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Post by Hodge on Sept 11, 2014 5:14:12 GMT
But if a young lady was showing a man some ankles, is it implied that there was more going on? Would this be why Julia has flashed so much ankle at William through the years, including most definitely in 07x17 when she's sitting on his desk with her skirts hiked up? I know our "ankle pronz" references have been mostly a joke, but what if it actually is? My understanding is the ankles are supposed to be a turn-on (kind of like a Chinese woman's bound feet). But that wouldn't automatically imply something is or is not going on. Ankles were more and more on display at the time. Remember Henry's can-can girl's and the Moulin Rouge? We've already seen Julia in a short dress on a bicycle/for exercise and in a bathing suit - so it can't be Temptation Beyond Return. We're only a decade or so away from flappers, too. I would equate flashing an ankle to showing a lot of cleavage. When women wore 'practical clothing' i.e. shorter skirts or pants they wore leggings to hide the ankles. Note Julia's leggings when ballooning and the female cyclists leggings in Tour de Murdoch. We're not in the 20th century yet, it was later that clothing got shorter and it was usually a war that raised the skirt hems. It was only after 1914 that skirts really began to rise. Moulin Rouge was from Paris and we know how scandalous those French are!!  |
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Post by snacky on Sept 11, 2014 5:14:53 GMT
Hmmm, I can see where one might interpret that as William assuming that there had been some "knowledge" between them-as though this were common among the betrothed. It's compelling evidence for "they did", but there's also evidence for "they didn't". But it's okay, because it's fun to speculate! I think it's a trap because without that "knowledge" he was allowing his Moral self to be hoodwinked by a Loose woman. Not checking makes him gullible. |
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Post by snacky on Sept 11, 2014 5:16:49 GMT
she told him was vulgar-limbs was the acceptable term. Seriously? I think if I were him, I'd break the betrothal with any woman who said that. What a turn-off, hahahaha. Even in the 19th century - ick.  |
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Post by Hodge on Sept 11, 2014 5:18:07 GMT
You really do have to remember how scandalous showing an ankle was. They even put skirts on grand pianos so you couldn't see the legs! A woman that showed her ankles, even to her fiance, would be considered a loose woman. That explains why the fiance was so insulted, but I think modernity had already caught up with him. Look how easily Julia took off her stockings at the beach! The Ragtime dancer lady came close to doing a strip tease by early 20th c. standards! Julia has always been scandalous, she really was way before her time. In reality I think she may have been dragged off to jail taking off her stockings in public, it was considered indecent exposure. The Ragtime dancer was a 'Negress', she wasn't considered a person. No offense intended.... |
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Post by snacky on Sept 11, 2014 5:20:31 GMT
When women wore 'practical clothing' i.e. shorter skirts or pants they wore leggings to hide the ankles. Note Julia's leggings when ballooning and the female cyclists leggings in Tour de Murdoch. We're not in the 20th century yet, it was later that clothing got shorter and it was usually a war that raised the skirt hems. It was only after 1914 that skirts really began to rise. Moulin Rouge was from Paris and we know how scandalous those French are!! Now that I think about it, William was more embarrassed in his bathing suit than Julia was. Did men have a think about letting their ankles show, too? Sooo...does this mean during Season 7 William and Julia could just hang out on a "Love Seat", let their ankles casually touch and sigh, "Meh, that will do." |
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Post by Fallenbelle on Sept 11, 2014 5:21:05 GMT
You really do have to remember how scandalous showing an ankle was. They even put skirts on grand pianos so you couldn't see the legs! A woman that showed her ankles, even to her fiance, would be considered a loose woman. That explains why the fiance was so insulted, but I think modernity had already caught up with him. Look how easily Julia took off her stockings at the beach! The Ragtime dancer lady came close to doing a strip tease by early 20th c. standards! Which is why in Loch Ness Murdoch, I can't quite figure out if William is shocked because Julia is flashing him her bare ankles, or the entire beach. I mean, Julia has been flashing William plenty of ankle over the years (and cleavage), but has he seen her bare ankles? Maybe to show bare ankles (where a tattoo can be seen) is to insinuate that the stockings have come off for sex-or at least the Victorian equivalent of 3rd base. Maybe? An intriguing theory, no doubt. |
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Post by Hodge on Sept 11, 2014 5:27:14 GMT
That explains why the fiance was so insulted, but I think modernity had already caught up with him. Look how easily Julia took off her stockings at the beach! The Ragtime dancer lady came close to doing a strip tease by early 20th c. standards! Which is why in Loch Ness Murdoch, I can't quite figure out if William is shocked because Julia is flashing him her bare ankles, or the entire beach. I mean, Julia has been flashing William plenty of ankle over the years (and cleavage), but has he seen her bare ankles? Maybe to show bare ankles (where a tattoo can be seen) is to insinuate that the stockings have come off for sex-or at least the Victorian equivalent of 3rd base. Maybe? An intriguing theory, no doubt. Obviously it was fine to flash stockinged (is that a word) ankles on the beach, all the women were doing it. Kind of strange that it's fine on the beach but not in town.... However Julia was showing BARE ankles on the beach. |
