Sharon Biggs Waller
There is defying standards, there is setting your own way, and then there is utter stupidity with reckless disregard for others and for yourself.
There is feminism, there are women involved in winning the votes in this book, Vicky is not one of them, The main character in this book uses the Women's Right Movement in England to further her own causes, she is not a suffragist, she is not a feminist.
Vicky wants to draw the suffragettes, and she wanted a recommendation from one of their leaders to go to Art school,
What was meant to be a story about a charming, headstrong girl confined by the standards of earlyth century England took a dreadfully wrong turn.
I like it when my heroines are flawed, I don't like it when there is nothing to my heroine but flaws, For me, this was the frustrating story of a spoiled little rich girl who is contrary, who is unthinking, who is oblivious to anyone but herself, who cannot look beyond her privileged nose, for whom everything is about ME ME ME.
Fuck everyone else.
She cheats on the men who care for her, She is judgmental. She defies her family and almost ruins them, She is snobby and classprivileged while claiming equality, She steps over people to get what she wants, A feminist Hardly. By the time she tries to grow up, I had had quite enough of her, thank you very much,
The Summary: Victoria Vicky Darling strips naked to pose for an atelier full of male artists in France, It wouldn't be such a big deal except for the fact THAT IT IS, This is. Painting professionally is an unacceptable profession for a woman, and stripping yourself nude to pose for men Unspeakable, Unforgiveable in the eyes of society,
Vicky is almost ruined by the scandal, She is sent home to England in disgrace, In order to save her from further embarrassment, and to save her family from the scandal, Vicky agrees to be married off to a comfortable, agreeable young lord, Edmund CarrickHumphrey.
After her marriage, she will be able to do what she pleases, like attend the Royal College of Arts RCA,
In order to get acceptance to the RCA, Vicky needs to have a portfolio, Never mind the fact that she can't even paint in oil and she's barely had any instruction, Vicky sets out to establish herself and build her portfolio.
She needs a subject. Vicky zooms in on the Suffragist movement in England, These are women and men fighting against Parliament and society in order to give women in England the right to vote, To Vicky, these women are art subjects,
Against her will, Vicky gets herself entangled in the world of the suffragists amidst her comingout, while becoming embroiled in a cheating love triangle.
Where the Fuck are Her Chaperones Seriously, where the fuck are they As a high schooler with strict parents, I was more supervised than Vicky ever was, and lest we forget, VICKY IS A WEALTHY YOUNG WOMAN LIVING IN THE EARLYTH CENTURY.
She is supposed to be watched at all times, She is supposed to have a lady's maid, She is supposed to have a chaperone with her at all times, when her mother is not there herself, WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY Nobody fucking notices when Vicky disappears, The very fucking second she gets home from her disgrace in France, she slips out the window,
She has time to slip away for fucking day trip with lover boy Will, NOBODY NOTICES. She goes unchaperoned to chill with Will, NOBODY NOTICES. She slips off to kiss Will at his apartment, NOBODY NOTICES. It's the earlyth century, people!
Fucking Brazen Hussy Of a Cheater: Vicky cheats on her fiancé, Not only does she just walk into an amazing engagement more of a business arrangement with an agreeable, eligible young lord, but she also attracts the attention of other men, among whom is the handsome young police constable, Will.
And never the twain shall meet,
Edmund doesn't know about Will, Will doesn't know about Edmund, Vicky has the best of both fucking world, She gets to go to high society teas and balls and Oxford vs, Cambridge rowing parties with Lord Edmund while slumming it with Will and his lowrent ways, including a quaint fucking day out with his adorable farming family, in which she gets to play the gracious Lady of the Manor, distributing largesse to her people and making herself out to be an arrogant little prick while she's at it.
It is downright cheating, Vicky has been engaged since the beginning of the book to Edmund, She poses Will nude, in order to paint him, But oh, my, an objective artist, Vicky is not, She is fucking turned on by her own subject's nudity, Some fucking artist you are, Some fucking aspirations, when you can't paint your own subject without getting your fucking panties moist,
Vicky paints Will in the nude at her future home, the home that her fiancé purchased for their life together.
That's just fucking disgusting, You would bring a man with whom you are falling in love to the sanctity of your future household She even contemplates cheating on Edmund after their marriage.
She uses her fiancé, Edmund, for his money, for the fact that marriage to him will bring her freedom to do what she wants.
Love does not come into the equation, Edmund is a walking tuition check to the Royal Academy of Arts,
She uses her lady's maid, Sophie, Sophie has to do what she wants, Sophie has no choice. Sophie is in a precarious position as a servant, if she does not do what Vicky tells her to do, if she does not allow Vicky to do whatever she wants, Sophie will lose her job and her livelihood.
