“Women, of every age, of every condition, contract and retain a taste for novels […T]he depravity is universal. My sight is every-where offended by these foolish, yet dangerous, books.”
—Sylph no. 5, October 6, 1796
MENFOLK, QUICKLY, GATHER ROUND.
THERE’S A NEW DISTURBING THREAT IN TOWN.
WE MUST SAVE THE WOMEN AS FAST AS WE CAN!
WE MUST RESCUE THE WOMEN WITH BOOKS IN THEIR HANDS!
HERE’S WHY:
It makes them too sexy and we literally cannot have them looking sexy unless we are forcing ourselves upon them.
“Novel reading […] seems literally to affect the backbone; the posture of the novel reader is rarely upright; [it is] associated with sofa and softness; it is supine, erotic, luxurious…”It makes them think thoughts of freedom autonomy choice and equality which is simply not practical.
“Novels were accused of creating expectations which life could not fulfil…”It encourages the women to think that perhaps the current moral standards are not absolutely RIGHT/WITHOUT ERROR. We cannot have this.
“Novels have been long and frequently regarded not as being merely useless to society, but even as pernicious, from the very indifferent morality, and ridiculous way of thinking, which they almost generally inculcate.”
—from a letter addressed to the editor of The Gentleman’s Magazine, December 1789WHAT IF THEY REALIZE THEY DON’T NEED US
WHAT IS SHE DOING??? STOP HER IMMEDIATELY.
🔗 Quotes from here. Now go read a novel, you dangerous creature you.