tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post7763339676720728346..comments2024-03-25T18:27:37.374+00:00Comments on The Kissed Mouth: Pleasure in IdlenessKirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-37683685727839814242014-10-14T09:56:40.443+01:002014-10-14T09:56:40.443+01:00Indeed Lucilla, the Brits have a very set day of w...Indeed Lucilla, the Brits have a very set day of work, our 9 to 5, after which we please ourselves, but reading some Victorians reactions to other cultures very sensible splitting of the working day, there was often a willful misunderstanding of it to make the British way of life seem the better, the more productive. It was probably that inflexibility that was detrimental when working in the Colonies. Willful misunderstanding and bloody-mindedness are equally part of the national character as some of the nicer bits, I must admit.<br /><br />Thanks for your comments, I'm off for a bit of a sit down...Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-81183898472435052512014-10-11T15:49:40.344+01:002014-10-11T15:49:40.344+01:00Casual racism?
In warmer climates like some of the...Casual racism?<br />In warmer climates like some of the paintings are depicting, its a habit to relax during the hottest hours of the day as its too draining to do anything physical. <br /><br />Or at least was before the bane of relaxed lifestyle - air conditioning- was invented. It was a big cultural change. <br /><br />And there are pictures of very idle men as well, by Alma-Tadema and others who liked the theme of people in exotic garb of the Antiquity laying around and maybe plucking some lyre or telling stories. <br /><br />Some of the assumptions we have today about Victorians are so ridiculous that I feel almost sorry for them. Almost, as they themselves pretty much invented popular history scandalizing and over-simplifying the past. A bit like what we do to the Victorians. Maybe its karma of some sort<br /><br />But there might be truth in the idea that British are less idle - you British still have reputation of having the most hectic and stressful work pace and life in Europe. Relax...Lucilla Linhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06393060266549415655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-51090174474033670442014-08-11T16:43:23.984+01:002014-08-11T16:43:23.984+01:00Corsetless on a hot day? Dear me. I would gladly...Corsetless on a hot day? Dear me. I would gladly spend the entirety of summer reclined awaiting more chilly weather, it would be better than feeling so icky in the heat. It is mercifully chilly today and I am loving it.<br /><br />She really does look distracted, and it is such a pretty kimono. When I look like that I blame my age...<br /><br />Thanks for your comments!Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-84832151049757199182014-08-11T16:16:05.347+01:002014-08-11T16:16:05.347+01:00I always thought the fans were to indicate that th...I always thought the fans were to indicate that these people aren't really /idle/ or lazy, so much as it's just far too hot out to do anything of any use, so you might as well succumb and end up being a pretty thing laying exhaustedly on the rugs, so it's forgivable that they're not doing anything. Especially, if like many of these ladies (except the first one in her gauzy blue dress) you are likely wearing clothes than just exacerbate the heat. Even in Scotland I refuse to wear corsets on very hot days, <br /><br />Note how the Arab (?) chaps in Sargent's painting are dressed for the heat, but the European chap on the right is probably sweltering as that jacket looks VELVET!! In summer!!! I am glad it is currently cold and rainy here in Scotland, otherwise I might overheat just thinking about it. <br /><br />I know from personal experience that if you wear too many layers of (currently rather antiquated and anachronistic) loveliness during hot summers, that you may well end up overheating entirely, and in a horizontal heap not of your choosing; it's important to try and land in a reasonably decorative pose and always wear long skirts to preserve modesty (although I blame my long skirts for at least partly being WHY I ended up in heap in the first place). :P <br /><br />Also, now you've said it, I can't stop thinking of Menpes' kimono-wearing lady as having lost or forgotten something.The HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-90250897396652946202014-08-06T18:26:44.295+01:002014-08-06T18:26:44.295+01:00And not such a beguiling thing to call someone, my...And not such a beguiling thing to call someone, my dear stockpot. No, see, it sounds a bit wrong.Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-63765456596981853892014-08-06T18:15:44.782+01:002014-08-06T18:15:44.782+01:00Actually, now that I come to think about it, marmi...Actually, now that I come to think about it, marmite means a little STOCKPOT, not saucepot. Still interesting, but no longer relevant. Humph.simon.poehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01747299467622711958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-52478122498070072762014-08-05T21:58:43.660+01:002014-08-05T21:58:43.660+01:00I did not know that about Marmite. It makes it so...I did not know that about Marmite. It makes it sound rather alluring.Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-46910564299348848372014-08-05T21:20:22.277+01:002014-08-05T21:20:22.277+01:00I'm a serious person, really, but something ab...I'm a serious person, really, but something about your reference to being 'hurled on a chaise longue' keeps the old saucepot (incidentally, did you know that 'marmite' means 'a little saucepot'?) bubbling. I expect you remember Mrs Patrick Campbell's brilliant witticism about 'exchanging the hurly-burly of the chaise longue for the deep, deep peace of the marriage-bed'?simon.poehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01747299467622711958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-31923072585102096232014-08-05T19:05:40.000+01:002014-08-05T19:05:40.000+01:00Thank you Simon, you saucepot. I was always rathe...Thank you Simon, you saucepot. I was always rather wary of hurling myself down on a tiger skin (or being hurled down, whichever was easiest) as I picture them with the skull still in them and I worry about smacking my head on the head of the tiger. I think that might put a damper on the mood. I'd much rather be hurled on a chaise longue, thank you very much. Far safer.<br /><br />I'd never thought of Hunt's painting in reference to Bocca Baciata before. You're definitely right. She is a far more respectable looking piece of totty, or at least she was after the respray. If one woman doesn't stick, paint in the next one...<br /><br />Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-39053628420071367532014-08-05T06:04:31.289+01:002014-08-05T06:04:31.289+01:00And apropos the Godward, there's a notorious s...And apropos the Godward, there's a notorious scene in one of Elinor Glynn's racy novels where the heroine is seduced on a tiger skin rug (a bit prickly, I'd have thought). It gave rise to the following splendid rhyme:<br /><br />Would you like to sin with Elinor Glynn<br />On a tiger skin?<br />Or would you prefer to err with her<br />Upon some other fur?simon.poehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01747299467622711958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-49343409483532326602014-08-05T05:59:32.082+01:002014-08-05T05:59:32.082+01:00I like the way Hunt's picture of his wife is f...I like the way Hunt's picture of his wife is flaunting her ring. She's very much a version of Bocca Baciata etc sanctified by marriage. The subtext is so clearly 'Ha ha ha, Rossetti, stick that in your pipe and smoke it!'simon.poehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01747299467622711958noreply@blogger.com