by Lillian Csernica on April 3, 2018
artfullymusing.blogspot.com
Constance Harrington, nee Dawson, is the wife of Dr. William Harrington. Constance is the epitome of the Victorian “angel in the house,” devoted to being the perfect wife and mother. She does quite well at it, then duty demands she follow her husband all the way to Japan.
Poor Constance. I’ve given her a bad case of culture shock. Through her confusion and distress I can portray the attitudes and values of Victorian England toward the mysteries of the Far East. I can also have Constance ask the questions that will keep the reader informed and understanding the story as it unfolds.
Constance has every intention of raising Madelaine to be a proper Victorian young lady. Madelaine, who takes to Japan like a duck to water, has other priorities. The humor inherent in this battle made Blown Sky High (Thirty Days Later) a lot of fun to write.
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Interesting, thank you, Lilian. Well, the time when the woman was but a dutiful follower. Part of me is glad Madeline had other priorities. Lovely post.
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Thank you, Silvia. It’s an exciting time in history. Many laws were passed in England for the betterment of women’s and children’s lives.
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Fish out of water stories always appeal to me = been there, done that! And yes, it does provide a natural way to explain things for the reader as well.
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Constance can be a bit stuffy, but she does make for quite a sympathetic character.
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It might just be my impression, but I think Victorian people had a particularly hard time adapting to different cultures.
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I think you’re right. The question in my mind is, was it just a lack of adaptability, or was it a deliberate refusal due to the assumption of superiority? “The sun never sets on the British Empire” and all that.
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Hard to say. But it’s possible that it was a bit of both. I have this feeling that – being an insulated culture – the culture of the British Islands have alwasy had more difficutlures coping with the ‘other’ than most of the other European culutres have had.
But it may just be my impression.
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