where have they all gone, indeed? the strong, manly men of grave wisdom, of "gentle courtesy" (chaucer), of integrity, of chivalry? where have the men gone? the ones who make one feel like a lady? the ones that really do believe it is a privilege and a dignity to be a woman? who treat all women as daughters of the Blessed Mother? the ones who care about respect in all its forms? the ones not afraid to reach out for fear of "giving the wrong impression?"
where are the faramirs, who can say "do not scorn pity that is the gift of a gentle heart"? the ones who love the shieldmaid, even? the darcy and the colonel brandon and the captain wentworth? the ones who will say "i'm gonna wait for you 'cause i know something about you?" the ones who are not afraid to look into your eyes? the ones who mean what they say? the ones manly enough to stand by their words?
where have they gone?
there are some. i have met some: married, or priests. "do not put your trust in princes."
sorry about the formatting ... am working on that. also, more links coming soon. in the meantime, this is my new project.
2 comments:
Likewise, where are the Elinors, the Emmas, the Anne Elliots, the Elizabeth Bennets? There may be a few mousy Fanny Price types running around, but I would argue that it's harder today to find a real lady than to find a knightly gentleman. Perhaps because young women are more susceptible to the raunch culture than young men.
fighting words!!!
i would say it is a mutual thing. that is, it is extremely difficult, night on impossible, to be a lady without the protection of a gentleman. likewise, women must be ladies and LET men be gentlemen. as for women being more susceptible ... i grant that it was the tiresome '70s femi-nazis that started a lot of this with their "women's liberation," which was/is really nothing more than a "liberation" from femininity. however 1) fanny price is not mousey; 2) it is not the single women i know who drink obscene amounts of alcohol, gamble, date rapaciously, and live up the single life. maybe i know the wrong group of girls to know the sort you mention. it seems most of the women i know are beautiful, intelligent, talented, virtuous ladies who are waiting for the men they know to step up and BE men: to make the first move, to pursue, to stand by their promises. and it's a whole heck of a lot harder to be a single lady in this era than a single fellow, which i think is fairly easy to prove.
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