Heroines or Villains?

Heroines or Villains is the third theme in my “Interesting Women” series of blogs.

I’m writing about women who broke the mold, and challenged the ‘status quo’ of their societies.

Were they heroines or villains?

I’ll let you decide.

Coming up on Google +  next week, I’ll be posting articles about interesting women from prehistory to the present.

source: news.com.au

Stonehenge - from the mists of time and still standing.

The experts are still piecing together the mystery of Stonehenge. Why was it built?  How did the ancients transport the “Sarsen” bluestones from a quarry in Wales located over 100 miles away. What is Stonehenge's purpose?

A cremation cemetery?

Despite artists portraying prehistoric man as in charge of the site, in the latest discovery, half of the prehistoric, cremated bones belong to women. Could women have been as noteworthy as men in prehistoric Britain?

A Pirate Story

A lot of people like a good pirate story and perhaps a costume for Halloween. Remember, Peter Pan, Captain Hook and the alligator. The stage musical, “Pirates of Penzance”. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie franchise. There’s too many pirate movies, music, stage and television shows, games and comics in popular entertainment to name here.

Less well-known are the 5 notorious female pirates from the 18th Century. Once there was a superstitious belief among pirates that having women aboard a ship was bad luck. Meeting Anne Bonny and Mary Read on the high seas would knock the wind out of anybody's sails. In 1720, Anne and Mary teamed up. The two marauders were the most feared female pirates to raid fishing boats and trading sloops.

China 1801, Cheng I Sao, with her husband raised a pirate army of 50,000 men. After her husband’s death in 1807, she continued her plundering ways until the British and Portuguese forced her retirement. She ran a gambling house until her death. Cheng I Sao was one of history’s most successful pirates.

 More Mutiny

In 1938, Australian actress, Mary Maguire was kicked out of Hollywood for her mutiny against the role of ingénue (innocent and wholesome women). She wanted a dramatic part in a movie.

Lady Worsley, contemporary of Jane Austen

Seymour, Lady Worsley, was at the center of one of the Georgian era’s biggest scandals. The Lady was a contemporary of Jane Austen and also her neighbor.

Lady Worsley was an heiress and a high-spirited woman who was the property of her husband. Her monetary worth was attributed to her virtue. If she was proved to be less than virtuous, her worth decreased. She lost her virtue and her husband went to court to sue for compensation. There’s more about Seymour’s character in the video below from the BBC drama production.

Well that’s some of the highlights from next week’s G+ posts. I hope you can join me again.

Wishing you fair weather,

and a fine weekend. 

♥ Ashlyn