Universal Magazine: Edition 56

From

There are many points in time that can be referred to as eras, such as the Byzantine era, the Regency era, or even Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. I personally did not have the privilege of experiencing any of these three eras in person. However, I do have the privilege of bringing you this edition of Universal Magazine: Eras, which has been carefully curated to take your through the ages, or eras if you will.

Perhaps these pieces will leave you pondering the possibilities of the future, or even give you a newfound appreciation for life in the modern era. You might also be left bitter, or intrigued, upon learning what life might’ve been like had you been born a few hundred years earlier.

Though some eras are more cheerful than others, I think it’s important to look back upon the eras of the past to ensure their triumphs are carried into the future, and their mistakes are learned from and left behind. I wonder what this next era will hold for us all. Let’s hope it’s something amazing.

Until next time,

The Universal Team

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The City of Kingston proudly acknowledges the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of this land, and we pay our respect to their Elders, past and present and emerging.

Council acknowledges the Bunurong’s continuing relationship to the land and waterways and respects that their connection and spiritual identity is maintained through ancient ceremonies, songlines, dance, art and living culture.

Council pays tribute to the invaluable contributions of the Bunurong and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island elders who have guided and continue to guide the work we do.

Kingston Youth Services and the Universal team acknowledge the support of the Victorian Government

4 Fun Facts about the Medieval Period

Medieval Period

The Middle Ages. The Medieval Period. The Dark Ages, if you will Whatever you’d like to call this era in history, we can all agree that it was a particularly grim time for Europe. Spanning from approximately 500 to 1500 CE (or 476 to around 1450 if you're pernickety about it), the Middle Ages were a period known for plagues, peasants and pompous royalty But despite all these negative connotations, medieval Europe was chock full of fascinating characters, events, laws, and cultural landmarks in literature and science. Even if some of it was dodgy; it was a multifaceted era What else would you expect from a period spanning a thousand years?

The Dancing Plague

It was 1518 in the French town of Strasbourg, and a woman by the name of Frau Troffea stepped outside and took the phrase “dance ‘till you drop” literally She danced for hours, until she collapsed from exhaustion After recovering, she got right back to it, this time roping approximately 30 others into her frenzied trance within a week It only escalated from here, with a total of about 400 people succumbing to this dancing mania It didn’t help when the town authorities prescribed more dancing as a cure At the time, in true medieval fashion, it was suspected that “overheated blood” or demonic possession was the cause of all this, while more modern theories propose that the stress of living in a town racked with plague, famine and disease may have had a psychological impact and made everyone go a bit nuts Potato, potahto

SOURCES:

https://www.britannica.com/event/dancing-plague-of-1518

https://archive.org/details/criminalprosecut00evaniala/page/2/mode/2up

https://bigthink.com/thinking/animal-morality-medieval-trials/

https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-Death

https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Europe/The-idea-of-the-Middle-Ages

Animals convicted of crimes

Has your dog ever ripped up your couch or had a cheeky little nibble on your slipper? If this were the Middle Ages, there’d be some hope for justice! Dating back to around the 13th century, there have been records of animals being accused of crimes and often executed for them - albeit these crimes were far more heinous than a chewed-up shoe My personal favourite is a pig in France, 1386, that was put to death for the crime of “eating infants in the street”, a collection of word s that I never thought I would read Most cases against animals though concerned far more commonplace occurrences, such as a pack of rats being brought to justice for snacking on some poor farmer’s crops Maybe it was believed this would deter other rats from doing the same

The “Groom of the Stool”

Not exactly a dream job for many, the “Groom of the Stool”, or in expanded form, the “Groom of the King’s Close Stool”, was a role that involved the tracking of meals and the “maintenance” of the King’s bowel movements. This role was created by King Henry VIII, and while it’s probably not the worst thing he ever did, it's definitely up there Disappointingly, “stool” refers to the portable equipment used for the containment of royal substances, rather than the substances themselve s The noblemen employed in this role were handsomely compensated with second-hand luxuries and boarding, as the role evolved into being a sort of secretary to the King Definition of working your way from the bottom to the top

