The Best of Both Worlds
This week’s readings highlight the confusion of young women as they floundered between the old world morals and the new rules of modernity in play during the 1920s. Ladies were given mixed messages regarding their roles in society, as they were permitted to pursue higher learning in college and to enter the work force, which were part of the modern ideals espoused during that time. However, drinking was frowned upon, as it was in fact illegal; smoking and “petting” were also activities from which young ladies were highly discouraged. What was troubling for young ladies of the 1920s was not the repression which served as a remnant of the Victorian Age, but rather, the ambiguity of why some activities, such as women entering into the work force, were newly acceptable, while other activities were not.
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