Old Books

I just assumed that any book from the 1940's would be okay to read. Surely there wouldn't be any curse words or violence, for goodness sake. I imagine black and white retro figures acting angry at the thought and saying, "Jeepers! That is not super swell." The men would be shocked and the women would faint.

I thought that era was safe, understandable, and clean.

Not so.

My little read from the 1940's contains racism, bad words, lust, murder, and gossipers.

I am so disappointed. Apparently pill box hats didn't deter women from being evil, and pants worn above the belly button didn't stop men from being jerks, it also didn't stop the author from adding words I don't know. So I had to look them up. (this doesn't make me a nerd, I think it makes me "trying not to look stupid") Here are the words I didn't know:

insouciance - lack of care or concern

vitriolic - caustic, scathing

ampule - sealed plastic or glass bulb containing solutions for hypodermic injection.

taciturn - inclined to silence, stern, quiet

declaim - to speak out in a oratorical manner, make a formal speech

And that is only up to page 35. I quit after that. I think I'll go back to "Good Wives" by Louisa May Alcott. Which, by the way, is definitely dated vernacular, but the content is very applicable to the modern wife, especially Meg's and Amy's experiences.

My husband is going to make so much fun of me for this post, but,

Sweetie, I am the woman I am because of "Little Women".