The Duchess

I saw a movie over the weekend called “The Duchess” with my friend, while I was staying at her house. The movie was pretty good, and very indicative of the relationships between men and women, at least as far as place was concerned in the eighteenth century. The movie was actually very shocking and informative, as I was under the impression that people in that era were for the most part good people of moral composition and strong values. That might have been the case for the ordinary people of the day, but according to the movie, the aristocracy was something different entirely.
The main character, Georgiana, becomes the duchess of Devonshire thanks to the meddling of her mother and, of course, her beauty. It is shortly after she marries the duke that she realizes how horrible a person he is and finds herself caught in a loveless, unfaithful marriage. The duke makes it clear that her one job as his wife is to provide him with a male heir and she has no place in any other matter—including his infidelity.
It made me think how far women have come since then, and while the advancements are impressive, many women are still the subordinate to men. Jobs still favor men to women, and we have yet to see a female president…but it’s okay because at least we’re not still expected to be solely heir-making machines??? Uhh…okay...