The Four Humours

Evolutions in medical practices somewhat came to a halt in this period No one knew what a germ was, and diseases were often attributed to understandable things like “stiff air”, divine punishment, or an imbalance of the “four humours”: yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm. These humours were believed to make up the human body, and were supposedly connected to the four elements This concept of the “humours” came from the Ancient Greeks, and in the medieval period evolved to include matters of the mind; an imbalance of humours having an effect on the psychological and socia l state of a person

https://www historyhit com/facts-about-life-in-medieval-times/ https://loxwoodjoust co uk/10-interesting-and-unusual-facts-about-medieval-life/ https://www historic-uk com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Groom-of-the-Stool/ https://www ncbi nlm nih gov/pmc/articles/PMC3573364/#: :text=Physicians%20relied %20on%20crude%20and,bathing%20in%20rosewater%20or%20vinegar Words and design by Isobel

6 things I wouldn’t have without the industrial revolution

It’s something that catapulted the economies of the world into an era of factories, machines and mass production. What began with the steam-powered engine in 18th-century Great Britain has over time evolved into an overload of products, information and pollution. It’s safe to say that the Industrial Revolution was a pivotal point in human history. Here are some things I wouldn’t have without it.

A MYKI BALANCE OF $3.80

The beauty of railway travel did not come about until during the Industrial Revolution, which saw a growing need for faster, more efficient transport of goods and workers. To solve this issue, steam locomotives and steel railways spread rapidly across Europe and eventually the world. We have this to thank for the swift advances in railway systems, and I guess 200 odd years later that now means Myki cards and Metro Trains, and paying $10 for my daily commute.

A TERRIBLE SLEEP SCHEDULE

I will be honest and say that as I write this I am operating on sub-optimal sleep. If the Industrial Revolution had never happened, I would’ve never had to experience a sleep schedule as terrible as this. The technology that rose from the post-industrial period is both a blessing and a curse. I have all the information known to man in the palm of my hand and not nearly enough hours in the day to peruse it all. Maybe parents everywhere are right and it is really is that darn phone.

MY MOBILE PHONE

Perhaps the driving force behind my terrible sleep schedule, my mobile phone is something I wouldn’t have if not for the Industrial Revolution. Industrialisation gave way to enormous advances in technology, not only in electricals, but also in mining, transport, conveyor-belt assembly and more - all things essential to the production of a phone. Though they came years after the Industrial Revolution, we still have it to thank for the existence of phones.

Words & Design by Harley Lorenzo Wood

Created with the help of the following online sources: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC261680

www.britannica.com/story/the-rise-of-the-machines-pros-and-cons-of-the-industrial-revolution education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/resource-library-industrial-revolution/ psu.pb.unizin.org/generaleducationfortheinformationsociety/ www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/feature/the-history-of-student-life education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/industrial-revolution-and-technology/

A UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

Most university students of the 18th century were men from upper social classes. That changed when new industries created a demand for professionals in engineering, and business management, and then, with the growth of urban populations, psychology, teaching and agricultural research. To supply these demands, universities began offering more programs to more people. Today the range has only expanded to the point where I also had the privilege of 8am classes.

AN ABUNDANCE OF CLOTHES

Prior to the invention of the steam engine, people relied heavily upon the handiwork of craftsmen and artisans who hand-made everything from start to finish, weaving fabric and cutting leather to make garments and shoes to order. After industrialisation, it became the job of factories and machines to do this work, with mass production lowering the cost of clothes for everyone. These days this has spun into a whirlwind of fast fashion that produces more clothes than anyone on earth could ever wear.

80+ LIFE EXPECTANCY

At the time of the Industrial Revolution, life expectancy averaged at about 36 in Britain, and similar in Australia. Industrialisation allowed medical instruments including scalpels, microscope lenses, and test tubes to be produced more quickly, aiding the research and development of new treatments for things that would’ve otherwise meant death. The resulting advances in medicine have since translated to life expectancies of over 80 years today.

MARY

Words by Caitlin Keele, design by Phoebe Gallagher

It was a cold, bitter July day, upon which most of the suburb of Prestingwood was gathering in its town hall.

