William

Essays

Beneath Her? - Why Cecily Really Rejected William

Note: This is a repost of an essay originally written for The Bloody Awful Gutter edited a tiny bit. Now I don't want to get into a rant here, but... From both FFL and LMPTM we can see that William is upper class. Otherwise he wouldn't have even been *invited* to the party at Cecily's, nor would he have had such a wardrobe, or such a house (a piano, a fancy fireplace, very good furniture, and baubles and pictures in fancy frames everywhere). I know many point to Cecily's comment that William is "beneath her" as an indication that he is not of the same class. I thought so too, at first, before I did some research about the period. So far all my research has suggested that the classes do not mix. At least not when it comes to having parties, balls and so forth. The men might enjoy "slumming it" at a tavern or such, but proper ladies did not slum. So what did Cecily mean? She meant, that he was beneath her in popularity and style. His wealth was not *so* great that he could make up for this. He would have probably had to have been a relative of the royal family or have been leagues ahead of her for her to overlook his "failings." What were his "failings"? (besides the Bloody Awful Poetry) Style 1. His suit was definitely of upper class quality (although it may have been affordable to the middle class too) but it was light colored. Dark colors were in. Mostly blacks or very dark browns. William probably thought the dark colors were depressing and wanted to wear something light(like the suit) and bright(like the blue vest). 2. His hair was all curly, fussy and longish on the tops and sides if you go with the FFL version. It was effeminate and not in style. If he wanted to keep more in style he would have cut it shorter and/or tamed it (in a style like the blonde snob's or LMPTM William). Why did FFL William style it the way he did? Who knows? Maybe his mum liked it that way. Or maybe he liked it that way and didn't want to change to suit fashion. As a Romantic poet, he's already a rebel. Rebellious Nature 1. To be a romantic poet (good or bad) was not a good thing in this time period. It was looked down upon as frivolous/foolish at best. William was obviously open about his poetry. The snobs knew exactly what he was holding up when he was making his point about focusing on things of beauty. It was a sign of rebellion and liberalism and would not have been looked kindly upon, no matter his fortune. Especially if he was bloody awful at it. Social Awkwardness 1. William, bless his adorable little heart, was not dashing or charming by popular standards. He was shy, slightly effeminate, and while he was a good man and gentleman he was also oblivious to certain conventions of style and hobby. He was a nerd, a geek, and a brain. He wore glasses and used fancy words that the mainstream would never use in a million years (like effulgent). And we know Spike knew Greek. He probably learned the Greek in college as a human. William was studious and bookish. And the mainstream seems to revile that. It's not "cool." Hence, Cecily deems him beneath her despite his upper class status.

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