The 19th Century

The 19th Century

Wow, how I love the 19th century. The carriages, the horses, the landscapes, the dresses, the dances, the men. A lot of things have changed since then, most of them for good I'm sure, but what I wouldn't give to be able to travel in time just so I could make a stop in the Victorian Era. It must have been quite boring then, I can't imagine life without internet and computers, but obviously if I had been born back then I wouldn't miss any of those things. It's like they say, you can't miss what you have never known.

Life was so much simpler then and quite interesting as well. I love the fact that they sent letters to each other to keep in touch or just to communicate something, ah and the horses, the candles, the natural essence of that time. It was maybe harder then, a little flu could be lethal and yes, maybe letters took too long to be delivered. But there are also good things, like no pollution, manners, education [it seems like everyone knew how to play the piano]. I don't know, that time just seems magical to me.

The things I am most attracted to about that time are the manners, the politeness and the 'english'. These are things that have been lost through time, things most people have forgotten about. Men have forgotten to open the door for us girls, to pull out the chair for us to sit, to wait for us to go first. And ah, the politeness. Now I must say this is not only men, women have forgotten as well. People aren't polite anymore. It's incredible how things like these can be forgotten. And soon enough, mark my words, everyone will forget to say silly words like 'thanks' and 'you're welcome'. The chinese have anyways, and no, this is no jest.

I love the way men used to stand up every time a woman did, and both men and women did a little bow when greeting or when they were leaving a room. I love how formal relationships were, but at the same time they were simple. Just beautiful.

Some of this things I could do, or well, pretend to do, like riding a horse, send letters or read using a candle for illumination but it would never be the same.

You may be wondering how I'm going to link this up with books, well I'm not. But I can tell you just what I like most about the 19th century, the grammar. People back then spoke correctly and politely and I really wish we hadn't lost that. Now everyone is using slangs, the faster you speak the better and if you can change a few words in the process even better. I'm not criticizing, I probably do this as well, but I do wish we would have kept the good grammar. The way they spoke, it was like... art.

So yes, if I could bring something back from the 19th century it would be manners and grammar. Because you know what? There is nothing more perfect than a man with good manners and a 'decent mouth'.

Of course I'm basing this on movies I've seen and books I've read so I may be wrong about all this. Things may have been horrid back then, and they probably were, who knows. But this is what I have in the back of my mind and if I'm wrong I don't wish to be corrected because daydreaming about this era lightens my life.

So that's it for today, I just wanted to share something that I'm constantly thinking about. I'm completely and utterly in love with these fictional characters of the 19th century. Sue me!

Bite On,

Hilda