第1部第4章 -- 让Lucy困惑的是“为什么大多数不平凡的事情都和大家闺秀的身份不相称呢？” 成年人是这样给她解释的：
"Charlotte had once explained to her why. It was not that ladies were inferior to men; it was that they were different. Their mission was to inspire others to achievement rather than to achieve themselves. Indirectly, by means of tact and a spotless name, a lady could accomplish much. But if she rushed into the fray herself she would be first censured, then despised, and finally ignored. Poems had been written to illustrate this point.
There is much that is immortal in this medieval lady. The dragons have gone, and so have the knights, but still she lingers in our midst. She reigned in many an early Victorian castle, and was Queen of much early Victorian song. It is sweet to protect her in the intervals of business, sweet to pay her honour when she has cooked our dinner well. But alas! the creature grows degenerate. In her heart also there are springing up strange desires. She too is enamoured of heavy winds, and vast panoramas, and green expanses of the sea. She has marked the kingdom of this world, how full it is of wealth, and beauty, and war--a radiant crust, built around the central fires, spinning towards the receding heavens. Men, declaring that she inspires them to it, move joyfully over the surface, having the most delightful meetings with other men, happy, not because they are masculine, but because they are alive. Before the show breaks up she would like to drop the august title of the Eternal Woman, and go there as her transitory self."
"夏绿蒂有一次向她解释过其中的缘故。这并不是说女人不如男人，而是说女人跟男人不同。女人的使命是鼓励别人去取得成就，而不是自己去取得成就。一位女士，凭着机敏和洁白无瑕的名声，可以通过间接方式获得巨大的成功。但是如果她亲自去冲锋陷阵，那么她将首先受到指责，继而被人看不起，最后大家将不理睬她。前人曾写诗来阐明这一点。
在这位中世纪女士身上有许多永恒的东西。龙不存在了，骑士也不存在了，但是她仍然逗
留在我们的中间。她曾在许多维多利亚时代早期的城堡中居于统治地位，也是许多维多利
亚时代早期的歌曲中的女王。工余之暇，好好保护她是件乐事，她为我们准备了可口的晚
餐，这时向她致敬也是件乐事。可是真是可惜！这个人堕落了。她心底里也涌现出各种奇
怪的欲望。她也迷恋狂风，迷恋波澜壮阔的全景和一望无际的绿色大海。她注意到当今世
界的这个王国，它多么美好，充满了财富和战争——四周是一层金光灿灿的外壳，中间是
熊熊的火焰，旋转上升，向着渐渐远去的天空。男人们声明是她激励他们向它走去，在它
的表面上兴冲冲地活动着，和其他男人万分愉快地相聚，他们非常快乐，倒不是因为他们
具有男子汉气概，而是因为他们是活人。在这场戏结束以前，她很想放弃“永恒的女人”这
一令人敬畏的尊号，作为一个生命短暂的人，也到那里去。"
-- 上面这段诗歌的含义不是那么一目了然。我们首先想一下中世纪的女性形象是什么样子的，她们“高高在上”地被骑士们众星捧月，然而这种远离世俗的生活让她们厌倦，她们的存在的意义越来越微不足道。
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