In recent years, I've discovered a delight in fiction set in the interwar years written by women of that era. I have been trying to determine why I like this time period so much and I think that this book has clarified things for me. The so-called surplus women who gained prominence as a societal worry started the changes necessary for my happy life now.
Many young men were killed in WWI, leaving a preponderance of single women with no hope of marriage. Up to this point, marriage, being a governess or a lady's companion were pretty much the only “career choices" available to “respectable” women. With the demographic imbalance of the sexes, things had to shift. Women had entered the workforce during the war and had developed a taste for self sufficiency. As time went by, they also saw the benefits of travel, education, and escape from the duties of wife and mother. I had previously been of the view that the 1960s and 70s were the decades when women's lives changed, but I realize now that this post-war period laid the foundation for modern feminism. Here was the beginnings of women's suffrage, education, careers, and reliable birth control. Women had escaped from the house and they weren't going to be returned to captivity quietly.
As a youngster, I looked around at my mother, aunts, and female neighbours and knew that I wanted something different. I never dreamed of weddings or babies. The pioneering surplus women helped to set up the world that allowed me to support myself, get two degrees, own my own home, traipse all over the world in pursuit of birds, and generally do my own thing. All without having to consult another adult or share my closet. Don't misunderstand, there's still pressure to conform, but I've always thought that marriage isn't a big achievement. But building your own life to your own standards? That's a big deal.
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