The event that had brought them there was a memorial for an esteemed excouncillor who had recently passed away. His name was Henry Swinton, and he had been a very important man, and a very rich man, and he was sure to be greatly missed. Well, greatly missed by some, but perhaps not all, as the majority of people who’d come to mourn his death felt they were mostly there out of respect or politeness. Not too many had known the man well enough to feel very great sorrow, and subsequently there weren’t a lot of teary faces - some of which were only people who felt greatly affected by any death they became aware of.

Only a small fraction of the gathering had actually known Henry, and the majority of them were a number of older men, each dressed in all black and wearing a very solemn expression (though this was very commonplace for a few of them). The solemn faces were seated at the front of the congregation and collectively exuded a sense of importance and graveness, as though the seriousness of the occasion only added to their usual air of importance - which they had obtained through becoming successful businessmen and councillors.

Then, there was the small group of women - of a similar age to these menwho were inconspicuously located at the back of the hall.

Mary, Anne, Edith, Jane, and Shelley met together regularly for book club. They were also a collection of women who were married to influential men such as the ones previously mentioned. However, their conversations were definitely not limited to just books. Or meeting at each other’s houses. The five were tied by more than a recreational activity, though that’s what it had started out as; they were a sort of sisterhood, ensuring no member had to take on life alone - or loss, actually.

“Are you sure you’re alright, dear?” asked Jane thoughtfully, turning to Mary with concern in her eyes.

“Yes, thank you, Jane,” said Mary, smiling at her friend as if to prove it.

The death of Mary’s husband had been of less consequence to her than others expected. It was not that she was heartless, or did not care at all (she did, she’d felt very bad for several days before she was able to calm down), it was just that he had always felt very distant. When they married, it was certainly not for love, and she had no choice but to go along. She’d never grown to feel the kind of love for him which would have made his death feel like losing a part of herself, as she’d heard others describe it, either. That was why she had overlooked the fact that the organisers had not consulted her about the very event she and her friends were attending. She had not mattered much to her husband, so he would not matter very much to her either.

Just as Edith looked as though she might want to say something, the buzz of the crowd died down. The mayor had taken the stage. Even the senses of the important men and acquaintances of Henry Swinton seemed to change.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” began the mayor in his loud, deep voice, “we are gathered here today out of respect and out of sympathy , in memory of the life of Henry Swinton.”

The five women - who were pretending not to have been well acquainted with Henry - sat quietly and respectfully through his memorial ceremony, although most of them had really zoned out within fifteen minutes. The most interesting bit was when the mayor forgot what he was supposed to be saying and had to be reminded. But more importantly, they sat quietly and listened politely.

It was something they would never really do again.

Melbourne had very recently been one of the greatest cities in the world; a

wonderful place to be living - but as they say, what goes up must come down.

The city’s growth had come to an inevitable halt when it became victim to a depression - still currently gripping the city. Businesses were failing, people were being put out of jobs; generally, lots of people were losing money. It was easy to guess that the place may never be the same.

Even so, Henry Swinton fortunately had not lost all his money, his bakery business was still running, and Mary was enjoying the benefits of inheriting his money, perched on a new sofa, drinking rather expensive tea from a fancy new tea set with her four friends.

“Seems rather as if you’ve gotten yourself into a spot of good luck, now,” said Edith, who had not much consideration for the lives or deaths of men like Mary’s husband, and was quickly scolded by Jane.

“This tea is just lovely, dear,” added Shelley, who was usually rather mild and enjoyed the smaller things in life - although she was really just as strongwilled as any of the five when it came down to it.

Mary smiled like a queen holding court, feeling as though she’d won a sort of victory against her late husband. She was nothing in that moment if not proud of herself and had begun to consider all sorts of possibilities of what she could do with her inheritance.

“Well, yes, this is all very nice,” Anne said in agreement with the others, “but Mary, do you not feel as though the money could be better spent on things more practical than this sort of extravagance?”

Anne often acted as the voice of reason in the group. After all, Edith was rather stubborn, Shelley could be absent-minded, Jane was sometimes too kind-hearted for her own good, and Mary, well, she occasionally needed to be challenged by someone, and it would never be one of the others.

Mary contemplated Anne’s suggestion. “I suppose you’re right,” she admitted

finally. “I suppose I’d never meant to use all of it for this sort of purpose. I’m not sure I’ve decided on much of a plan for it at all, really. It feels as though this fortune has just become mine out of nowhere, and I can’t yet be certain of what to do.”