In the earlyth century, a woman without a man to support her, and without a job and reference will end up in very, very bad places.
Vicky is a fucking bitch for even thinking of blackmailing Sophie in her position,
Fuck My Family's Reputation: Vicky's family is not blueblooded, They are very, very wealthy, but they are working class, They made their money through plumbing, Her father, her strict, hardworking father is entirely selfmade, He brought himself up from nothing, he works so hard to gain a reputation, and Vicky thinks nothing of dashing her family name to the ground and ruining her family's status in society.
She cost her father the longedfor royal warrant for the business, . .
Are you fucking kidding me Vicky has a lady's maid named Sophie, She is her one good friend, A confidante, one who completely understands her, Except that Sophie can't be her friend because they're not of the same social class!!
That he's working class. Give me a break. It is one thing to want a change for yourself, I admire a woman who will fight for injustice, but it is one thing to fight for yourself, it is another thing entirely to completely disregard others and to see your own battle as superior.
I'm the Only Real Artist EVAR Because I Can Paint, Fuck All Other Art Forms: "My mother had an artistic bent herself, but she turned her talents to the decorative, drawing her own patterns for needlework, painting the odd watercolor landscape for the hallway.
She could never understand what it took to become a real artist, "
Right.
Feminism What's That Can I Eat It: Vicky Feminist HA! What kind of feminist would degrade other women She hates her sisterinlaw, Lucy, because Lucy is content with her position in life as wife and mother.
Vicky looks down on her mother for the same choices, for the fact that she chooses not to pursue art, and instead chose the path of wife and motherhood.
A feminist does not look down on others, A feminist does not call a pregnant woman FAT, As much as I disliked Rose, she was not at fault for getting so fat, You shouldn't be thinking of her as SO fat in the first place, Her sisterinlaw is fucking pregnant,
Everything She Farts is Magic: Even her MISTAKES are fucking adorable, Vicky gets presented at court, She almost trips on her heels, Isn't that so cute. The king of England loves it! Well, aren't you a fucking special snowflake!
She wants everything. She wants a fabulous career in art, but she wants it to be financed, Her father, her husband, it doesn't matter, Someone has to support her extravagant lifestyle, and she doesn't want to be a starving artist, There are very, very limited options for a young wellborn woman of her era, Something has to give, but that something is not Vicky, She wants it all.
That's fucking immature.
Vicky has limited options, I am aware of that, However, she is unrealistic about it, She holds herself to a different standard,
She is immensely, intensely unlikeable,
Despite the Por amor al arte's premise of feminism and freeing oneself from society's boundaries, this book failed to execute the message, I did not like it, and I absolutely hated the main character, .
I never set out to pose nude, I didnt, honestly. Oh, what was that I'm sorry, Did your clothes accidentally fall off by themselves Were you wearing the sitelinkEmperor's New Clothes Oh, wait, no, You took off your clothes to prove that you're the equal of all the male artists despite the fact that the thought of stripping naked makes you want to run away in terror.
If they jumped off a bridge, would you do it, too
Oh, but Vicky does it voluntarily, So voluntarily that she fucking trembles as she walks to the front of the room,
“Im not forced, ” I wouldnt say that I wasnt afraid, because I would be lying, My legs were trembling so much I was surprised my knees didnt clack together,This scene made me so completely uncomfortable,
I started to undo my blouse, but my hands shook and my fingers slipped off the buttons,
There is defying standards, there is setting your own way, and then there is utter stupidity with reckless disregard for others and for yourself.
There is feminism, there are women involved in winning the votes in this book, Vicky is not one of them, The main character in this book uses the Women's Right Movement in England to further her own causes, she is not a suffragist, she is not a feminist.
Vicky wants to draw the suffragettes, and she wanted a recommendation from one of their leaders to go to Art school,
What was meant to be a story about a charming, headstrong girl confined by the standards of earlyth century England took a dreadfully wrong turn.
I like it when my heroines are flawed, I don't like it when there is nothing to my heroine but flaws, For me, this was the frustrating story of a spoiled little rich girl who is contrary, who is unthinking, who is oblivious to anyone but herself, who cannot look beyond her privileged nose, for whom everything is about ME ME ME.
Fuck everyone else.
She cheats on the men who care for her, She is judgmental. She defies her family and almost ruins them, She is snobby and classprivileged while claiming equality, She steps over people to get what she wants, A feminist Hardly. By the time she tries to grow up, I had had quite enough of her, thank you very much,
The Summary: Victoria Vicky Darling strips naked to pose for an atelier full of male artists in France, It wouldn't be such a big deal except for the fact THAT IT IS, This is. Painting professionally is an unacceptable profession for a woman, and stripping yourself nude to pose for men Unspeakable, Unforgiveable in the eyes of society,
Vicky is almost ruined by the scandal, She is sent home to England in disgrace, In order to save her from further embarrassment, and to save her family from the scandal, Vicky agrees to be married off to a comfortable, agreeable young lord, Edmund CarrickHumphrey.
