned. Instead of being gradually pushed into a servant’s role, Dido was given lessons alongside her cousin. When she was ill, much expense was piled on doctors and medication. Being a lady, she was furnished with an expensive princess bedroom and a matching enormous wardrobe.
In 1772, when Dido was eleven, her great-uncle was called upon to judge the case of a runaway slave. He had to very careful in his words and argument, but the gist was: slavery was un-British, etc, etc, why are we even arguing about this, it’s wrong. Everyone go home, case closed. He argued that there was no precedent in common law for slavery, nor had it ever been authorised under positive law. The victim was free to go.
This did not surprise anyone. He was that guy who would not shut up about how wonderful his nieces were, and word was out that his favourite was black.
Dido was not in equal social standing as her cousin, being illegitimate, and also enslaved on paper. Her family seemed to gradually forget about the whole ’servant’ thing, because Belle went on to do what gentlewomen at the time did. She managed the estate’s poultry farm and enjoyed a modest allowance of the kind that ladies in her position (Illegitimate birth) would have. She had ballgowns made up to suit her complexion, and was known to charm people with her manners and intelligence. Eventually, she was put in the position of being her cousin’s lady-in-waiting, an occupation that would never be bestowed on someone without proper education and heritage. She also served as secretary to her great-uncle, a role that would have commonly been served by a man. Mainly because she was bright, and as stated earlier, clearly the favourite. An eyewitness recounts that ”[Her great-uncle] knows he has been reproached for shewing a fondness for her – I dare say not criminal”. In 1783, William Murray re-wrote his will to grant her freedom upon his death, presumably in case slavery hadn’t been abolished by then.
Her family, while fond of her, grew painfully aware of the fact that their beloved grand-niece wasn’t considered ’people’ by most of society, even though she clearly, obviously was. Dido had to dine alone while guests were visiting, although she was straight out to join the ladies for coffee afterwards, sometimes walking arm-in-arm with her cousin.
In 1779, a portrait was painted of both girls at their finest, because when you have two pretty great-nieces and the opportunity to have both of them on your wall, you damn well take that opportunity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
In 1788, Dido’s father died and named her in his will as his child. She was no longer illegitimate, and could be presented as a lady on the marriage market. Having had to put up with the usual idiocy surrounding ethnicity in the 18th century, Dido opted out of the whole ’aristocracy’ bullshit and married a steward named Davinier. They had three sons, one of whom went off to serve as an officer in the British Colonial Army.
Unlike most figures presented here, someone actually did make a very sweet frock flick about Dido’s legacy as an 18th century lady. It is named ’Belle’ and was released in 2013
If I were permitted to draw the veil of private life, I would briefly give you the singular, and to me interesting, story of two maiden ladies who dwell in this valley. I would tell you how, in their youthful days, they took each other as companions for life, and how this union, no less sacred to them than the tie of marriage, has subsisted, in uninterrupted harmony, for more than forty years.
(William Cullen Bryant, nephew of the below)
Charity was born in the mid-18th century, as Austen’s heroines were argued to have done. Her mother died in childbirth, leaving only the name ’Charity’ on her lips, as the mother of a heroine of the age was want to do. Unlike most heroines of that day, Austen was born in Massachusetts as the youngest in a line of doctors, explorers, and military men. All families require a romantic, and so the role fell to Charity. In her childhood, she was doted on by her older siblings, but one by one, they left the house for work or marriage. Finally, Charity was left alone with her stepmother at the age of fifteen.
Charity, being a young lady of American birth, was expected to help out with the household. Being a dreamer, she would rather read novels in her wealthy father’s library, or compose poetry. Besides, her family was wealthy enough; Surely they could hire a maid to help them (And it wasn’t like Charity was any good at housework anyway - She could sew very well, but that was about it). Unfortunately, an evil stepmother is a literary staple of this time and place. Her stepmother highly disproved of her unladylike behaviour. Thankfully, she had her father at times, but seldom always.
The warm affections of Mercy came to her rescue. Mercy ford was a like-minded young lady who is unfortunately not the second lead of this tale, but very much the one whose love and adoration would carry Charity through the difficult times leading up to her twentieth birthday. At which point her father grew irate with her aversion to marriage, and bade her leave.
Like most romantic heroines of the era, Charity needed to support herself. Unlike most romantic heroines, marriage did not seem to be on the cards. Charity was not going to sacrifice herself on the altar of Adam. She had the means and determination not to do so, and so set out to become a school-teacher. Her lack of formal education did not matter; She had read enough of her father’s library to make up for that. And so, she went on to teach and have dalliances with many young teachers in her own situation, often causing unintentional scandal in the towns she passed through, leaving broken hearts and poetry dedicated to the subject of physical affections.
We understand here that our heroine may seem a flirt by the standards of her day; But all evidence paints to the contrary. She did not toy with anyone’s affections, she was serious about religion. She preferred to dress plainly, and preferred lovers who dressed equally plain. Modesty was a virtue that attracted her, and she took care to display it in kind. Unfortunately, this was not enough to stave rumours of her attentions, considered ’unnatural’ and enough to mark her as someone to be wary of.
