Going Back Upstairs

When we visit some of these grand mansions (thanks to the National Trust and the original owners), it is like looking into a forgotten era. It is interesting to read the history of the family and house, even the servants, but I always think "what was life really like back then ?" The history books tell us a certain amount of information about the salaries / work / rules of the house / and so forth. What about the feelings / thoughts / fears or possibly ambitions of both classes ? After all, whether the gentry or servant, all were human ! What about the "realities" of living in the Edwardian Era ? It seemed that even 'them upstairs' were ruled by rules that were unbreakable --- break them and you lost your reputation --- which was everything, especially for the gentry.

The series Downton Abbey is also interesting in the way it brings the "Morals" of the day to our attention. Just as strict upstairs as it was downstairs, you can almost see a human side to this morality. For example, Lady Edith falls in love with a married man (who apparently has a mad wife in a mental institute) and becomes pregnant by him (the fact that the man 'disappears' does not help the situation). She confesses to her aunt who, although shocked, resolves to help her niece and wants to avoid telling Lady Edith's mother. They both try to find a way of hiding the pregnancy by planning an extended trip abroad, where the baby could be born and handed over to a deserving couple. This very story line did happen back in those days.

The simple truth is that in the Edwardian Era, an unmarried mother (not widowed mother I hasten to add) would have been totally "ruined". Even within the gentry, all 'doors' were slammed shut and the young pregnant woman may even have been cast out penniless, or made to marry an older gentleman she could never love, to hide the shame (I wonder which was worse?!) Lady Edith even comes close to having an illegal abortion but changes her mind at the last minute, with her aunt by her side all of the time. The aunt shows remarkable human feeling towards her 'lost' niece. I wonder how much this really happened --- in real life.