Why do you suppose none of the women’s parents want them to have careers outside the home?
I think it comes back to the generations and how they dealt with the upheaval of the wars. The older generations wanted things to go back to how they remembered them from before the war, whereas the younger generations could feel that the world was changing and they urgently wanted to be a part of that. Especially for women in the upper class, or even upper middle class, having a job outside the home just wasn’t the “done” thing before the war, so they wanted their daughters to have the same opportunity for a “comfortable” life that they had wanted for themselves, before they were thrust into a world where everything was turned on its head.
It was expected, at the time, that young women would marry within their social class, then keep things tidy at home and keep her husband happy. Times were changing and women were looking to offer more to the world than homemaking. I think all of these young women had their own reasons for wanting to “ prove themselves” outside the home, perhaps Fern the most.
It was the times, women were expected to wed and have babies. Especially within the upper class. It was a time when you were presented to society as 18 and available. Object: to find a husband. I believe more so in England than the United States, it was a common practice. However, I never experienced it. When I finished high school, you either when to college, if your family could afford it or you found a job. Woman have come a long way since that era, thank God!
I think it was a sign of those times. Even though the girls were from different backgrounds all the parents expected them to get married and not have a career, especially working in a shop and modeling for Mary Quant.
The answer to this one depends on what city/country and what economic status the families of these characters represented and how determined they were. We can all relate to doing something bold that was just not done by some in our midst. The women in my family were very adventuresome and broke barriers in their own ways. My grandmother was a suffragette and a pastor’s wife. My Mom was a nurse, very acceptable for her generation, but also an artist taking a class in nude drawing at the local institute of art in our town. I worked all my life but was also a wife and Mom. It seemed all very normal in my family. My cousins from my generation were wives and moms and never worked outside the home These characters in Chelsea girls did not follow the path their families wanted and it made life difficult for them. This did not stop deter them fortunately.
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I remember girls wanting to get married. Those who went to college expected to find a husband as well as get a degree. Those who worked expected to work until they married or had children. It began to change in the 70’s when more women decided they could both work and have a husband/children although there were still a lot of more traditional expectations for many.
8 believe that both Mary and Chrissie’s parents expected the girls to become teachers after going to college. Fern’s mother definitely approved of her working and forking over tons of money to her. The only one iglf the characters whose parents had a problem with her working was Daphne. She was part of the aristocracy and therefore should have focused on her party and entrance to society, finding a husband and then managing his estate.
I think this was a sign of the times. Young women were beginning to want a career but the generation before held them back. It was still a time when men dominated the workforce.
I think it had to do with societal, religious and cultural expectations. After WWII women were to return to their domestic roles and limited expectations. Add in that younger generations were starting to question the norm/standards. It did make for a turbulent but exciting time.
Class and station factored into the changing times. Many women during World War II and post war had jobs outside the home as a necessity while they raised families, also. The middle class became a thing during those times and women took advantage of a college education (if they had the where with all) to do more than just be a homemaker. Those women instilled in their daughters that there was more than just being married and stayng at home.
England is a very class conscious society. Women were supposed to be wives and mothers and like it. After the war, people wanted to be freer and explaor opportunities that had not be available to them. I was actually surprised that Daphne’s parents didn’t come and drag her out of that life. And to live in a flat with another woman? Unheard of!
I agree with those who said it was a sign of the times. Expectations did depend on family background and class. Wish I was more familiar with expectations in England; I am thinking of the U.S. as I comment. But change seems to usually present its challenges and negative aspects as well as positives, so as a parent I would probably be thinking of that.
Women were expected to stay home and raise the children. The women who did work in jobs during the war were expected to return to being housewives. The Womens Rights Movement was only just starting and had not really taken off in London.
In the 1950’s and early 60’s women were supposed to marry & have children. The parents in this book didn’t have happy w, so it’s hard to understand why they wanted their daughters to marry. Also, having a career just wasn’t what “respectable young ladies “ did.
During this time period most women were expected to be home, have children and be homemakers. When I went to college most of my friends were majoring in teaching. I remember my parents suggesting that for me because it would be a way to support a family if something happens to the husband.
Back in the 50s and early 60s, it was normal for women not to have a career – their role in life was to marry and have children. Thankfully that has changed over the years!
I agree with the others that it was a sign of the times. Women in the middle and upper classes were expected to get married and have children and not work.