In 1807, nearing thirty and well-past the age of when one can make a respectable match, Charity went to visit a friend, Polly Hayward. It was there that she met another lover of poetry, a young lady named Sylvia Drake. Sylvia’s childhood had been far less wealthy than Charity’s. She was a very pious young woman, for whom living with another woman would be living in perpetual sin - Yet, she was exactly the kind of personage whom Charity’s affections were likely to fall upon.
Nowadays, two women who are similarly inclined will stop by the courthouse to have a deed written up. They may ask for a blessing from the temple of their chosen faith. There are plenty of ways for two women to support themselves, and they may do so without having their reputation questioned. This is of course far from universal, but greatly more possible for someone living in the current era, than one sharing the time and place of our heroines. The cards were stacked against Charity. She had no land of her own. She could take no employment that would not hazard her reputation as an honourable women. Her life was far from that mad British philanderer who would see taking communion as a sign of marriage. She was atrocious at housework, and only really good at sewing.
Well, Sylvia could sew, too. And she was fond of Charity. And they both adored their shared deity. if living with Charity was sin, well, it would have to be that one great sin which inspired one to do penance in every other part of life.
They settled down together in Weybridge. It took some time, but the town eventually came to understand that the two women were united by a band of romantic affections which would not become less respectable by the power of gossip. After all, they went to church four times a week, were happy to ponder on the mysteries of the Lord, and received acclaim for making very hardy and worthwhile suits for Weybridge men. They had no children, instead opting to improve the society in which they lived by taking in young women as apprentices, once they could afford to do so. By that point, the townsfolk had come to see them as perfectly suitable role models for young women living in a very religious society, and gladly lended them their daughters.
Their relations eventually came to accept the union. Family members would come to stay and express mild surprise at being ’adopted’ by a woman who was not technically their relation by formal marriage, but had by a trick of nature and fond affections determined to be. Charity’s love for bookkeeping and aversion to housework made her known as ’the husband’, named as head of the house on the consensus form.
They spent their lives together, as lovers are wont to do. Charity passed in 1851. When Sylvia followed her in 1868, Charity’s tomb was opened so that the two would be united for eternity.
Source:
https://books.google.se/books?id=
Dido Elizabeth Belle was born in 1761, the daughter of an enslaved courtesan attached to a British officer in exchange for her freedom. Such relationships were not uncommon, they were known to be very temporary and sometimes resulted in children, who would often become courtesans in turn. Belle’s father, Sir John Lindsay, presumably didn’t think that this was a very good course for a young lady with aristocratic blood. He sent Dido to his huge family home in England to be raised by her great-uncle, William Murray, Earl of Mansfield and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Murray. They were not wholly unopposed to the idea of raising an extra servant. After all, they had a little great-niece of their own who would need a maid one day. And until then, she would need a playmate.
Except when you’re raising a little girl and another little girl and they both look kind of like people you hold dear, things sometimes don’t work out as planned. Instead of being gradually pushed into a servant’s role, Dido was given lessons alongside her cousin. When she was ill, much expense was piled on doctors and medication. Being a lady, she was furnished with an expensive princess bedroom and a matching enormous wardrobe.
In 1772, when Dido was eleven, her great-uncle was called upon to judge the case of a runaway slave. He had to very careful in his words and argument, but the gist was: slavery was un-British, etc, etc, why are we even arguing about this, it’s wrong. Everyone go home, case closed. He argued that there was no precedent in common law for slavery, nor had it ever been authorised under positive law. The victim was free to go.
This did not surprise anyone. He was that guy who would not shut up about how wonderful his nieces were, and word was out that his favourite was black.
Dido was not in equal social standing as her cousin, being illegitimate, and also enslaved on paper. Her family seemed to gradually forget about the whole ’servant’ thing, because Belle went on to do what gentlewomen at the time did. She managed the estate’s poultry farm and enjoyed a modest allowance of the kind that ladies in her position (Illegitimate birth) would have. She had ballgowns made up to suit her complexion, and was known to charm people with her manners and intelligence. Eventually, she was put in the position of being her cousin’s lady-in-waiting, an occupation that would never be bestowed on someone without proper education and heritage. She also served as secretary to her great-uncle, a role that would have commonly been served by a man. Mainly because she was bright, and as stated earlier, clearly the favourite. An eyewitness recounts that ”[Her great-uncle] knows he has been reproached for shewing a fondness for her – I dare say not criminal”. In 1783, William Murray re-wrote his will to grant her freedom upon his death, presumably in case slavery hadn’t been abolished by then.
Her family, while fond of her, grew painfully aware of the fact that their beloved grand-niece wasn’t considered ’people’ by most of society, even though she clearly, obviously was. Dido had to dine alone while guests were visiting, although she was straight out to join the ladies for coffee afterwards, sometimes walking arm-in-arm with her cousin.
In 1779, a portrait was painted of both girls at their finest, because when you have two pretty great-nieces and the opportunity to have both of them on your wall, you damn well take that opportunity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
In 1788, Dido’s father died and named her in his will as his child. She was no longer illegitimate, and could be presented as a lady on the marriage market. Having had to put up with the usual idiocy surrounding ethnicity in the 18th century, Dido opted out of the whole ’aristocracy’ bullshit and married a steward named Davinier. They had three sons, one of whom went off to serve as an officer in the British Colonial Army.
