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The People:
"I imagine as Anna's sister, my role in the household is to act as a companion
to Anna, help her with her correspondence, and the household accounts, and chaperone
any visiting young girls. I see myself as a more 'modern' person than Anna and more
adventurous.
I love to dance and am looking foward to taking long walks, or bicycle around
the countryside with my nephew, Guy. If possible, I will try and learn to drive a pony
and trap. I cannot see myself sewing, but perhaps ther might be some ladylike work I could
undertake."
"I find myself thinking of ladies in long dresses playing croquet, of walking through
summer woods with my sister - heads together chatting about nothing in particular, of picnics with lots of people by
a lazy river, of riding side-saddle. Everywhere is sunshine, light, tranquillity, and
peace."
"What must it be like to swap your life so completely for such a different one? As the
unmarried sister of the lady of the house, I would expect to be accorded a certain
status, but what exactly would that be? What was life like for a relatively privileged
woman of the time, and what restrictions were imposed because you were a woman and
because you were unmarried?"
"How will it feel to no longer be expected to earn my living, to have servants, and
to gain status primarily because my sister had married well, rather than for my own
achievments? I am used to being independent, so what will it be like to have the control
of my destiny accorded to the head of the family?"
"Although I'm not married, I have a partner, so naturally I will miss him"
I value my creature comforts highly and feel the cold - I will certainly miss
electric blankets, central heating, showers, the variety of modern food, and the
informality of modern eating. I feel a bit alarmed at the idea of being constantly
on show to the staff. The lack of privacy will take some getting used to."
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