The Age of Innocence:Vintage Movie Discussion
Topic for this discussion
We talk about this...
...and this....hubba hubba...
...and Susan loves to talk about this....
(Here is the link for more information about the language of flowers: http://home.comcast.net/~bryant.katherine/flowers.html )
- …and a few choice words about this….
- And finally we talk about what happened here…good or bad? Wise or foolish?
Of course there is more, and yes, the conversation is historically based- not just a review of an older, er, vintage flick by two vintage chicks.
As always, music for our podcast comes courtesy of Music Alley. Visit them at music.mevio.com.
Episode 8 – The Mrs. Astor
Episode 8 “The Mrs. Astor”
Caroline, who was often called Lina, was born in September 22, 1830 to a very prominent wealthy family. She was the youngest of 10 children, and very much the family pet.
Her father Abraham was not only well thought of in New York business, but he and his wife, Helen White Schermerhorn, were established in high society when Lina was born.
Caroline was, naturally, raised in that New York society. She enjoyed the life a life of privilege- doted on by nannies, servants, and tutors. We talk about her early life, and what proper bred young ladies learned, and their lives in New York, and Paris. And how academics took a backseat…waaay in the back.
Can’t talk about Caroline without a chat about the Gilded Age! The rapid economic and population growth had creation of a whole lot of social conflict. This period of time is called the Gilded Age because it looks golden, but looks are deceiving. Mark Twain and his co-writer Charles Dudley Warner, get credit for labeling the period in his book: The Gilded Age, a Tale of Today.
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Episode 8 Clue
You all know what this one is...
Shownotes: Annie Sullivan Macy Minicast
Have you listened to the podcast on Helen Keller? We strongly recommend that you do before diving into the life of the woman we discuss in this minicast, it will make the experience just a little richer. Go ahead, we’ll wait.
While doing research for the Helen Keller podcast, we both gained an admiration for Anne Sullivan Macy and thought she deserved a little spotlight time all her own. Of course, much of her story is intertwined with that of Helen, but she was a strong, smart, brave woman who lived a life previously uncharted. She busted through barrier after barrier to create a life story worth repeating.
Born in 1866 in Feeding Hills, MA, as life dealing goes—Anne was not given a winning hand: her parents were extremely poor Irish immigrants who chose to leave the support systems in bigger cities like Boston and settle in rural New England. Her father was an alcoholic who could not hold a job, and her mother would eventually die of tuberculosis when Anne was only nine years old. Her parents had five children, although only two of them would live to adulthood.
When Anne was seven she contracted trachoma which went untreated. Had she been emigrating to the US, she would have been turned back to Ireland for this bacterial infection of her eyes—instead she lost her most of her vision.
Once her mother died, her younger sister Mary was sent to live with relatives. We read, and must believe, that Anne never saw her again. Her father was unable to care for Anne and her brother, Jimmy, so they were sent to the Tewkesbury Almshouse within a year of her mother’s death. Just hearing the grim realities of this institution would make most of us weak in the knees, but she really had a “it is what it is” attitude about it.
Sadly, her brother, who had a tubercular hip, died within a few months of entering the Almshouse. Anne was alone.