I know this is probably a common topic. For me, I’m not sure if it’s a “trope” or just totally misinformed writing, but it’s how many authors approach alcoholism. Some examples are Girl on the Train and The House Across the Lake, among HUNDREDS. If anyone else here has struggled with alcoholism, you know it’s not just "i woke up after downing an entire bottle of whiskey but was able to shower, down a cup of coffee, and solve a murder. "
My pet peeve is how anything that is considered traditional woman’s work is viewed as weak. I have no problem with the main character enjoying what would have been considered men’s activities but down put down other women.
Women of the past had to be strong both physically and mentally. I was watching Edwardian Farm with Ruth Goodman and they mentioned how miners wives would use hammers to break up the rocks while their husbands were in the mine. These same women also would have been expected to keep the house clean, cook, and care for their children without the aid of modern appliances.
My own great grandmother married a farmer but she also sometimes worked in a mill and was a midwife. My grandmother had a pillow case her grandmother embroidered flowers on the hem. Despite how busy she must have been, my great grandmother took the time to beautify her pillow cases. Don’t tell me sewing makes a woman weak.
During the Victorian age, ideology restricted what women could do a lot more than previously. Of course, this didn’t apply to more working class women.
Yes! The ‘not like other girls’ trope of historical/fantasy fiction. This work must have been absolutely exhausting, including things like sewing for hours in poor light. The implication also tends to be that women’s crafts were just decorative and not as technically skilled or economically important as men’s work.
On the other hand, these are quite action-heavy genres so I guess it’s a bit of a plot challenge if the main character’s favourite thing is sitting down indoors when she’s meant to be going on an epic journey or whatever. There’s a lot more handicrafts in Chinese historical dramas, but they tend to be more about political power struggles and interpersonal conflicts that people can get on with in the comfort of their own home.
Tamora Pierce’s YA books play with this. Her first character is a girl who becomes a knight and hates girly stuff. But in the third book she starts learning to embrace it. It’s a magic fantasy world, so there’s certain types of magic you can do with “women’s tools”. The men, of course, don’t take it seriously but there’s little more dangerous than a woman with a piece of string in her hands