After her marriage, she will be able to do what she pleases, like attend the Royal College of Arts RCA,
In order to get acceptance to the RCA, Vicky needs to have a portfolio, Never mind the fact that she can't even paint in oil and she's barely had any instruction, Vicky sets out to establish herself and build her portfolio.
She needs a subject. Vicky zooms in on the Suffragist movement in England, These are women and men fighting against Parliament and society in order to give women in England the right to vote, To Vicky, these women are art subjects,
Against her will, Vicky gets herself entangled in the world of the suffragists amidst her comingout, while becoming embroiled in a cheating love triangle.
Where the Fuck are Her Chaperones Seriously, where the fuck are they As a high schooler with strict parents, I was more supervised than Vicky ever was, and lest we forget, VICKY IS A WEALTHY YOUNG WOMAN LIVING IN THE EARLYTH CENTURY.
She is supposed to be watched at all times, She is supposed to have a lady's maid, She is supposed to have a chaperone with her at all times, when her mother is not there herself, WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY Nobody fucking notices when Vicky disappears, The very fucking second she gets home from her disgrace in France, she slips out the window,
My mother might have forbidden me to walk out the front door,She gets in trouble, She gets arrested for a night, NOBODY FUCKING NOTICES. Vicky sneaks out to paint Will, Excuses, excuses, excuses. What chaperone What tea parties Vicky has more fucking freedom to do whatever the fuck she wants because it seems that nobody watches her at all.
But she had said nothing about the window,
She has time to slip away for fucking day trip with lover boy Will, NOBODY NOTICES. She goes unchaperoned to chill with Will, NOBODY NOTICES. She slips off to kiss Will at his apartment, NOBODY NOTICES. It's the earlyth century, people!
Fucking Brazen Hussy Of a Cheater: Vicky cheats on her fiancé, Not only does she just walk into an amazing engagement more of a business arrangement with an agreeable, eligible young lord, but she also attracts the attention of other men, among whom is the handsome young police constable, Will.
And never the twain shall meet,
I realized that maybe the antidote lay in telling Will I was engaged, But how to begin I would just say it: Will, Im engaged, No, that was too blunt, How about: Actually, I forgot to tell you something, Its so funny that I havent said anything before, Im getting married in three months time, No, that was worse.So much worse that she doesn't tell Will at all,
Edmund doesn't know about Will, Will doesn't know about Edmund, Vicky has the best of both fucking world, She gets to go to high society teas and balls and Oxford vs, Cambridge rowing parties with Lord Edmund while slumming it with Will and his lowrent ways, including a quaint fucking day out with his adorable farming family, in which she gets to play the gracious Lady of the Manor, distributing largesse to her people and making herself out to be an arrogant little prick while she's at it.
It is downright cheating, Vicky has been engaged since the beginning of the book to Edmund, She poses Will nude, in order to paint him, But oh, my, an objective artist, Vicky is not, She is fucking turned on by her own subject's nudity, Some fucking artist you are, Some fucking aspirations, when you can't paint your own subject without getting your fucking panties moist,
It felt different with Will, I had studied the other models with an artists scrutiny, But with Will, I longed to see him without his clothes, If I were honest, Id admit Id even imagined him without his clothes on before,
Vicky paints Will in the nude at her future home, the home that her fiancé purchased for their life together.
That's just fucking disgusting, You would bring a man with whom you are falling in love to the sanctity of your future household She even contemplates cheating on Edmund after their marriage.
And the more I thought about it, the longer the list of famous artists marrying or having affairs with their models grew.People are Merely Means To an End: Vicky uses people, She tramples over people. She does not have friends, she does not have lovers, people are merely objects to be used and discarded in order for her to get what she wants.
One didnt have to act on that impulse, I certainly wouldnt marry or have an affair with mine,
I thought I would feel better at that realization, but somehow I didnt,
She uses her fiancé, Edmund, for his money, for the fact that marriage to him will bring her freedom to do what she wants.
Love does not come into the equation, Edmund is a walking tuition check to the Royal Academy of Arts,
Well announce your engagement after the kings first court in June, You will have a wonderful life with Mr, CarrickHumphrey. Just think of it. ”
But all I could think about was my college tuition paid,
She uses her lady's maid, Sophie, Sophie has to do what she wants, Sophie has no choice. Sophie is in a precarious position as a servant, if she does not do what Vicky tells her to do, if she does not allow Vicky to do whatever she wants, Sophie will lose her job and her livelihood.
