1957

Ah the days, smack in the middle of a millennium: the 1950’s, the days of, “keen,” and “swell,” and Marilyn Monroe.  1956, the year that Norma Jean Mortenson took on the name Marilyn Monroe, the minimum wage in the United States was $1.00, Eisenhower was president, and Elvis Presley came out with his famous song, “Hound Dog.” 1956 was quite a year, and with the kickoff of 1957 many changes came along.  A Vogue magazine straight from January of 1957 is very telling about the times.

In their article, “1957 Changes,” a very inventive title to say the least, they prepare the reader for the changes happening at the start of the New Year.  Evidently, there was a new thread construction on stockings to help prevent runs (though I still don’t think there is a way to prevent them; my ballet tights all eventually get runs no matter what,) the open-itself umbrella came about, and the first sweater made of Irish linen was machine-knitted.  Of course, on the side of technology we launched the Vanguard, a satellite for transmitting weather data, the 20-year battery was created, and the picture phone was created at Bell Laboratories, which “transmits images of both speakers, snapshot size.”  I think it’s interesting that even today we are still interested in changes brought about with the new-year, and we were even fifty-four years ago.  Humanity is always interested in itself.

As I flipped through I stumbled upon an article titled “How to Turn Yourself into an Amiable Arguer.”  It’s brilliant.  The main statement of the article is easily summed up in its opening paragraph:

 “Why argument is such a favourite indoor pastime of the human race is hard to determine, for there is nothing at all to be said for it.  Socially it can be disastrous and, if reading maketh a full man, argument often maketh an empty room.  It puts a shine on the nose as no other agent can; and it leads nowhere, for a difference in a matter of fact can be settled by looking it up and one of opinion can not be settled at all.”

I cannot count the number of times I’ve engaged in an argument with good company and we argue until exhaustion kicks in, but reach no conclusion if it is a matter of opinion.  I refuse to talk politics with anyone; I’d rather leave the room, seeing as even listening to other people argue can be exhausting.  Yet on the contrary I love discussing faith, which many would also stray from.  I must admit that though I fully side with the article states about argument, it is still a guilty pleasure.  No matter how happy, enraged or upset I am after an argument there is still some sense of freedom in it.  I think it is because it shows passion, that I am alive and still thinking, not numbed by an opinion-less stupor. 

As it continues on it draws a difference between a sort of belligerent arguer, “usually male, who relies simply on the power of his lungs… to merely increase the volume until they (the other party) fall silent at last from utter exhaustion,” and “a deadlier school and certainly female… who never directly argues or contradicts, being content to drop a little depth charge when all is over.” That’s still mostly true today; many women don’t raise their voice to get their point across because more silence and a more potent word choice typically does the trick.

On a separate note, the 1950’s fashion is gorgeous.  Dresses pictured on the large pages showed ultimate femininity in their cut and color, always paying heed to the waistline, and the glamorous feel from old movies is ever present in these wonderful spreads.  Red lipstick could be worn daily and the hair always looked polished and neatly done.  Eyes were lined with a slightly winged outer corner creating the seductive kitten like eyes that were iconic on the beautiful Marilyn Monroe, and pearls or rhinestones graced the décolletage of many a woman.

 Such a beautiful era is still fondly remembered by older generations, and graces the walls of many small diners, as well as the bedrooms of many Elvis and Johnny Cash fans.  It’s strange to think that Fifty or sixty years from now, a very different generation will be looking back on the highlights of our years as we ponder our own younger days.

The Chrysanthemums

John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums explores the world of a 1930’s woman using symbolism and imagery that in its subtlety must be picked up on by the reader, otherwise lost.  This, I’m sure, has to do largely with women’s suppressed nature and lack of rights in the time period.  Women’s suffrage had only come about seventeen years prior to the date his story was published, and perhaps assisted in inspiring the story.  Women’s rights were at the forefront of social issues. 

The story is from a limited third-person point of view, as if it were from Elisa’s eyes.  We find ourselves feeling the emotions with her, seeing only what she sees, and knowing only what she knows.  In the beginning Steinbeck describes the landscape stating, “On every side it (the fog) sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the valley a closed pot.” He also describes that it is cool, December, and sunshine can be seen, but it isn’t near Elisa.   This specific description of her surroundings serves as a dual description of her life.   Her life is in a fog in a sense, and she doesn’t know what is going on. For instance when she sees her husband talking to the two business men she has no idea what it is about (and neither do we); the only information we get is what her husband tells her, and we also gather that the sunshine is a symbol of strength and happiness. Therefore it not being near her represents the lack there of.   

