Frances Power Cobbe (1822-1904)_Life of Frances Power Cobbe As told by herself

This author gave us an inside scoop of the education of women which lacked of intellectual challenges because they did not believe that women’s mind was capable of serious effort. In “Life of France Power Cobbe As told by Herself” the author narrate her own life in school. She went to Brighton that was the most estimated of not even 100 schools of women. Brighton was a very expensive school and the benefit women got form it was minimal because they were only thought about how to attract gentlemen. Although profane people called this school a convent, it did not come close to being called one because there was a lot of noise going around. For instance four pianos could be heard at the same time in a small room where ladies were supposed to read and recite lessons in English, French, Germany and Italian to the governesses. Ladies of marriage age were punish like babies for having their long shoe string untied… “Those who escape the fell destiny of the corner were allowed, if they choose, to write to their parents, but our letters perforce committed at night to the schoolmistress to seal.” (P1889) Basically, while in school women were controlled to the highest level by the staff, word could not have gotten as to our bad the school was. “All the pupils were daughters of men of some standing, mostly country gentlemen, members of parliament, and offshoots of peerage.” (P1890) This confirmed what Carlyle said about rich people then not being happy; then it is only natural for them to make poor people suffered. Imagine what those ladies form big family that were treated so strictly could do to their governesses when they got out, they will seek vengeance specially if they did not have a strong character. “But all this fine material was deplorable wasted. Nobody dreamed that any of us could in later life be more or less ‘Ornament of Society.’ That a pupil in that school should ever become an artist, or authoress, would have been looked upon both Miss Runciman and Miss Roberts as a deplorable dereliction.” (P1890) The women that were head of the school did not think that the girls they educated could make anything big with their life except attract men. As the author said going to that school was a waste of time and an aggravation of women immorality then. Imagine that “At the bottom of the scale morals and religion, and the top were music and dancing; miserable poor music.” (P1890) Okay if moral and religion were believed not to be important or were thought last and less, how do expect that those women turn out good or treat someone else better. Women with moral like Cobbe had to start over after that school, because the education they got was worthless later in life.
Maybe I should be less harsh to the rich then, they really were suffering too, the whole system was bad; however I must say that all these people back then were heroes like Percy Bysshe Shelley and all these authors one way or another tried to tell us.