In the earlyth century, a woman without a man to support her, and without a job and reference will end up in very, very bad places.
Vicky is a fucking bitch for even thinking of blackmailing Sophie in her position,
“My mother employs you, and your loyalties must lie with her, after all, But know that if you tattle on me, then Ill tattle on you, "She uses the young police constable with whom she is falling in love, She wants him for a muse, She wants to draw him naked, She never, ever tells him the truththat she is engaged to another man, Vicky lets Will fall in love with her and uses him for her art, knowing she can never be his,
Fuck My Family's Reputation: Vicky's family is not blueblooded, They are very, very wealthy, but they are working class, They made their money through plumbing, Her father, her strict, hardworking father is entirely selfmade, He brought himself up from nothing, he works so hard to gain a reputation, and Vicky thinks nothing of dashing her family name to the ground and ruining her family's status in society.
She cost her father the longedfor royal warrant for the business, . .
“Northbrook had been paving the way for Dad to gain a royal warrant, But now, because of your actions, he may have lost his chance, ”And then she keeps on pulling her stunts with reckless disregard for her family,
" it means more than a scandal, Victoria, It means the end to Darling and Son, Father has much to lose, "For a Fucking Feminist, You Sure Are Snobby and Judgmental: Vicky is outraged at the cage around her, She is so upset at the fact that society is unfair that she is perfectly willing to look upon others as lowerclass than herself.
Are you fucking kidding me Vicky has a lady's maid named Sophie, She is her one good friend, A confidante, one who completely understands her, Except that Sophie can't be her friend because they're not of the same social class!!
But as lonely as I felt, and as much as I liked her, Sophie was my ladys maid.Oh, and Sophie, don't you dare act uppity to your fucking mistress!
Even though I called her by her Christian name, she wasnt my friend,
“Sophie, you overstep yourself!” I hissed, “Youre my ladys maid, not my confessor!”And the man she loves Oh, it's such a shame that he has no money.
That he's working class. Give me a break. It is one thing to want a change for yourself, I admire a woman who will fight for injustice, but it is one thing to fight for yourself, it is another thing entirely to completely disregard others and to see your own battle as superior.
I'm the Only Real Artist EVAR Because I Can Paint, Fuck All Other Art Forms: "My mother had an artistic bent herself, but she turned her talents to the decorative, drawing her own patterns for needlework, painting the odd watercolor landscape for the hallway.
She could never understand what it took to become a real artist, "
Right.
Feminism What's That Can I Eat It: Vicky Feminist HA! What kind of feminist would degrade other women She hates her sisterinlaw, Lucy, because Lucy is content with her position in life as wife and mother.
A painfully soppy person if there ever was one, How my fun, handsome brother got saddled with her I shall never know,A feminist does not hate other women, a feminist does not disregard other women's choices as inferior to her own should another woman choose a more traditional path in life.
Vicky looks down on her mother for the same choices, for the fact that she chooses not to pursue art, and instead chose the path of wife and motherhood.
A feminist does not look down on others, A feminist does not call a pregnant woman FAT, As much as I disliked Rose, she was not at fault for getting so fat, You shouldn't be thinking of her as SO fat in the first place, Her sisterinlaw is fucking pregnant,
Everything She Farts is Magic: Even her MISTAKES are fucking adorable, Vicky gets presented at court, She almost trips on her heels, Isn't that so cute. The king of England loves it! Well, aren't you a fucking special snowflake!
“I shant forgive you,” he said in a gruff voice, “for youve done nothing wrong.I Want Everything Handed to Me on a Fucking Silver Platter: Vicky cannot contemplate a lifestyle outside of her own privileged life.
Youve quite made my evening, Makes a change from the usual parade of utterly proper debutantes that parade in front of me year after year, They all look the same, but youyou I shall remember! Who is your family”
She wants everything. She wants a fabulous career in art, but she wants it to be financed, Her father, her husband, it doesn't matter, Someone has to support her extravagant lifestyle, and she doesn't want to be a starving artist, There are very, very limited options for a young wellborn woman of her era, Something has to give, but that something is not Vicky, She wants it all.
I spent the day doing exactly what I wanted to do, This was the life I wanted, No crushingly boring socialetiquette classes to take or deadly dull tea parties or idiotic social functions to attend,She wants the money, the life, the love, without the responsibilities, She is willing to marry for money, and fucking whines about having to marry for money because she can't get what she wants otherwise.
That's fucking immature.
Vicky has limited options, I am aware of that, However, she is unrealistic about it, She holds herself to a different standard,
She is immensely, intensely unlikeable,
Despite the Por amor al arte's premise of feminism and freeing oneself from society's boundaries, this book failed to execute the message, I did not like it, and I absolutely hated the main character, .