...it's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there...
Via the Maximum Leader, this site purports to show what my life would have been like if I had lived in Edwardian England.
The result is a little disappointing:
You live alone and have a private income!Pity about my fiancé. He must have been Russian, or possibly Japanese, because I don't know of any other European wars that were going on in 1905. The Boer War had just ended and I think Britain remained at peace until the Great War.
- A Snapshot of your life as it might have been in 1905Education
Your parents will send you to a private school and despite the fact that you are bright and enjoy school you'll leave at 16.Career Prospects
When you're young you'll do some household chores but won't do any work in the kitchen. When your mother dies you'll be left the house and a private income and your spinster friend will come to live with you. You'll believe strongly in the need to improve the quality of food and sanitation for the poor so you'll join a commission on public health and campaign for improvements.Leisure Time
You'll eat your main meal - meat and vegetables - in the evening, except on Sundays. You'll support the church by sewing kneeler covers, arranging flowers and raising money for charity. You'll learn the piano and enjoy going to the theatre and musical concerts in the local town. Every week you'll make time to borrow books from the mobile library that will pass through your village.Living Conditions
You'll employ two servants who live in your house but will be unimpressed with the quality of their work.Marital Relations
You'll be engaged to a man from the parish but he'll be killed at war. You'll never marry which will set you apart from most of your contemporaries.World War One
When World War One starts you'll join a women's auxiliary force and will survive to be awarded a 1914 Star and a bronze Victory Medal.
Hat tip: Naked Villainy.
Sounds just like the Annie we all know and love...
Posted by: shelly on Apr. 25, 2006Annie, they meant he was killed in World War one, you see, just as in all those novels of the Edwardian period, engagements lasted many, many, years. Hell, it took five years just to get to second base.
Posted by: kyle8 on Apr. 26, 2006"You?ll receive a pension but will not live to enjoy it as you?ll be killed in the First World War."
Awwww, crap... if, as many say, history repeats itself, then I'm done for.
Least I get to marry the family friend who goes to the local church. Rwwwoowwrrrr!
Posted by: ElMondoHummus on Apr. 26, 2006Hey, I was engaged to "a man from the parish" who was "killed at war"! Could that have been you?!
Posted by: annika on Apr. 26, 2006Hehe... Rwwwoowwrrrr!
Actually, to my deep regret, I'm afraid it couldn't have been me. Yours says "engaged"; mine told that I'd "...marry (my) wife when (I'm) 25; she is a friend of your family and goes to the local church."
Ah, what could've been... :)
Actually, I've been distracted by a different link my friend sent me: Which Colossal Death Robot Are You?
rumandmonkey.com/widgets/tests/giantrobot
Painfully geeky, I know, but temporarily entertaining, nonetheless, as well as an interesting take on the "what else might you be" topic. Apparently, I'm Megatron, even when I change some of the answers. Just gotta embrace the evil, I guess...
Posted by: ElMondoHummus on Apr. 26, 2006You must have missed my post from 2 years ago on that one.
Posted by: annika on Apr. 26, 2006Yow! Not only did I miss the fact that you knew about it, you knew about it 2 years ago.
Thus, I am well shamed. Time to go hide in some obscure corner of the internet and see if I can find something that's actually current.
Back on topic: See any of the other links on that site?
"With divorce so unusual, particularly among the upper classes, a blind eye was often turned towards adultery. In a time when a husband and wife would not be expected to share a bedroom, extramarital affairs were commonplace. In fact, in the notorious 'Saturday to Monday' parties that took place in country houses like Manderston, they were expected. Name tags were put on guests doors specifically so that the male guests could find their mistresses rooms at night. A bell was often rung at 6am so that gentlemen could find their way back to their own bedrooms before the maids came round to make the fires."
Huh... I never would've imagined.
Posted by: ElMondoHummus on Apr. 26, 2006You mentioned WWI, but demured on the Spanish Flu.
Posted by: will on Apr. 26, 2006