The ladies all contemplated Mary’s reflection in a moment of silence. She happened to be the first of them to lose her husband, so none were able to advise her out of experience.

At last, Jane reassured her friend, “You need not have decided what to do with the money yet. Perhaps something will come to you, or you can save it, and your family will continue to be very prosperous.”

“Save it? Mary doesn’t want to make sure her boring son - just like his father, that one - gets to send his bloody son to grammar school or buy him a horse or something of that sort. She can use it to - I don’t know - make a difference!” Edith argued.

Some of the group chuckled a little, while Jane burst out, “But all those children, Edith! In fifty years when we’re not around they could be…”

Mary was no longer listening, exactly. She was thinking very, very hard about how to use that money after hearing the suggestions of her friends, but decidedly not so much considering her four surviving children in these equations.

It was another very cloudy day in the suburbs of Melbourne, but today the sun was sort of shining through the thick layer of cloud still stubbornly refusing to move on.

Also, there was someone visiting for tea at Mary’s now well-furnished residence.

He did not feel much like a visitor though really; he seemed to command any space he was put in with his potent sense of authority. But that was not truly why he seemed unlike a guest; actually, he had grown up in this house.

Mary’s visitor was the very person that Edith had described as her “boring son”

There are some men who seem very powerful and very commanding, but immediately wilt in the presence of their mother, who raised them, and who they shall therefore always see as having ultimate control over disciplining their behaviour.

Tragically for Mary, her dear son, Arthur was not that type of man.

For Mary, having a conversation with her son was like speaking to an unfamiliar man about business such as, say, repossessing her house, except the man also called her “Mother”.

To elaborate, Arthur showed almost no sense of attachment or familiarity with his mother and spoke mostly on very serious topics such as the family’s business. Perhaps he was not much for small talk, and perhaps, more broadly, his sense of social relations had become completely addled by his position in life as a businessman and a councillor (just as his father before him).

From all this it becomes rather easy to gather that he was there about his mother’s inheritance.

Arthur had also been left some money upon his father’s passing, as well as control of the family business - which Mary guessed he had also come to talk about - but ultimately it was Mary oversaw the majority of Henry Swinton’s fortune.

Arthur did not quite trust her with it and felt that he needed to speak with her and make her see reason; or, rather, why she should try to use the money in accordance with his father’s values.

Pleasantries were exchanged upon his arrival; a short conversation about the weather took place before tea was brought out. Arthur had accepted a cup and was soon sitting before his mother as she sipped her tea calmly. Her nonchalance agitated him, though he managed to remain outwardly composed. He asked her what she was planning to do with her

newly inherited money, hoping to put her on edge.

She calmly answered that she did not know. She asked him about the business.

This began an exchange on how to properly run the Swinton’s Bakery chain. Arthur learnt plenty from his mother and ended up forgetting to ask more about what she would do with his father’s money.

He was furious with himself afterwards. He suspected his father would be too.

Edith had said to Mary that her money could be used to make a difference in their society. Mary had not yet found a cause to put her money behind - but find one she did.

Women’s suffrage in Australia was in part protested by groups including the very influential Women’s Suffrage League and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. These were groups that believed that women were educated, intelligent and emotionally capable, and struggled against traditional roles, just as Mary and her friends did.

These groups and other protesters would hold rallies, send letters, make speeches, and start petitions, even writing and performing plays and songs and such in order to bring awareness to their cause. They easily drew the attention of Mary and her friends, who quickly realised they wanted to support the protesters as well.

So, they started an organisation that never became quite so influential, but hopefully did its part, which the five women led, and, with Mary’s money, they were able to protest just as others did, with rallies, petitions, and generally trying to show everyone the importance of women’s suffrage.

The five had not stopped at this, though, and continued to do what they could to improve the lives of women, including starting a women’s charity to help women in need, including those who were suffering as a result of the ongoing depression, as well as those who were divorced or deserted by their husbands.

Mary, Jane, Anne, Shelley and Edith extended their activism and kindness as far as they could until Mary’s money ran out. By then, the five of them felt they had done their part. Or at least, they had done all they could. They had tried to do their part to ensure a better future for women. They even dared to hope that one day there might not be women like them, unhappily married and afraid to attempt to make a difference for too long.

