The Downside of Being Involved With a Preening Peacock

The year is 1851. A young woman lifts her cumbersome skirt and its various paraphernalia and steps off the train. She searches for a face she has only seen once in a grainy photograph. Once spotted, she visibly deflates. The paunchy, preening peacock is loudly talking to a group of men who are less than interested in what he has to say by the looks on their faces. The woman steps aside and observes this interaction between her soon-to-be husband and the group he is speaking to. 

 

I keep thinking about this time in history which, for many women, was a time of little choice as to what they would like to do with their life or who they would like to spend it with. I find myself in an untenable situation where a paunchy, preening peacock is in charge of a financial situation that I am attached to. I have no say, I am expected to smile and nod my head, all the while knowing that we are losing money due to this man’s incompetence. My mind is keenly focused on all those intelligent women who found themselves attached to a preening peacock...at least I know my arrangement will end soon.