I recently read The White Queen by Philippa Gregory. It was not my first foray into historical women's fiction. I can't seem to get enough of it recently. I chose The White Queen because it tells the tale of Elizabeth Woodville, the mother of the two boys who were supposedly murdered and killed in the Tower of London. It is one of the greatest historical mysteries. But I'm not wriitng here today to discuss this book.
I was at the library perusuing my favorite section, (942) English History, and I came across The Women of the Cousins War, by Philippa Gregory. She has a series of historical fiction that documents this 'Cousins War' and this is the non-fiction companion to those books. She gives great biographies of the three women who were instrumental in the War of the Roses.
Now even if you are not the least bit interested in this portion of English history, this book is worth picking up just to read her essays on Women in History and Women Excluded from History. It gave me goosebumps. She describes how women in history, if they are shown at all, are either portrayed as Eve the temptress or as Mary, mother of God. The examples are eye opening. She then goes on to give reasons as to why women were excluded from the historical record and how finally in the 20th and 21st centuries history is finally including women.
What I found so fascinating is that nowadays in order for a women to be included in history she usually has to do something that has never been done by a woman before; rule a country, travel in space, start a Fortune 500 Company. These are all very distinct jobs and trades.
In history if we know of women it is because they were the mothers, sisters, or wives of someone historical. They in essence could make history by doing what women traditioanlly do; get married and have children. No one is legendary anymore because of those things (unless of course you are a Kardashian).
What Philippa Gregory is trying to say is that these women, although hidden from history, made huge impacts in politics and history in general just by being wives and mothers. They looked out for their families by conniving and plotting. They took care of all the things behind the scenes. They educated thier children themselves and then looked out for the best education ouside of their homes. This is what made them great and gave them a lasting imprint on society.
What frustrates me is that women now, as then, are still looked down upon for taking care of their families. I am an educated woman. I am actually an engineer as well as a librarian. I worked for
years as an architect and even ran my own architectural firm. What I couldn't do was be a professional and take care of my home and my family in a way that was balanced and successful.
I am all about women's rights and I would say I am a feminist. I think women can do anything men can do, and usually better and with more compassion than men, but I'll be damned if I think it is possible to work professionally AND have a family. Something or someone suffers if you try to do both.
In the past a women was lauded just for taking great care of her family. Now you cannot get that unless you also work 40 hours a week in a profession. Since the doors have been opened to women, we are all expected to not only have a family, but also to work. You are looked down upon if you just stay home with your kids, and looked down upon even more if you stay home with your kids and don't have a college degree.
With all my expensive education (I made the first $450 payment on my Master's Degree yesterday. 119 more payments to go) I still work only part-time for $12/hour. It is my choice, yes, but it is not an adequate use or compensation of my talents. I have 3 children, 2 family businesses, 2 blogs, and a voracious reading appetite. Working full time is just not in the cards for me.
What reading those essays did for me is make me realize that even though I am a smart intelligent woman with degrees up the wazoo, I can make a difference just by being there for my children everyday and making sure that they make the right life choices. If I look out for my family's interests both in the business world and personally then I am doing things right. I don't have to walk on the moon, or write a best selling novel. History will change just because I am here and I am taking care of my family.
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