Welcome!

Dear readers,

As Katie and I were thinking about what we wanted to write on this
blog, I began to think about the Jane Austin’s books and that time
period.  I love that time in history and what was portrayed as far as
masculinity and femininity go.  This era was wonderful but not without
its faults.  One of the things that I like most about that time was
the way in which men and women related.  There was an obvious
difference between men and women. It was a time when being a gentleman
was held in highest esteem, and being ladylike meant having class.
Being gracious, kind and caring, were all things to be sought after.
But the were also weaknesses during this era.  Women were mistreated
and used as if they were no better than slaves.  Well today in this
time we have succeeded in fixing most of the problems we had back
then, but something else has happened.  We have traded the good of
femininity for the good of rights.  So now women are counted as equal
with the men, but we have lost every bit of grace and poise that
age-old characters in Austin’s novels possessed. Where did it all go?
We have become so obsessed with proving our equality that we are
willing to trade some of the most precious gifts God has given us.  We
fail to recognize and encourage gentlemanly behavior.  And we try
harder and harder to prove that we are as good as the men. There must
be a middle ground in between being ruled by men in femininity and
being like men in masculinity.  There must be a way to weed out both
the bad in each situation. How can we as women in this culture shine
with the ladylikeness that the Jane Austen characters had.  And still
delight in the privileges that we as women experience in this age?
These questions and many others started to roll through my mind.
Katie and I are going to unpack this in our blog.  We hope that you
join us on this adventure.

Emma Rose.