Downal Wyth Bluddy Clichés: Prompt 3

[manniness]

Guess what?  Yup, another Thursday.

If you were thinking about writing something for one of the previous prompts, please feel free to do so!  There's no expiration date on these!

Right, so what's the next cliché?

Alice wants to be a businesswoman.

Or some similar variations: 
Alice eagerly accepts Lord Ascot's job offer.
Alice wants to go to China.

Many fics show Alice as a competent businesswoman (my own included) but I wonder if there might be more to that story.

Copy and paste the relevant fields below in your comment on this post if you have a contribution.  Let's have fun with this one!

Title: I think this is pretty self-explanatory.
Author/Artist/Creator Name: Please use this if you are posting for someone else or recommending someone else's story!
Media: Fic / Art / Fanmix / etc.
Worksafe:  Yes / No
Rating: K / K+ / T / M / M+
Warnings:  Violence, Sex, Non-consensual Sex, and other Objectionable material
File size:  1,000 words / 2 MB / etc.
Summary/Notes:  Tell us a little more about your contribution or recommendation!
Link to story: Link to the author's homepage or story.
Comments: Why are you recommending this to others?  Or your general impressions of it are fine, too.

More recommendations and contributions may be posted HERE at the alice_tarrant community.

An introduction to Downal Wyth Bluddy Clichés and a list of links to previous clichés can be found HERE.

Comments

[just-a-dram.livejournal.com]

I'm familiar with websandwhiskers's take. That's the sort of thing I was *expecting* to be honest. Oh! Aunt Imogene wasn't crazy after all! Alice and her father believe in the impossible, but Aunt Imogene actually is crazy? Hmmm... Not fair.

I will have to part ways with you about her delivery not making her actions childish. I think hurting people's feelings unnecessarily is never an adult thing to do and childish people are as capable of confrontation (often done poorly) as mature people. It makes me think she is not ready for Adult Type Romantic Relationships if that is how she conducts herself. Doesn't make me like her any less necessarily, I just think she's 19.

Hamish's humiliation, comeuppance, or whatever seems way out of line to me unfortunately. Seems to me that he's merely being 'dutiful' in asking Alice to marry him, as we're given little indication that the match was any more his making than hers. Alice might be rejecting 'duty' or expectations or what have you after her return, but it doesn't mean he was part of a conspiracy against her that makes him deserving of public humiliation. But then, I always feel for the person left holding the bag. She's going to sail and he's going to have to walk around London with people whispering behind his back. It might be good for him, but I don't think it makes it excusable.

[prismdropz.livejournal.com]

No, Imogene being crazy really didn't seem fair, did it.

Hmm, you do have a very good point. I suppose I just find it hard to decide whether it was *completely* childish. Maybe because I'm around that age range myself. Her being 19 though really does explain it quite well. And I think I agree that she's probably to young mentally to have a Adult Type Romance quite yet. At least not without making some stupid mistakes along the way when it comes to emotional issues. But then again that's how it works for most first relationships regardless of age, isn't it?

And no, from the sound of it, the whole marriage thing looked to be arranged primarily by Hamish's mother. Poor guy just drew the short straw trying to properly propose to a very improper girl. Although, I actually felt worse for him during the "she left me standing there without an answer" moment than I did during the "digestive" comment that Alice made. After all, it must have been pretty humiliating to have everyone watching you when the girl runs off and not even getting to leave yourself because she didn't give you a response. At least her last comment probably wasn't heard by many people in comparison.

As for the rumors... do you think society at that time would actually think lower of Hamish or of Alice for the failed proposal? On one hand, Hamish is a lord(to be) that was rejected by a girl who was lower in status(?). On the other hand, Alice is the one who said no, which must seem pretty stupid from an outsider's perspective.

Would there be a bias? There usually is one based on class or gender, but I can't figure out who it would favor in this situation. Alice might get to leave and avoid the whispering (like you said) but wouldn't leaving make her an even bigger aberration in society's eyes. Hmm...

[just-a-dram.livejournal.com]

Oh, she's completely done in society, I think. There would be no coming back from that display. I just figure that's what Alice wants anyway, and she avoids any of the unpleasantness she would have experienced by setting sail (even though I don't think that's her motivation in leaving).

Who doesn't avoid it? Her mother, her sister...those are the people that have to live with it, because in that society the sins of one of the women in the family are born by all.

As for Hamish, I can't recall it, but there was a cruel phrase that was applied to men who had been rejected in their marriage suits. This scene wouldn't affect Hamish's standing in society, but it would certainly cause him to be the focus of unkind speculation, which I imagine would take no small amount of time to die down.

[prismdropz.livejournal.com]

Oh ouch. I didn't even really consider that. It's definitely not going to be a good time for her poor mother and sister. It'll probably be compounded by everyone's perceptions of Imogene as well. Those nasty rumors would probably mention something like there being two generations of craziness in the family.

Alice did NOT think that through did she. When we list the consequences of what she did like this, it definitely makes the childish aspect stand out. Nasty repercussions all around.