There is also a strong theme of hopes getting high, then being crushed.  The first time we see it is in the second paragraph where it is written, “A light wind blew up from the southwest so that the farmers were mildly hopeful of a good rain before long; but fog and rain do not go together.” The next time is when her husband makes a joke that she should put her gardening skills to use in the orchard; to which her eyes light up and she becomes hopeful of the possibility, which is then crushed by his remark, “Well it sure works with flowers,” as is flowers are what she as a woman should stick to.  After that, we see it when she is with the tinker, and speaks of the kind of life he lives with a longing tone, then begins to boast about her own skills that are similar to his, and how she could do what he does.  He responds by telling her, “It ain’t the right kind of a life for a woman,” and goes on to describe how it would be scary and lonely for a woman, as if it isn’t for a man.  Then it is seen is when she asks her husband about the fights.  She has read about them and is clearly curious, but crushes her own hopes after her husband offers to take her if she “really want(s) to go,” by saying, “Oh, no. No.  I don’t want to go.  I’m sure I don’t.”  The last time, she is proud of giving away the chrysanthemum sprouts and having been able to share her wealth of knowledge and passion with someone, but then is humiliated when she sees them dumped out on the side of the road.  She was merely used.

A peculiar trait of the story is its use of masculine terms.  The word strong is used twelve times throughout the story to describe Elisa or her chrysanthemums, but the very last sentence of the story describes her as weak.  She seems to become strong and impassioned as the story builds, until the breaking point where she sees the flowers dumped on the side of the road, after which she reverts to a weak persona.  The flowers on the side of the road also represent how she feels:  like she is convenient and nice to have, but disposable and cast aside.  In the beginning Steinbeck had described her as, “lean and strong… Her figure looked blocked and heavy…Her face was eager and mature and handsome.”  Had we not known he was describing a woman he just as well could have been describing a man.  I think he does this to draw attention to the role of gender in this story, especially first by heightening the reader’s awareness of it through an unordinary description for a woman.  Even when her husband is describing how she looks he uses the masculine term, “strong.”  The only point at which she is truly described as feminine is in the last sentence:  “She turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly –like an old woman.”  This is also the only point at which she tries to hide.  Earlier, even when her face has a smudge of dirt and she is in her gardening clothes she still confidently talks to the tinker, as if her not caring about her looks shows more strength.  Yet when she shows what she believes to be a sign of weakness, (her tears) she hides.

By the end of the story the reader is feeling just as crushed as Elisa, and shares in the disappointment she does after having shared her journey.  Steinbeck speaks softly but strongly through this story about the struggles women had so strongly faced in the 1900s, and still sometimes face today.

ESL Partner

I had my first meeting with my ESL partner, Weiyi tonight.  We are both very busy, so finding a time to meet was hard.  It was strange using only e-mail to communicate at first, because I am so used to talking on the phone or texting, but she has no phone so communication was a bit slower.  We planned a place to meet, and it felt strange waiting for someone whom I didn’t know, or know what she looked like.  Luckily she was already there, so when I walked up she asked if I was Anna and there were no awkward encounters of me asking random people if they were Weiyi.  We shook hands and went up to Market Square to grab some dinner, where we sat in the back to avoid all of the noise –though it failed profusely, since it is still first semester and not everyone has learned that you may not exit the back doors without treating the back room to a lovely earsplitting symphony of the fire alarm.

 She is a first year music major who studies violin, which she has been playing since she was about four years old.  She got to the United States from China only two months ago, and had only learned English out of books but never really spoken it before she got here, though she is really quite good at it.  We were talking about the language and I asked her what the hardest part about learning it was, to which she replied, “tenses.”  Differing between, “how are you?” and “how have you been?” and other things like, “I will be there,” and “if I were there.”  It’s completely understandable; I remember learning Spanish and having to learn all of the tenses, though I hear English is much more difficult of a language to learn.  (I’m glad I grew up speaking it!)  We had a relatively short conversation, since half of it was taken up by eating and we stayed for just under an hour.  It’s always interesting having dinner with someone for the first time, and is typically sprinkled with awkward pauses where eyes are diverted and forks begin to take action to fill the pause, but for the most part we were able to hold a discussion with pauses at a minimum.  I’m interested to get to know her better –she inspires me already with her discipline of practicing playing her violin every day (which I should be doing with my singing) but I suppose once I’m no longer sick I’ll have no excuse and crack down.  We plan on meeting again next week, which I hope happens but I’m not sure about, since judging by her expression she is concerned about being able to fit in time to meet with her already full schedule.  We’ll see!

