The Oldie

A woman's lot was not a happy one

‘If we have come to think that the nursery and the kitchen are the natural sphere of a woman, we have done so exactly as English children come to think that a cage is the natural sphere of a parrot: because they have never seen one anywhere else.’

That was Bernard Shaw setting out his feminist credentials in 1891. Shaw definitely meant well, and he even recognised that, often, the last thing women wanted was a man to do

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Oldie

The Oldie1 min read
The Oldie
Editor Harry Mount Sub-editor Penny Phillips Art editor Michael Hardaker Supplements editor Charlotte Metcalf Editorial assistant Amelia Milne Publisher James Pembroke Patron saints Jeremy Lewis, Barry Cryer At large Richard Beatty Our Old Master Dav
The Oldie2 min read
Golden Oldies
Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) was back on the radio a few weeks ago. I fell through a wormhole in time and found myself in 1975 when it was part of the glorious soundtrack of college life. We dialled it up non-stop on our pub jukebox, assuming i
The Oldie3 min read
Music
‘And this? Can he forget this as well?’ cries Cio-Cio-San, as she presents the US consul in Nagasaki with her three-yearold son, love child of the naval lieutenant she fondly believed to be her husband. It’s one of the most arresting moments in all o

Related Books & Audiobooks