Behind The Barred Window: Kidnap Victims and Servent Girls

Thursday, 16 November 2017

Kidnap Victims and Servent Girls

Kidnap Victims and Servant Girls indeed! I am supposed to be working on someone else’s book, looking for some elements for some cover art . But I came across a few things and couldn’t help but sling them together - just to see where it might lead. The one below I'm going to do something with another time - there is a LOT of promise there, don't you think? It comes from a film (I've done a bit of research) part of the plot of which (the early part - later on and further in I'd lose interest if I were watching) come have come from the plot of one of my books; certainly the imagery could (see further down).... Now back to work proper!

8 comments:

Andy in San Diego and Elsewhere said...: What's the movie?; 17 November 2017 at 02:38
Toyntanen said...: Sorry for the delay. I'm away from home for the weekend else I'd supply a useful link but you can easily Google it now you know it exists (I didn't and had to track it down). It is an old (early nineteen-sixties) British movie called 'So Evil, So Young'; 19 November 2017 at 00:29
Roger said...: Goodness me! Did they really make women in UK prisons wear horrible dresses like these back in the 1960s, or are these just an invention of the movie industry?; 23 November 2017 at 13:18
Toyntanen said...: Hi there Roger! Well, I can't say anything as regards the penal system but back in the day this film hails from similar styles would have commonly been encountered up and down the highstreet in various shops, also factories and workshops and in any situation involving the more menial of tasks - and can still be encountered under certain circumstances; for example, such a dress still makes for the basis of a practical and functional uniform - perhaps augmented by an apron and cap - for any servant girl (I prefer that term nowadays rather than 'maid' in my writing) in a situation where menial tasks are the order of the day or simply as an alternative to the same-old-same-old black and white outfit (and, I believe, a more demeaning alternatve - and even more so today BECAUSE such styles and fabrics are so less common and because the traditional black and white theme is now so tied up with fancy dress and so on)...; 23 November 2017 at 18:21
Toyntanen said...: ...continued...But all that having been said, to my mind there is something ambiguous conjured up by those old-style work dresses and uniforms. Just as much as such styling was associated with shopgirls, waitresses and the like so something similar (given a little thought) might have been encountered associated with certain figures having a fair degree of authority, such as within some institutions, for example, 'house mothers' in some boarding schools, or some governesses or even housekeepers (who might well have authority over one or more working girls. A lot seems to depend on context. Certainly if in the group picture all the young women were in abbreviated short skirted school uniforms and and older woman was dressed in one of those frocks the inference would immediately be different (but colour seems important to the interpretation also - a change from pastel pink to navy blue or grey, given the situation I just outlined, to my mind at least, makes all the difference.) Or consider all those young women had been in identical pyjamas and the older woman in one of those dresses, perhaps navy or grey as just mentioned (see my latest Tumblr posting for example)? But what that sort of look NEVER is in my mind is neutral - it is always one extreme or the other, either empowering (again - see my latest Tumblr posting, just posted today) or utterly demeaning...; 23 November 2017 at 18:41
Toyntanen said...: ...continued... It is a little like my feelings about nurses' uniforms (the older-style dresses and aprons, definitely NOT 'scrubs') in that respect - and I'm talking from the point of view of a writer here, but also as one who has perused spanking literature and other material for VERY many years, both in hardcopy printed form and in cyberspace on the 'net. The nurse is seen portrayed both as the submissive character AND the dominant, depending on the context (I prefer to write about the former of course) and is as likely (probably MORE likely, sadly) to be found kicking and struggling over someone's knee as wielding the cane or the strap. I'm not sure if any of that has made sense? I hope so, although I feel almost like I've confused myself - too much coffee...I've had a LOT of coffee!; 23 November 2017 at 18:53
Roger said...: I suppose that kind of dress was a lot more 'normal' back then. It would, however be exquisitely demeaning to wear in a modern institution of some kind, particularly in that shade of pink! Personally I thnk the ladies in charge look more powerful in smart suits with crisp white blouses than in dresses, but there's something to be said for the 'matron' look in navy blue.

Perhaps it would be useful 'therapy' for some patients to be taken out in public thus attired? Better than pyjamas in fact as the dress is more obviously a uniform. Absconding would be rather difficult, though I suspect restraints of some kind would also be used to make them easier to manage. What do you think?; 24 November 2017 at 17:24
Anonymous said...: Hands cuffed behind backs, totally! Being cuffed may be uncomfortable, but it's neat and professional and stops the ladies running away!

Roberta.; 9 August 2023 at 03:23