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Post by Hodge on Sept 11, 2014 5:29:47 GMT
Now that I think about it, William was more embarrassed in his bathing suit than Julia was. Did men have a think about letting their ankles show, too? William believes in propriety, he's probably never been seen in public w/o his trousers before. Maybe showing his legs is embarrassing for him and Julia does make a comment.... |
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Post by snacky on Sept 11, 2014 5:30:25 GMT
Which is why in Loch Ness Murdoch, I can't quite figure out if William is shocked because Julia is flashing him her bare ankles, or the entire beach. I think he is shocked she is showing her ankles in public. He says: "people are watching..." or something like that. I think he's just go: "Hot damn!" If she started flinging off stockings in private... |
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Post by Fallenbelle on Sept 11, 2014 5:30:39 GMT
When women wore 'practical clothing' i.e. shorter skirts or pants they wore leggings to hide the ankles. Note Julia's leggings when ballooning and the female cyclists leggings in Tour de Murdoch. We're not in the 20th century yet, it was later that clothing got shorter and it was usually a war that raised the skirt hems. It was only after 1914 that skirts really began to rise. Moulin Rouge was from Paris and we know how scandalous those French are!! Now that I think about it, William was more embarrassed in his bathing suit than Julia was. Did men have a think about letting their ankles show, too? Sooo...does this mean during Season 7 William and Julia could just hang out on a "Love Seat", let their ankles casually touch and sigh, "Meh, that will do." No, because they're so very modern, Julia's already shown William her bare ankles, so now that they're engaged, they get to see more? Snacky, time to use your library card and do some research on sexual mores in the late 19th/early 20th century. I would, but I've got to do some schoolwork. |
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Post by snacky on Sept 11, 2014 5:32:24 GMT
Now that I think about it, William was more embarrassed in his bathing suit than Julia was. Did men have a think about letting their ankles show, too? William believes in propriety, he's probably never been seen in public w/o his trousers before. Maybe showing his legs is embarrassing for him and Julia does make a comment.... I seriously want to see the episode where they play strip poker now. |
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Post by Fallenbelle on Sept 11, 2014 5:44:08 GMT
Now that I think about it, William was more embarrassed in his bathing suit than Julia was. Did men have a think about letting their ankles show, too? William believes in propriety, he's probably never been seen in public w/o his trousers before. Maybe showing his legs is embarrassing for him and Julia does make a comment.... But he was parading around in his bicycle shorts in Tour de Murdoch seemingly without a thought. But Julia wasn't there for that bit...maybe it's being without proper trousers around Julia? Argh, I don't know! *flails* |
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Post by Hodge on Sept 11, 2014 5:55:31 GMT
William believes in propriety, he's probably never been seen in public w/o his trousers before. Maybe showing his legs is embarrassing for him and Julia does make a comment.... But he was parading around in his bicycle shorts in Tour de Murdoch seemingly without a thought. But Julia wasn't there for that bit...maybe it's being without proper trousers around Julia? Argh, I don't know! *flails* I'd forgotten about that. Maybe it is Julia that he's embarrassed to show his legs to. |
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Post by snacky on Sept 11, 2014 5:56:39 GMT
But he was parading around in his bicycle shorts in Tour de Murdoch seemingly without a thought. But Julia wasn't there for that bit...maybe it's being without proper trousers around Julia? Argh, I don't know! *flails* hmmm, and those was a rather well-molded bike shorts at that! It's a pity if Julia never saw that! Maybe he's afraid to make her any more interested than she already is...?  I think this is a case of gender inversion. Perhaps he was okay with the bike uniform because it was a uniform, and he was in public. But in the bathing suit, he was in private with Julia, which was an invitation to impropriety in itself. (That might imply the 40 year old virgin theory btw...). Maybe he feels as the man he has to exhibit more self-control. (This wouldn't be the first time William would be mentally lagging in the past). Julia is a woman, and she's the "opposite" of a man in William's mind. So she she should be modest in public but feel perfectly safe to let William appreciate her ankles. Women are naturally sensual creatures, etc. |
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Post by snacky on Sept 11, 2014 6:22:50 GMT
I'd forgotten about that. Maybe it is Julia that he's embarrassed to show his legs to. Julia also thought it was unusual to see William in something like knickerbockers for the baseball game in Walk on the Wild Side. I just realized that the show-spanning arc of MM could be classified as a striptease hahahaha. By Season 5, William was wearing knickers. By season 7, both William and Julia were showing ankles... |
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