They didn’t really care if they were remembered or not. They only hoped that their contributions would aid the progression of a greater cause.

It was over a century later and not much was recorded about Mary; in fact, it was very hard to find out anything much about her, particularly if you were not in possession of a certain family history or tree.

It was over a century later, and all anyone truly knew of Mary was that she was the reason her descendants had not inherited an enormous fortune and been as wealthy and important as her husband had. She was practically said to be some kind of monster.

It was over a century later and Mary was not quite remembered (and probably villainised by sexist male historians), and the world had changed a fair bit, and it was the sort of brighter future she might’ve envisioned. It was a world where in the same place she had once lived, her greatgreat-great-great-granddaughters could feel as though they had opportunities, opportunities people in Mary’s time had not had.

It was over a century later but also some things had not changed, and Mary was not the only woman whose story was twisted into something ugly. It was up to the current generation then, to recognise there was no doubt more to Mary’s story than met the eye. It was up to them to know when history must be rewritten.

Y2K POP CULTURE

Y2K pop culture

The Y2K trends of the early 2000s have since resurfaced today, with the era renowned for its iconic trends, predominately in fashion. Examples of this include Juicy Couture tracksuits, thin eyebrows, low-rise jeans and equally seminal films. This era is also famed for the rise of popular internet websites, which are a must today: Google, YouTube, and Facebook.

Fast fashion also peaked within the early to mid 2000s. With its low-cost appeal driven by trends straight off the runway.

Y2K

Famous 2000s celebrities

This was also a period that saw numerous celebrities rise to fame. For instance, Paris Hilton, who swiftly became one of the pioneers of social media. Paris’ breakout role was in the television series ‘The Simple Life’ with her friend Nicole Richie. Her involvement in television, both starring and hosting, innovation, and more, quickly catapulted her to fame. In recent years, Hilton has drawn immense public awareness towards the ‘troubled teen industry’, contributing to philanthropic initiatives as well as media projects including ‘Trapped in Treatment’.

Sources:

https://parishilton.com/paris-impact-work

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/news/g5852/early-2000s-celeb-trends/

https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/g26907530/2000s-fashion-trends/

WORDS BY HANNAH HUANG

DESIGN BY HARLEY LORENZO WOOD

• THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION •

The industrial revolution saw the economy shift from one dominated by handicraft to one dominated by machines and steam. Mass production lowered the cost of common necessities, but also lead to overcrowding and pollution in cities and industrial towns.

Y S C N O I T A S I L A I R T S U D N I

Q N L A I C R E M M O C B R X Y C D U S

F Y Z E K X C Y I E S N Y Z O M R I Q Y

Q X I S R A Y R E V O L U T I O N R K G

L P E D E G N A H C O R L N N N Y O C Z

N S A P K I N E W R B Z A O X O R N R I

K E G N Z W O R K E R S C I M C O Z N J

I L R L C L N K T W C U I T Q E T L P N

S I I J B H J J V O V L M C H R C A Q J

Z T C X Z A I U X P Q A E U U W A C D K

P X U D F X I M L M M T H D K C F H M S

F E L W F M N P N A J I C O J M O I X E

J T T N G R U E N E R P E R T N E L W N

Q M U E K N Z U J T Y A Y P Q M S D H I

G L R B U S I N E S S C G S S I L L J H

G R E A T B R I T A I N S S J A E A L C

N K D E U N N P Y V G O T A W E V B D A

D U G C T C C E X P O R T M T F V O A M

E K Z G Z S N K Y A K Y H S L F S U L L

G M M A N U F A C T U R I N G R B R J L

Capital

Industrialisation Revolution

Steel

Mass production

Steam power

Factory Workers

Manufacturing

Iron

Chimney Agriculture

Child labour

Economy Machines

Chemical

Textiles

Great Britain

Commercial Business

Entrepreneur

Export Steel Change

high school

Words by Anne Liu, design by Phoebe Gallagher

I

i look up to the older girls the ones speaking up at assembly with no room on their blazer lapels crowded with badges and badges upon badges.

walking down the hallways i keep my head down, wary of holding the door curt glance, small smile, not looking for an enemy.

twelve classes most that i don’t care for. but i must work hard, even in RE because that has always been me.

they’re heads taller confident and determined glowing in pristine red jumpers among a navy and moss green sea

they walk with purpose and coffee cups in hand phones in pocket i wouldn’t dare. how nice will that be, i wonder to one day have that much choice and freedom good friends and chosen classes leaving during lunch.

how nice, will that be.

