Friday, March 27, 2009

A cynical view of womanhood


From John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, 1765:


Virgins are like the fair Flower in its Lustre,
Which in the Garden enamels the Ground;
Near it the Bees in play flutter and cluster,
And gaudy Butterflies frolick around.
But, when once pluck'd, 'tis no longer alluring,
To Covent-Garden 'tis sent (as yet sweet),
There fades, and shrinks, and grows past all enduring
Rots, stinks, and dies, and is trod under feet.

3 comments :

  1. Yeah, well we women could say the same things about men! I think women get better with age - I think we get stronger, while guys seem to wither with age. Sorry - a little sexist there, I know!

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  2. LOL! Yeah, but you're right. But you also have to consider the times. This was written in the early 18th century and most certainly reflects the philosophy of the time--not that it has changed much in today's society. Youth is still valued much more highly than age and experience.

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  3. Isn't reverence for age a custom in Asia? Maybe we should move there! haha

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