Hidden Art Book Club:Mrs Schaeffer's Style
In a time when evangelicals were suspicious of all things worldly, Edith reveled in music and dance, in her neat little figure and in beautiful clothes:
"I was 5-foot-2 and weighed 102 pounds and wore clothes that looked like they had come out of the best shops" she tells us, breathlessly, as an example of why she didn't measure up to the standards of Christian womanhood at that time, which, apparently, included dowdiness as well as a rejection of culture.
She was intelligent and full of conviction. She had a lot to say.
As a young pastor's wife and mother, she single-handedly catered weddings, complete with hand-filled cream puffs. She sewed beautiful clothes for her children, read to them from the classics, and took them to art museums, all, of course, while keeping her figure and continuing to wear good clothes, pearls, makeup, Chanel No. 5.
Read the rest of Rachel Marie
Stone's article at her-meneutics ~
Fascinating to read and to read the comments. It is so easy to rewrite history according to our own values. I am so happy we decided to read this book this summer. It has helped me on so many levels. I need to be reminded of these things over and over again.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you wearing today? I am wearing shorts and a t-shirt. I got the t-shirt in Florida and it is neon orange and I really like it. Of course, I am not going anywhere today....
Very much enjoying this book club, too. Hearing from the others is helping me to maintain a more balanced perspective.
DeleteIf I were at home, I'd be wearing a kacky skort and a white sleeveless polo. Since I'm at the office, I'm wearing white pencil pants (Steinmart), a Monaco Blue sleeveless, collared blouse (Dress Barn), and a blue floral sweater (Target).
Have you decided what you'll wear for your CiRCE talk?
Just re-visited the comments AND recognized a friend telling about his visit to L'Abri ;-)
DeleteI don't have a neat little figure, nor do I have impeccable taste, but I have a friend who has both and that has helped me understand that it would be suppressing her personality to not look amazing; she does it naturally. And, it turns out, she actually doesn't care or even notice what I am wearing, though for years I agonized about how I looked before we got together. :) I think we often imagine people are more judgmental in this area than they are; perhaps we are more judgmental of ourselves.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing whole-heartedly with your comment that we are more judgmental of ourselves, I really hope I dont give off vibes that make someone not want to get together for a visit just because of their clothes. I have gone up and down with my weight ever since I was a teenager. It's a constant battle, as is keeping my closet organized ;-)
DeleteI have a question: has anyone ever verified the things that Franky Schaeffer said about his life--his sexcapades with their guests, or his father's supposed sex addiction, for example? I am *sure* they were not perfect, but I often wonder if the son's works are suspect. I have a relative who sees her past through a dark lense, and her siblings will verify that her memories are all the bad and none of the good, and an exaggeration of the bad, at that. For example, "My parents never came to any of my cheerleading competitions." Well, actually, they did, and her father planned his work schedule around them. But she isn't *lying*--for some reason that is how she remembers it.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I know this was supposed to be about dress, but I got caught up in that part and was curious if anyone knew...
There are a fair number of recognizable folks (Os Guiness) who have commented on Franky's book. I have not read the supposed tell-all and dont plan to. Even if a small portion of his claims is true, I think it is highly disrespectful of Franky to have written so publicly. I choose to think like this journalist ends her article ~ positively
ReplyDeleteEven if some of the things are true, it is not seemly or helpful to tell them. What about love covering a multitude of sins? And how can we presume to judge what another woman does in an outworking of her faith and in an effort to love her husband and family? Don't we all know that each marriage is unique with its own challenges? Do people actually propose that the world would have benefited, that any of the Schaeffer parents' or childrens' lives would have been better or that God would have been more glorified if Edith had done things differently, in the style of modern talk TV, perhaps? I think it was, as Dana says, highly disrespectful, even humiliating, to his parents, to write as he has -- even his blog post on the day of her death was disrespectful that way -- and I don't understand how he can be so blind about it. I haven't wanted to write about him for the very reason that I didn't want to join in the fault-finding, but it put me over the top to read a comment on the linked post saying that Edith should not have stayed with her husband.
ReplyDeleteSorry for going off-topic -- I find it very refreshing that there is a chapter in the book on clothing and dress! Thank you, Dana, for linking us to that good blog post.
Interesting how proper Christian ladies look to Edith Schaeffer as a mentor and in a way put her on a pedestal, the women of her early year looked upon her with a skeptical eye.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying your posts, very much, Dana. Everyone's comments and observations throughout this study have encouraged and challenged me. So glad you are joining in!