Unlike most figures presented here, someone actually did make a very sweet frock flick about Dido’s legacy as an 18th century lady. It is named ’Belle’ and was released in 2013
If I were permitted to draw the veil of private life, I would briefly give you the singular, and to me interesting, story of two maiden ladies who dwell in this valley. I would tell you how, in their youthful days, they took each other as companions for life, and how this union, no less sacred to them than the tie of marriage, has subsisted, in uninterrupted harmony, for more than forty years.
(William Cullen Bryant, nephew of the below)
Charity was born in the mid-18th century, as Austen’s heroines were argued to have done. Her mother died in childbirth, leaving only the name ’Charity’ on her lips, as the mother of a heroine of the age was want to do. Unlike most heroines of that day, Austen was born in Massachusetts as the youngest in a line of doctors, explorers, and military men. All families require a romantic, and so the role fell to Charity. In her childhood, she was doted on by her older siblings, but one by one, they left the house for work or marriage. Finally, Charity was left alone with her stepmother at the age of fifteen.
Charity, being a young lady of American birth, was expected to help out with the household. Being a dreamer, she would rather read novels in her wealthy father’s library, or compose poetry. Besides, her family was wealthy enough; Surely they could hire a maid to help them (And it wasn’t like Charity was any good at housework anyway - She could sew very well, but that was about it). Unfortunately, an evil stepmother is a literary staple of this time and place. Her stepmother highly disproved of her unladylike behaviour. Thankfully, she had her father at times, but seldom always.
The warm affections of Mercy came to her rescue. Mercy ford was a like-minded young lady who is unfortunately not the second lead of this tale, but very much the one whose love and adoration would carry Charity through the difficult times leading up to her twentieth birthday. At which point her father grew irate with her aversion to marriage, and bade her leave.
Like most romantic heroines of the era, Charity needed to support herself. Unlike most romantic heroines, marriage did not seem to be on the cards. Charity was not going to sacrifice herself on the altar of Adam. She had the means and determination not to do so, and so set out to become a school-teacher. Her lack of formal education did not matter; She had read enough of her father’s library to make up for that. And so, she went on to teach and have dalliances with many young teachers in her own situation, often causing unintentional scandal in the towns she passed through, leaving broken hearts and poetry dedicated to the subject of physical affections.
We understand here that our heroine may seem a flirt by the standards of her day; But all evidence paints to the contrary. She did not toy with anyone’s affections, she was serious about religion. She preferred to dress plainly, and preferred lovers who dressed equally plain. Modesty was a virtue that attracted her, and she took care to display it in kind. Unfortunately, this was not enough to stave rumours of her attentions, considered ’unnatural’ and enough to mark her as someone to be wary of.
In 1807, nearing thirty and well-past the age of when one can make a respectable match, Charity went to visit a friend, Polly Hayward. It was there that she met another lover of poetry, a young lady named Sylvia Drake. Sylvia’s childhood had been far less wealthy than Charity’s. She was a very pious young woman, for whom living with another woman would be living in perpetual sin - Yet, she was exactly the kind of personage whom Charity’s affections were likely to fall upon.
Nowadays, two women who are similarly inclined will stop by the courthouse to have a deed written up. They may ask for a blessing from the temple of their chosen faith. There are plenty of ways for two women to support themselves, and they may do so without having their reputation questioned. This is of course far from universal, but greatly more possible for someone living in the current era, than one sharing the time and place of our heroines. The cards were stacked against Charity. She had no land of her own. She could take no employment that would not hazard her reputation as an honourable women. Her life was far from that mad British philanderer who would see taking communion as a sign of marriage. She was atrocious at housework, and only really good at sewing.
Well, Sylvia could sew, too. And she was fond of Charity. And they both adored their shared deity. if living with Charity was sin, well, it would have to be that one great sin which inspired one to do penance in every other part of life.
They settled down together in Weybridge. It took some time, but the town eventually came to understand that the two women were united by a band of romantic affections which would not become less respectable by the power of gossip. After all, they went to church four times a week, were happy to ponder on the mysteries of the Lord, and received acclaim for making very hardy and worthwhile suits for Weybridge men. They had no children, instead opting to improve the society in which they lived by taking in young women as apprentices, once they could afford to do so. By that point, the townsfolk had come to see them as perfectly suitable role models for young women living in a very religious society, and gladly lended them their daughters.
Their relations eventually came to accept the union. Family members would come to stay and express mild surprise at being ’adopted’ by a woman who was not technically their relation by formal marriage, but had by a trick of nature and fond affections determined to be. Charity’s love for bookkeeping and aversion to housework made her known as ’the husband’, named as head of the house on the consensus form.
They spent their lives together, as lovers are wont to do. Charity passed in 1851. When Sylvia followed her in 1868, Charity’s tomb was opened so that the two would be united for eternity.
Source:
https://books.google.se/books?id=