II

I look at my watch what is the time? i cannot be late to this meeting of mine.

SRC then debating book club at lunch had tennis before school musical rehearsal after school and i should study for that test tomorrow finish that assignmentso so so too too much. for me to do. going through the motions swept up in the tide of diligence and fierce competition

i’m struggling to tread water, sometimes choking and swallowing salty gulps.

i’m slightly concerned that they’re not thrashing too until around their ankle i notice a thin black string leading to something bobbing in the waves.

and I realise I must keep this all up. stop comparing and getting distracted stop complaining about fatigue and weakness it’ll be over soon. It’s the final sprint.

so soon, i will be free.

III

15, 16, 17

where has the time all gone?

my locker is now next to the principal’s office in a grey building of maroon jumpers. where everyone’s dress is a little short school shoes a little battered.

I look at my blazer

I’ve built up quite a stack of badges SRC, some awards, camps, sport and all that. there isn’t much space left, if I needed to add another I’d have to take one off. but now it’s heavy and weighs me down when i walk

so I opt for a jumper instead.

only 6 subjects left. handpicked after much contemplation plus stories advice aplenty

I kept some I did well in before, some, pure emotional attachment to familiarity.

it feels like this year is particularly accelerated. last first day, last events, last camps. Last.

it’s bittersweet now, the trainings I hated waking up for the assemblies I almost fell asleep in the study sessions with friends where we’d all cry over maths, the camps where we’d whisper in sleeping bags under the stars.

I will look back upon those years of friendship and laughs smiles and tears learning and mistakes happy and carefree. because now it’s reduced to a mere, sacred memory.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY THE HERMIT IS AN OLD MAN WITH A LANTERN?

STORY HAS IT THAT DIOGENES WOULD WANDER THE CROWDS...

SHINING A LANTERN ON THEM.

HE ONLY SAID

WHEN ASKED WHY?

‘I AM LOOKING FOR AN HONEST MAN’

What do we imagine when we picture the earth in 100 years? What sort of technological advancements do we expect? What sort of things do we strive to achieve? This was the same question a handful of French artists were given at the end of the 1800s, who were requested to illustrate their own envisionments for the 21st century, commissioned by a toy company. Now that we are, in fact, in the 2000s and have witnessed quite the technological revolution, let’s discuss some of the predictions these past French artists had for themselves, and how close or far they were from today’s reality.

In this drawing, a period-typical projector shows a video of another person, and a man is talking into a microphone connected to a machine. Judging by the weird contraption on the table, this was intended to be some prediction of video calling. Surprisingly, this prediction ended up being eerily close to reality, since we now have all kinds of live video calling software including Zoom, FaceTime and livestreaming. The only difference is that it’s far more portable and accessible than shown here, not requiring an entire machine and projector to do something that our simple, tiny phones can do at the press of a button.

19th Century Visions of the Future

Words and design by Sofia

Nikitina

Now for something that maybe wasn’t too accurate to today’s future; this illustration depicts a man simply flying into a restaurant for a quick drink. Though it’s reminiscent of the drive-thru restaurants of today, this flythru prophecy seems quite impossible given the technology of the plane shown. Based on the drawing of the man in the centre, we can assume that everybody in this prediction would have owned one of these flying planes and used them daily. This prediction isn’t too unusual, as people have been dreaming about flying cars and quick, accessible flight transportation for centuries now, but unfortunately, we just aren’t there yet in terms of technological advancement. Maybe someday…

A pretty simple one, this illustration shows a man speaking into a sort of microphone, with a typewriter writing everything he dictates onto paper. Sound familiar? Of course! Surely, we’ve all used the easily accessible voice-totext feature at least once in our lives. Sure, this feature is still very flawed and frustrating, but once again, these French artists managed to predict something eerily similar to the future 100 years later, give or take some elements like the typewriter or oversized microphone.