"Smartness" From 1923

Many things still hold true today that were true long ago.  I’ve noticed this in several contexts, such as the bible,(and, just for Dan) that’s a VERY old book, the way that men are constantly trying to figure out new ways to rule the world (or gain power,) and women are consistently concerned with… well, too many things to keep track of.  Many of us women read magazines, whether they be on “100 one minute quick makeup tricks!” or “5 minute healthy recipes for a flat tummy” or even “What does your guy really want?” Though, I think if you are actually looking for answers in a magazine rather than just asking him, we have bigger issues to deal with. 

Women’s magazines for the most part have stayed fairly the same over time, except for being polluted with articles about sex, sex, and more sex since the sexual revolution that began in the 1960s.  They could make entire magazines about that alone and keep it out of my entertainment reading. But over all, women’s magazines concern themselves with the nature of a woman: how to be captivating, and of course all of the advertisements that will tell you what you need to buy in order to be just that.  This ranges from makeup, clothing, shoes, and cooking to inspirational articles such as “What’s more important than that last 5 pounds” and “How I survived ______.”      And of course, fashion at the core of most.

Let’s take a look at just one magazine. Vogue is a long time running fashion and lifestyle magazine that was founded in 1892 as a weekly publication.  Much has changed since; as of now it runs as a monthly publication and has changed hands of editors many times, as well as surviving WWII and the great depression.  I went to the library, (yeah, can you believe it?  Isn’t the internet supposed to have it all? Hint: it doesn’t) and cracked open a dusty binding containing a September edition of a 1923 Vogue. I was excited.  But, to be honest, what I found didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat, though it was interesting. 

The magazine contained no bright images jumping out to grab my attention (yes, I know, 1920s) and contained much more text than a magazine today.  Even many of the advertisements contained large amounts of text.  One for Elizabeth Arden had seven persuasive paragraphs under a caption of “How Old Are You?” and preceded to explain that your capillaries will dry up causing the skin to get “sallow and lifeless,” and look aged if you do not use their “Muscle-strapping treatments” that “work their miracles of rejuvenation.”  The language in most of the articles was beautifully written though, and reminded me of past shows I have acted in of the time period.  An advertisement for women’s perfume (on the right) reads, “Like A Corsage of Costly Orchids, Fleurs d’ Amour (Flowers of Love) is a symbol of distinction –The most luxurious perfume in the world.” What an elegantly phrased sales pitch!  Following the well-spoken advertisements, I read a quite wonderful article: “Smartness Versus Prettiness: The Way Of Wearing One’s Clothes Being More Important Than the Clothes One Wears, and One’s General Air and Manner Being the Most Important of All.”  That’s quite a lengthy title, but it definitely gets across what I’m going to be reading about. The article starts off with a simple example that sets up the rest of it up with a clear message (as if the title was overlooked):

"A WOMAN may be as ugly as she pleases (though, to do them justice, few women are) and yet be smart.  This attribute has almost nothing to do with beauty.  We saw a cat the other day which, when examined in detail, had little to recommend it.  A cat of very ordinary cat colour, which limped.  Its tail had been reduced to a stump either by act of God or the King’s enemies; moreover, it was going to have kittens, which did not improve its figure.  Yet that cat had an air of distinction; it was a very Dutchess among cats.  It moved along sedately; aloof, scorning the outside world, holding itself superior to everything it met, human or otherwise; and it compelled admiration.  It was as smart a cat as we ever saw.”

There we have it.  Confidence is the key to beauty.  Even now, magazines will preach this message.  Can I wear bright blue eyeliner?  Sure! IF I have the attitude to go with it.  How refreshing to look back 92 years ago and see that women back then were all about the attitude more so than the clothing, though the affects of “retail therapy” in my mind are still wonderful when funds allow such activities.  The important point the article makes is that “One may have the latest fashioned clothes and be ill-dressed, and one may have clothes of no special fashion and be extremely well-dressed… to carry oneself with a certain confidence is an asset and makes for respectful commendation from on-lookers.”

Though now women’s magazines are as much about the pictures as they are about the text, at least one thing holds true. Fashion is about the style, but is even more about the way you wear it, and that has been preached since the beginning of the magazine era.