The Scandalous Lady W - Seymour Fleming

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“I belong to no man. And while I may have the misfortune to live in a time of men, I will belong to no man ever again." 

                                                         

Seymour Fleming (more commonly known as “The Scandalous Lady W” (1758-1818) created controversy because she publicly left her husband to elope with her lover and humiliated herself in court to protest being treated as property. She was the ultimate bad bitch - she defied the patriarchy, was unashamed of her sexuality and the ultimate feminist in my eyes. She gave no fecks what anyone thought of her and never apologised for who she was.

She knew that people's opinions and a man's love are both fickle and that women need neither of them to survive. She had the courage to fight for what women everywhere are still fighting for. She didn't take the easy option - she actively fought for what was right at the cost of everything she treasured (except her freedom). She knew that she wasn't worth £20,000 or a shilling - she, like every woman, is priceless and that our worth is not at all dependant on a man. She stuck by her principles despite everything and it worked out alright in the end - even in today's society very few men take their wife's name.


So thank you, Seymour Dorothy Fleming, for being an inspiration to women through the ages, and especially to me. Y'all should watch Natalie Dormer’s amazing portrayal of her if you can, and read the novel that inspired it. We can all learn from the amazing, and scandalous, Lady W.

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