| Description | Much of this letter takes the form of an appeal by Elizabeth to her father, pleading with him to allow her and her sister Margaret (Pearlie) to go to 'an Opera' the following Friday. Elizabeth writes 'please please do let us go, everyone here are going, please the very instant you've read this, please take a pen & paper & write we & say we may.'
This letter reflects how Elizabeth Taylor struggled with her Quaker identity during her adolescence, particularly whilst living in Saxe-Meiningen with a group of her peers who were not subject to the same cultural constraints. Elizabeth's appeals continue throughout the letter, notably where she writes 'you let us go to concerts, & it's very much like a concert, oh please let us go', adding 'I've always longed to go to one, & now there's an opportunity'.
Please note that the date of this letter is unclear. It is dated as 'Friday Evening, 28th 72'. According to C. R. Cheney's 'Handbook of Dates' the only Friday 28th in 1872 was in June, so the letter has been dated accordingly. However, Scott refers to a similar letter in her biography of Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury, suggesting it may have been written in November 1872, despite there being only a Friday 29th in November 1872. See Richenda Scott, 'Elizabeth Cadbury 1858-1951' (London: Harrap, 1955), pp. 22-23. In addition, Elizabeth's comments at the end of the letter suggest that it was written shortly after the Christmas holidays, which further confuses the issue. |