Ian Phillips wrote:
> I'm not sure about that. I though that women traditionally "came of age" > when they
>where considered old enough to marry, usually between 12 and 15 > years. I suspect
>that the idea that a woman "comes of age" once she has > married arose around the
>same time as the whole nuclear family thing got > going.
The two were often identical, for all intents and purposes.
'Hey, kid. It's your birthday today. Come and meet your husband.'
In the upper classes, the girl didn't come of age not at marriageable age
(when she made her 'debut'), but after she was married - after all the
local Hoi Polloi had met, discussed her, decided who she would wed, and had
her safely wed.
Jenn V.
--
"We're repairing the coolant loop of a nuclear fusion reactor.
This is women's work!"
Helix, Freefall. http://www.purrsia.com/freefall/
Jenn Vesperman [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.simegen.com/~jenn
************
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.linuxchix.org
