Friday, July 3, 2020

Penalized for Beauty (Victorian United States)

Kristin Holt | Beauty Peanlized (Victorian United States)
USA Today Bestselling Author of Sweet Western Historical Romances
set in the Victorian American West

Old West Beauty

Folks have appreciated beauty from the very beginning. Whether a beautiful horse, mountain range, sunrise, or a lovely woman, cowboys, bankers, bricklayers and sign-painters--men in our favorite nineteenth century appreciated that beauty! 


For the Love of Beauty

We've all known uncommonly beautiful women. Some men find rare beauties a fantastic draw. Ask a pretty woman, sometime, what she dislikes most about her beauty. You might be surprised.

School Master in Love


In this 1860 newspaper report, a "brustish school master" in Ohio beat an eighteen-year-old beauty (with an ox gad until her back was black and blue) because she resisted the teacher's courtship advances.

Kristin Holt | Beauty Penalized (in Victorian United States). From The Grand Haven News of Grand Haven, Michigan on Feb 15, 1860. "A brutish school master at Boardman, Ohio, has been put under bonds for beating a young lady of eighteen with an ox gad, until her back was black and blue. The girl was good looking, and had resisted the teacher's advances to courtship. Hanging is too good for such a villain."
From The Grand Haven News of Grand Haven, Michigan on February 15, 1860.

 Let's make one thing clear. Men in love are fools. We know this, and hence we love to read romances set in the Victorian American West. But fools often cross a dangerous line. What woman would change her mind and fall in love with a man who beat her?

Rejected Suitor in Love

Kristin Holt | Penalized for Beauty (Victorian United States). From Los Angeles Herald of Los Angeles, California on March 12, 1874. "Killed for Rejecting a Suitor. A dispatch from Detroit of the 7th states that William J. Underwood, formerly of Cleveland, became enamored of Miss Anna Bridge of that city, and after a short walk with her last evening offered himself for the last time as they stood at the door of her house. She again rejected him, when he drew a dirk an dstabbed her in the heart, killing her instantly. He then delivered himself up to the authorities. Miss Bridge was a beautiful and accomplished young lady. Underwood was a fellow of doubtful character."
From Los Angeles Herald of Los Angeles, California on March 12, 1874.
Yellow journalism (sensational fiction posed as news) was a big thing in the nineteenth century United States. I hope this cautionary tale about young men, strangers from another town, possessing doubtful character, was just that--a cautionary tale. But what if it were true? Was there really a too-beautiful-to-let-live-if-she-won't-have-me Miss Anna Bridge?

 If I'd been Miss Anna's mother, that Underwood fellow wouldn't have made one step off my front porch. I'd have turned Mother Bear on him, and at minimum, sat on him until police arrived and arrested the murderer.

Murderer ... in deranged love?

I'll warn you, this next one might require skipping. No graphic details, no gore. But for the mother of three beautiful girls and one beautiful daughter-in-law, I can't understand this kind of brutality.

A pretty girl's fate, reported in Chicago Tribune back in 1882, is at minimum a cautionary tale. Given this report provides places, names, dates, and a prosecuting attorney, court records might substantiate this one.

Kristin Holt | Beauty Penalized (Victorian United States). From Chicago Tribune on March 4, 1882. "A Pretty Girl's Fate; Discovery of a Corpse of a Murdered Young Woman in Indiana."
From Chicago Tribune on March 4, 1882.

Skating Beauties Cause Trouble

It's high time for a non-bloody consequence of too much beauty. These young gals ran into a bit of trouble at a skating rink in Yonkers, N.Y. back in 1885.

Kristin Holt | Beauty Penalized (Victorian United States). From The Osage County Chronicle of Burlingame, Kansas on April 23, 1885. "Two young ladies have been debarred from the skating rink at Younkers, N.Y. because of their beauty. The young men quarreled over them so much that they are denied admission -- N.Y. Sun."
The Osage County Chronicle of Burlingame, Kansas on April 23, 1885.

Wisdom: Homely Girls and Beauties

This argument for why homely girls are BEST--for wives, for sweethearts, for a life partner. This argument (apparently from Macon (GA) Telegraph and printed in Clinch Valley News of Tazwell, Virginia on August 6, 1886, cheers the girl whose gifts do not include beauty.

Kristin Holt | Beauty Penalized (Victorian United States). From Clinch Valley News of Tazwell, Virginia on August 6, 1886. A portion of the article reads: "There is something about the honst-faced, homely girl that comforts and assures the averagfe man. He is not afraid of her, does not hesitate to ask favors, never feels he is trespassing upon her time, and always knows where he stands."
Clinch Valley News of Tazwell, Virginia on August 6, 1886.

Invitation

What do you think?

Is it fair to say that beautiful women were penalized in the American Old West? What about today? Are beauties penalized?

Please scroll down and comment! "Conversation" is the best part-- especially during today's COVID-19.

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From Kristin Holt

Kristin Holt | Sweet Americana Sweethearts Contributing Author, Kristin Holt (USA Today Bestselling Author)

 

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