This one looks interesting right off the bat! This drawing shows a race of some kind, perhaps similar to a horse race. We can see a large crowd of people all surprisingly wearing regular human clothing and scuba helmets, implying this would be a normal event attended by the masses. Naturally, we can tell that this dream of riding oversized fish on a racecourse isn’t today’s reality at all - and likely never will be.

Well this one’s a handful. For whatever odd reason, these artists predicted that the 21st century would contain an evolved species of frog hybrids that would stand and act just like regular humans. Whether this mutation was predicted to be manmade or accidental is unclear, but judging by our human nature, it wouldn’t be a far stretch to say it’s the former. We can see the frog-people performing a dance of some kind to the humans, who are yet again in scuba helmets and regular clothing. Would this race of frogs have been considered a different social class to humans? Would they speak human languages? Would they live with humans on land? This one has a lot of strange possibilities and questions that will unfortunately never be answered.

So, what have we learned? These French artists were definitely right on the nose with some of these predictions, yet they were surely drastically off on some of these other ones - some being physically impossible, some biologically impossible, some still having the slight possibility of happening in the future. Of course, predicting the future 100 years ahead of us is very difficult on its own, let alone doing it accurately.

So, what do you think? What are some of your envisionments for the 22nd century?

Images via The Public Domain Review, Lost Futures: A 19th-Century Vision of the Year 2000 https://publicdomainreview.org/ collection/a-19th-century-vision-of-theyear-2000/

WILD GONDWANA

RED PLANET MARS

‘EARTH’S NEIGHBOUR IS WAITING FOR YOU’

The Life of a Woman in Regency England

WORDS BY ELLA KEELE, DESIGN BY PHOEBE GALLAGHER

The Regency era generally describes the years between 1795 and 1837, and was - to the bookworm, most importantly - a time in which Jane Austen, the Brontё sisters, and Mary Shelley all lived. But what was life really like back then?

Education

Women were educated not to have a career, but to be good wives and mothers. They were taught just enough about humanities and science to strike up conversations with men, but not enough to question the opinions of their husbands. Girls also learned a little about life as a wife (it rhymes!) and managing a household.

The arts were incredibly important in the education of a young lady. They learned about music, visual art, and, most importantly, dancing! It was at balls where they met and spoke to prospective husbands, of course. A woman accomplished in the arts was considered very desirable.

Entering Society

Upper-class young women were introduced into society at the Queen Charlotte’s Ball, which marked the beginning of their first season. The season started in late October and carried on until June, full of fancy events, parties, and balls. All of a woman’s education in dancing and conversation were put to good use as they were introduced to plenty of single men.

A woman’s personality and her skills in dancing weren’t the only things that men cared about, though. Dowry, family connections, and - perhaps the most significant - reputation were equally important. Every season a woman went unmarried made her less and less attractive. She could be ruined very easily - a single kiss could completely stop her from ever getting married (while the man she kissed would be perfectly fine!) and was very scandalous to society back then.

Marriage

Marriage was not about love. It was a contract, and while women may not have been happy, sometimes they would be homeless otherwise. For example, in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, having no brothers to inherit the estate, the five Bennett sisters could have ended up without a home when their father died if they did not marry.

The husband had various (questionable) rights in a marriage, and the wife a lack of. He owned all of his wife’s possessions, money, and, most disgustingly, her body. Divorce was on the husband’s terms and ruined a woman’s reputation. After divorce, the husband kept everything that had belonged to his wife - including their children. He could legally beat his wife as long as he didn’t kill her. He could have affairs, hire prostitutes, and live completely apart from his wife and kids, if he continued to financially support their lives. A woman had none of these rights.

Marriage could legally happen as long as the wife was over the age of twelve, the husband over the age of fourteen, and they weren’t related too closely. Their parents had to consent if they were under the age of twenty-one. Generally, the husband would be older. The wife was expected to help run the household (along with the staff) and visit acquaintances frequently. They didn’t often have the support of their husbands.

