The Great Train Robbery
“Beginning in 1840, however, one trend worried the leading thinkers of the day: there were increasingly more single women than men. By 1851, the number of single women of marriageable age was reliably put at 2,765,000—and a large proportion of these women were the daughters of the middle and upper classes.
Here was a problem of considerable dimension and gravity. Women of lower stations in life could take jobs as seamstresses, flower girls, field workers, or any of a dozen lowly occupations. The...se women were of no pressing concern; they were slovenly creatures lacking in education and a discriminating view of the world. A. H. White reports, in tones of astonishment, that he interviewed a young girl who worked as a matchbox maker, who “never went to church or chapel. Never heard of ‘England’ or ‘London’ or the ‘sea’ or ‘ships.’ Never heard of God. Does not know what He does. Does not know whether it is better to be good or bad.”
Obviously, in the face of such massive ignorance, one must simply be grateful that the poor child had discovered some way to survive in society at all.MoreLess
Here was a problem of considerable dimension and gravity. Women of lower stations in life could take jobs as seamstresses, flower girls, field workers, or any of a dozen lowly occupations. The...se women were of no pressing concern; they were slovenly creatures lacking in education and a discriminating view of the world. A. H. White reports, in tones of astonishment, that he interviewed a young girl who worked as a matchbox maker, who “never went to church or chapel. Never heard of ‘England’ or ‘London’ or the ‘sea’ or ‘ships.’ Never heard of God. Does not know what He does. Does not know whether it is better to be good or bad.”
Obviously, in the face of such massive ignorance, one must simply be grateful that the poor child had discovered some way to survive in society at all.MoreLess
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