Old Gent (mildly). “PRAY, ARE YOU AN ADVOCATE OF WOMAN’S RIGHTS, MA’AM?”
Lady (sharply). “MOST CERTAINLY I AM, SIR. WHY DO YOU ASK?”
Old Gent. “BECAUSE I WAS ABOUT TO OFFER YOU MY SEAT; BUT OF COURSE YOU CLAIM THE RIGHT TO STAND!”
Punch, December 9, 1882
The perception of women at the time was not held very highly if you supported women’s rights. They believed all rights to coverture that had been previously assigned to women no longer mattered. Women I think have always been fighting for a chance to be “in the ring” with men. That didn’t mean if by choice they no longer wanted to live the “typical” life of a woman they couldn’t.
If we collected all of the stories from women about their marriage it would no longer be a system that people wanted to enforce. It was no longer about love but an exchange of property. This goes well into West’s discussion about the power of narrative and what that can do to change laws.
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