Jobs

Upper-class women generally couldn’t get jobs if they ended up unmarried. All they could really do was become a governess as a last resort. Lower or workingclass women could be barmaids, seamstresses, or work in factories. Getting a job was not expected of women, so it was difficult for them to find a job. There were some exceptions however, such as Mary Anning, who discovered many fossils starting at just twelve, and someone who has already been referenced in this article - Jane Austen. She wrote multiple, very successful books, though she only became as wellknown as she is today after her death in 1817.

Motherhood

Perhaps the biggest job for women was to continue their husband’s bloodline. But having a child back then was quite risky. It was far more likely, at the time, for the mother or child to die during childbirth. They did not have access to the healthcare or knowledge we have these days. When pregnant, women were expected to stay in bed, breathe in no fresh air (for fear of diseases), and be forced to eat a boring diet they did not enjoy.

Fashion

Regency era fashion was incredibly different from the over-the-top looks of the Georgian era and the modesty of the Victorian era. While fashion did change from decade to decade, some things did stay the same - including wide and low necklines, high waistlines, fitted sleeves and bodices, and fancy trims at the hem and neck.

Early Regency-era day dresses were very simple. Chemisettes - essentially just pieces of fancy fabric underneath an outer layer - or fichus - like shawlswere worn to fill in the low necklines, and the dresses were quite easy to put on. Evening dresses often included colourful silk and metallic trim. They had very similar styles to the day dresses, such as a narrow silhouette, long and tight sleeves, and trains.

Later on in the Regency era, day dresses were still very simple, but trends changed. Sleeves became puffed and short, trains became less popular, and bodices were fitted using darts - little folds in fabric used to make clothing more form-fitting - rather than gathered. “Renaissance” details were very popular in England at the time. These included slashed sleeves, with slits that revealed the inner lining, ruffs, and lace. Waistlines were very high, and hems were very detailed. As for evening dresses, they became much less basic. Layered gowns were quite trendy, with a coloured underdress of silk or satin, and sheer overdresses of gauze or lace. Hems were quite complicated, including beads, lace, flowers, and netting. Similar details were used on the sleeves. Skirts grew large and wider.

Hobbies

There were plenty of things for ladies to do at home. Art forms such as painting, drawing, and playing instruments like the lyre, harp, piano-forte - because they were too cool to just call it the piano - and guitar were all quite popular. Women also enjoyed nature. They often took walks - as upper-class women often lived on large properties owned by their husbands - or carriage rides around for entertainment. One more fun thing to do was to play cards and other games. Frequently mentioned in Jane Austen’s novels was the game of Whist, but there were plenty of alternative games played including Blind Man’s Bluff, Spillikins (also known as pick-up sticks), and the Game of Graces, which was especially popular among young women. And, of course, ladies enjoyed reading and writing as well!

Expectations

A woman was expected to be submissive, quiet, devoted to her husband, and passive. Going against these expectations was considered offensive, and impolite to men and the patriarchy (ew!). Women had very little freedom and were heavily objectified.

Despite the Regency era being highly romanticised, it wasn’t actually a great time for women in terms of rights, expectations, and general life. Underneath all the pretty dresses lay an abundance of misogyny and pain.

Sources

https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/was-the-regency-era-a-good-time-to-be-a-woman-the-truth-not-seen-inbridgerton/ https://www.tatler.com/article/what-was-the-london-season-society-balls-debutantes-bridgerton https://home.heinonline.org/blog/2021/08/a-decent-proposal-marriage-in-regency-england/ https://medium.com/@katiebaca_53840/occupations-and-aspirations-fulfilling-your-life-as-a-woman-in-the-regency-erae48739997cf5

https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/womens-regency-fashion-articles/a-tour-of-regency-fashion-day-and-evening-dress

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

COMICS, GAMES & POP CULTURE

CHELTENHAM LIBRARY

Saturday 25 May 10am to 4pm

Enjoy a day of special guests, games, food and fun to explore the world of comics and pop culture. Dress up as your favourite character and join the fun! All ages welcome.

Special guests include author Jack Henseleit, YA author Lili Wilkinson, and comic book artist Dean Rankine. We’ll also have Mario Kart, Minecraft and VR session, plus Storytime and LEGO challenges.

Dress up and take part in the Cosplay parade for your chance to win a prize and be sure to enjoy some tasty food from local vendors while you visit.

Full program will be released in May.

More information: library.kingston.vic.gov.au/kingcon