The Lost Luxuries of Ladyhood

ON APRIL 15, 1993, a healthy young male entering a suburban Washington library slammed the door on a woman laden with books. In a world plagued by racism, poverty, and AIDS, it should be easy to ignore such a trifling incident. I might have done so on any other day, but this particular day was the 81st anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking, the last gasp of Victorian chivalry.

Only a third of the Titanic’s passengers survived; most were women and children. When a surviving ship’s officer was later asked whether this “women and children first” policy was the captain’s rule or the rule of the sea, he replied that it was the rule of nature. Official inquiries revealed that several male passengers refused to enter lifeboats because they couldn’t be sure all the women aboard had been rescued. Among the few ungallant males who dashed for the lifeboats, one was beaten bloody by several men who stood stoically on deck, facing death but spared dishonor.

LL

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Linda Lichter

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ON APRIL 15, 1993, a healthy young male entering a suburban Washington library slammed the door on a woman laden with books. In a world plagued by racism, poverty, and AIDS, it should be easy to ignore such a trifling incident. I might have done so on any other day, but this particular day was the 81st anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking, the last gasp of Victorian chivalry.

Only a third of the Titanic’s passengers survived; most were women and children. When a surviving ship’s officer was later asked whether this “women and children first” policy was the captain’s rule or the rule of the sea, he replied that it was the rule of nature. Official inquiries revealed that several male passengers refused to enter lifeboats because they couldn’t be sure all the women aboard had been rescued. Among the few ungallant males who dashed for the lifeboats, one was beaten bloody by several men who stood stoically on deck, facing death but spared dishonor.