A cliche in peacocks' feathers still a cliche, eh?
My only correction to your generally-admirable rant is, I think you mean 19th century: if she were an 18th century heroine, we'd find out that she was secretly Mad Moll, the bold and saucy Lady Highwayman, Terror of the Coach Road, by night; or else that she was actually The Princess Incognita, with all this wealth and power at her fingertips, going out in humble guise to test the virtues of those with more ostensible power before making her decision as to who to favour - either way, there'd be a stunning Unmasking sequence in which all the guys end up redfaced and mumbling and staring at their hands, and Penny (whether Penny the Predator or Princess Penny) goes off with lackey Moist, who has unexpectedly shown his virtue in some way or another, not least of all by being humble and un-arrogant throughout...
Yes, I read too much Restoration Comedy and listened to wayyy too many ballads, I admit!
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Heh, heh -
Date: 2008-07-26 02:52 pm (UTC)My only correction to your generally-admirable rant is, I think you mean 19th century: if she were an 18th century heroine, we'd find out that she was secretly Mad Moll, the bold and saucy Lady Highwayman, Terror of the Coach Road, by night; or else that she was actually The Princess Incognita, with all this wealth and power at her fingertips, going out in humble guise to test the virtues of those with more ostensible power before making her decision as to who to favour - either way, there'd be a stunning Unmasking sequence in which all the guys end up redfaced and mumbling and staring at their hands, and Penny (whether Penny the Predator or Princess Penny) goes off with lackey Moist, who has unexpectedly shown his virtue in some way or another, not least of all by being humble and un-arrogant throughout...
Yes, I read too much Restoration Comedy and listened to wayyy too many ballads, I admit!