Friday, January 29, 2010

Which notable lady ...

Modern Traditionalist has a poll running. The question is: Which notable lady embodies the disposition a modern female should uphold? The choices are Audrey Hepburn, Babe Paley, Emily Post, Grace Kelly, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis or Lee Bouvier Radziwill.

I found that I got down to just two contenders fairly quickly: Audrey Hepburn and Emily Post. After that, the choice was made all the more difficult because some of these choices are double. Do I vote for the public persona of Audrey Hepburn or do I include what I know of her private life in my deliberations? I decided not to include those details because Audrey Hepburn, however saddening some of her choices were, always kept a veil over the more intimate side of her life.

It''s easier to decide in Grace Kelly's case. Her public conduct, and the rather more unfortunate public conduct of her daughters, forces the private details on us. And those details must disqualify her—as is also the case with the Bouvier sisters—immediately. Babe Paley, while a contender, lacks the the grace of Audrey Hepburn and the gravitas of Emily Post.

So it boils down to grace versus gravitas.

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