If it hadn't been for the
recent look at some modernist journals, I would have thought that this novel
told a very risqué story for the time period in which it was written. However,
the journals made me realize that people from the past were far more accepting
than we think today.
The book also gave
insight into the life of a mistress. I have read several books in the past that
include and/or mention mistresses, but I don't think I've ever read a book from
the point of view of one of those mistresses. This novel sheds light on the
woes of the many women who were seen as upper class women in sense of status,
but money-wise, they were at the bottom. Women like this who are pretty enough
would sometimes manage to snag a husband who had enough money or a decent paying
job, but otherwise, women were often tossed around among the unmarried upper
class until they got pregnant, found some sort of decent job or house to latch
onto, or maybe died.
Considering the
circumstances, it might have been a good idea to try to get pregnant in order
to guarantee money from a guy, however men would not always acknowledge their
child which would put the mother in an even worse spot than she had been
before. Overall, Anna Morgan was quite lucky in her endeavors, all things
considered, although they might have been hinting that she was dying at the end
which would not have been good.
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