I remember seeing Phyllis’s frail state right before she died. I was cursed with tremendous amounts of remorse, and lots of regret, for there was not anything I could’ve done to heal her. In her last days, I decided to sew much more frequently. The last project I was working on was a nice warm blanket for Phyllis. She was always shivering at the peak of her sickness, and I wanted to do all I could to make her feel better, even though we all knew where her fate lay. I have held on to a small patch from when I sewed the blanket because it is too painful for me to hold the entire blanket she once held so tightly. Oh how much I could wish to care for that child once more, even when she angered me so deeply. When she decided to run away with, and potentially marry Mr.Darrell, I knew it was my job to get her back. She was naive, she didn’t realize what living in the real world was like. She has always had us to take care of her. The blanket I sewed her had a bunch of quilt patches, tucked together in an array of warm colors meant to soothe her from the pain I knew she was experiencing. In her last moments, she laid next to that blanket and I knew she was ready to find her peace. I wish I could say I have sewn since then, but when I sit down with a needle and thread all I can picture is how ill Phyllis was. I miss her tremendously, and she deserves all the peace and rest in the world. I truly loved the child deeply.
Editorial Commentary: Comfort in a family relationship is often seen as a women’s role. You don’t often think of a man being the first to bring a warm cup of soup or a warm blanket. It is a woman that is the first to do these things. In the Victorian Era, it was never up to the man to provide comfort to a woman. Gertrude Lorimer the eldest sister cared for her dying sister Phyllis. Mr. Darrell, a married man who claimed he is willing and able to care for Phyllis revealed that he is actually unable to accomplish this task. When Gertrude stepped in to save her sister, she is the one that cared for her until her last breath. Mr. Darrell was only pretending to care for Phyllis as a way of using her for his own benefit. Gertrude had the best interest of her sister and was plagued with guilt when she couldn’t save her. Mr. Darrell hinted at the ill state Phyllis was in when Gertrude attempted to take Phyllis away from him. Mr. Darrell pretended to care for Phyllis, yet a married man cannot split his attention between two women. Gertrude as a sister had Phyliis’s ultimate best interest at heart, and could not bear to leave her with him. As people, we often commit actions in selfish ways. This was especially shown when Mr. Darrell was cheating on his wife with a young Phyllis. With the modernization of women’s roles in the 21st century, women and men often split their time in the household and with taking care of the children. In contrast to how men were expected to behave in the Victorian Era, it is pretty common for a man to run the home while the woman works for the home. Men in the 21st century have changed their motivations to care more for their families and running the home, instead of solely and selfishly providing for themselves and for the sole aims of finding a wife. Men have evolved from their selfish ways in the past, and especially throughout the Victorian Era.
Citation: Levy, Amy. The Romance of a Shop. 1889. COVE, 2020.