Now it was winter. In the winter 'they studied history and
literature and music, and tried to draw and paint. If they did not produce anything remarkable
they learnt much in the process.' And so with some visiting the sick and
teaching the poor, the years passed. And
what was the great end and aim of these years, of that education? Marriage, of course. '. . . it was not a question of WHETHER we
should marry, but simply of whom we should marry,' says one of them. It was with a view to marriage that her mind
was taught. It was with a view to
marriage that she tinkled on the piano, but was not allowed to join an
orchestra; sketched innocent domestic scenes, but was not allowed to study from
the nude; read this book, but was not allowed to read that, charmed, and
talked. It was with a view to marriage that her body was educated; a maid was
provided for her; that the streets were shut to her; that the fields were shut
to her; that solitude was denied her--all this was enforced upon her in order
that she might preserve her body intact for her husband. In short, the thought of marriage influenced
what she said, what she thought, what she did.
How could it be otherwise?
Marriage was the only profession open to her.
Three Guineas (32)
Late December 1932, Boris Anrep finishes mosaic in
National Gallery, including Woolf as Clio
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