Post by JACQUELYN DESCHAMPS on Sept 20, 2015 13:13:55 GMT
a chance at life
AZELMA THENARDIER & Open
AZELMA THENARDIER & Open
The sound of laughter echoed through the cafe as Jacquelyn sat alone in one of the darker corners of the popular student cafe. She had taken to frequenting the cafe in order to avoid her dingy flat in the darker hours of the evening. Candles cost money and Jacquelyn couldn't afford to waste her precious coins on such frivolity. Things would get better soon...she told herself as she peered down at the clumsy lettering, which was scrawled across one of the pages of work her student had submitted to her. She worked for a family, who paid for her to spend each afternoon with their eldest boy, it was clear his education had been neglected and Jacquelyn feared he would not meet the standards of the school the family wanted to send him to. The family were likely to have to make a substantial donation for him to gain a place there.
She sighed as she turned the page, she would be out of a job soon...not having work in a city like this mean't she would be as good as dead very soon. Rent was high and food was precious. A Job she would need, surely someone was looking for a governess? Maybe she'd get lucky and find a family that could afford to room and board her, but in these times that was hard to come by...at least with her job she could afford her rent.
Her green eyes wandered down the cafe to the table where a group of young male student were gathered, all in laughter over something, they seemed filled with hope for the future their paths in life clearly marked for them. Oh what a joy it would be to be educated and male. She couldn't help but taste the bitterness of jealously as she watched them.
In the few months she had spent frequenting this place she had noticed she wasn't the only one watching the group of students. Young women often frequented the cafe, they seemed to treat the students as if they were Gods, they were rubbing shoulders with the men who may one day run this promising country. What intrigued Jacquelyn was the fact that these girls futures were not certain, what promises in life did they have? None that's what. Sure, one might be lucky enough to capture the eye of one of these young gentlemen and become their wife, but how often in life did things like that happen? Not often. The other paths of the lower classes were not so glamorous, perhaps they could get a job, but if not...well there were plenty of young women flaunting themselves when there was only one thing they had left. It wasn't a pretty road to tread.
Jacquelyn was lucky her grandmother had set her on the path of a governess - all she had was her education. She was certain if it had not been for her grandmother she might well have found herself lurking down by the docks with the other gaggles of women.
What chances in life did women like Jacquelyn get? Very few that's what.
She sighed as she turned the page, she would be out of a job soon...not having work in a city like this mean't she would be as good as dead very soon. Rent was high and food was precious. A Job she would need, surely someone was looking for a governess? Maybe she'd get lucky and find a family that could afford to room and board her, but in these times that was hard to come by...at least with her job she could afford her rent.
Her green eyes wandered down the cafe to the table where a group of young male student were gathered, all in laughter over something, they seemed filled with hope for the future their paths in life clearly marked for them. Oh what a joy it would be to be educated and male. She couldn't help but taste the bitterness of jealously as she watched them.
In the few months she had spent frequenting this place she had noticed she wasn't the only one watching the group of students. Young women often frequented the cafe, they seemed to treat the students as if they were Gods, they were rubbing shoulders with the men who may one day run this promising country. What intrigued Jacquelyn was the fact that these girls futures were not certain, what promises in life did they have? None that's what. Sure, one might be lucky enough to capture the eye of one of these young gentlemen and become their wife, but how often in life did things like that happen? Not often. The other paths of the lower classes were not so glamorous, perhaps they could get a job, but if not...well there were plenty of young women flaunting themselves when there was only one thing they had left. It wasn't a pretty road to tread.
Jacquelyn was lucky her grandmother had set her on the path of a governess - all she had was her education. She was certain if it had not been for her grandmother she might well have found herself lurking down by the docks with the other gaggles of women.
What chances in life did women like Jacquelyn get? Very few that's what.
