Silly woman
Posted by Amy on October 16, 1997 at 22:25:19:
In response to Linen, written by Sari on October 16, 1997 at 19:00:22
] What was the significance of linen? Like in Mill on the Floss, it was such a big deal for the mother to lose it. Was she supposed to be buried in it?
Sari, one of the people who know more about history and fabrics will have to tell you about the linen. My guess would be that the table linen was an especially fine and costly fabric, and the sewing done on such a fabric was also especially fine and done by a skilled hand.
But mostly, Maggie's mom made such a fuss because she was a woman a little like Mrs Bennet, in that she lacked Understanding and was awfully self-involved. Unlike Mrs Bennet, she married down. The table linen was one material possession she had a lot of pride in, and gave her a little remembrance of her former life in a family with a bit more gentility than the one she married into.
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