Lady and the Tramp
Webpages concerning "Lady and the Tramp"
|
The contents has been generating using technology developed by scientec.
Wikipedia-Article "Lady"
A lady is a woman who is the counterpart of a lord; or, the counterpart of a gentleman. The term Lady can be used as a title.
Contents |
Etymology and usage
The word comes from Old English hlaifdige; the first part of the word is laif, loaf, bread, as in the corresponding hlaford, lord; the second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, to knead, seen also in dough; the sense development from bread-kneader, bread-maker, to the ordinary meaning, though not clearly to be traced historically, may be illustrated by that of lord.
The primary meaning of "mistress of a household" is now mostly obsolete, save for the occasional use of old-fashioned phrases such as "lady of the house." This meaning is retained, however, in the title First Lady, used for the wife of an elected president or prime minister.
The special use of the word as a title of the Virgin Mary, usually Our Lady, represents the Latin Domina Nostra. In Lady Day and Lady Chapel the word is properly a genitive, representing the hlaefdigan.
In the British peerage
As a title of nobility the uses of "Lady" are mainly paralleled by those of "Lord". It is thus a less formal alternative to the full title giving the specific rank, of marchioness, countess, viscountess or baroness, whether as the title of the husbands rank by right or courtesy, or as the lady's title in her own right.
In the case of the younger sons of a duke or marquess, who by courtesy have "Lord" prefixed to their Christian and family name, the wife is known by the husband's Christian and family name with "Lady" prefixed, e.g. Lady John Smith; the daughters of dukes, marquesses and earls are by courtesy Ladies; here that title is prefixed to the Christian and family name of the lady, e.g. Lady Jane Smith, and this is preserved if the lady marry a commoner, e.g. Mr John and Lady Jane Smith.
"Lady" is also the customary title of the wife of a baronet or knight; the proper title, now only used in legal documents or on sepulchral monuments, is "Dame"; in the latter case the usage is to prefix "Dame" to the Christian name of the wife followed by the surname of the husband, thus Dame Jame Smith, but in the former, "Lady" with the surname of the husband only, Sir John and Lady Smith. During the 15th and 16th centuries princesses or daughters of the blood royal were usually known by their Christian names with "The Lady" prefixed, e.g. The Lady Elizabeth.
More recent usage: social class
In more recent years, usage of the word lady is even more complicated. Remarks made by the journalist William Allen White in his 1946 autobiography indicate part of the difficulties. White relates that a woman who had paid a fine for streetwalking came to his newspaper to protest, not that the fact of her conviction was reported, but that the newspaper referred to her as a "woman" rather than a "lady." Since that incident, White assured his readers that his papers referred to human females as "women," with the exception of police court characters, who are all "ladies."
White's anecdote touches on a phenomenon that others have remarked on as well. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, in a difference reminiscent of Nancy Mitford's U vs. non-U distinction, lower class women strongly preferred to be called "ladies" while women from higher backgrounds were content to be identified as "women." Alfred Ayers remarked in 1881 that upper middle class female store clerks in his day were content to be "saleswomen," while lower class female store clerks, for whom their job represented a social advancement, indignantly insisted on being called "salesladies." Something of this sense may also be underneath Kipling's lines:
- The Colonel's lady and Rosie O'Grady —
- Sisters under the skin. . .
These social class issues, while no longer on the front burner in the twenty-first century, have imbued the formal use of "lady" with something of an odour of irony.
It remains in use colloquially; for example, as a counterpart to "gentleman," in the phrase "ladies and gentlemen," and is generally interchangeable (in a strictly informal sense) with "woman." (e.g., "The lady at the store said I could return this item in thirty days.")
More recent usage: sexism
Non-sexist language guidelines forbid its use to refer attributively to the sex of a working person, as in lady lawyer and lady doctor. Many find these to have a condescending nuance not shared by female lawyer or woman doctor (should the sex be relevant at all); compare poetess for a similar problem.
Some advocates of non-sexist language recommend not using the word at all, whereas others permit its parallel use in the same circumstances in which a man would be called a gentleman or lord (for example, titling washrooms Men and Ladies would be considered sexist, but using either Men and Women or Ladies and Gentlemen would be acceptable; as is landlady as the parallel of landlord.)
In the United States, notably among younger feminists of the 1990s and 00s influenced by riot grrl, "lady" has occasionally been reclaimed in a more ironic fashion. For example, Miranda July's Joanie 4 Jackie chain letter videotape project is said to consist of "lady-made movies," a feminist music and video distributor in North Carolina called itself Mr. Lady Records, and chorus of Le Tigre's song "LT Tour Theme" from the album Feminist Sweepstakes (2000) declares itself to be written "for the ladies and the fags."
See also
- "Lady Marmalade", is a 1975 #1 hit single recorded by LaBelle for the Epic Records label
- Cocaine ("Lady" is used as slang in the English language for Cocaine)
- First Lady, wife of the head of state (e.g., First Lady of the United States)
- My Fair Lady, a musical theater production and film
- The Lady, England's oldest women's magazine
Kenny Rogers sings "Lady"
"Lady" is also the title of a 1980 chart topper by Kenny Rogers. It reached #1 in the US pop charts for 6 weeks and #12 in the UK. It was written by Rogers friend, Lionel Richie. The song appeared on Rogers' 1980 "Greatest Hit's" album, which also reached Number 1 in the United States and sold over 30 million copies world-wide.
References
- Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (Merriam-Webster, 1989), ISBN 0877791325.
This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.
Wikipedia-Article "the Tramp"
The Tramp was Charlie Chaplin's most memorable on-screen character.
The Tramp was a bumbling but good-hearted character who is most famous as a vagrant who endeavoured to behave with the manners and dignity of a gentlemen despite his actual social status. However, while he was ready to take what paying work that is available; he also used his cunning to get what he needed to survive and escape the authority figures who would not tolerate it.
The tramp debuted during the silent film era in the Keystone comedy Kid Auto Races at Venice (released on February 7, 1914). Chaplin continued using this character well into the sound era. Although Chaplin officially retired this character in the film Modern Times (released February 5, 1936), he used a similar looking character in The Great Dictator (released October 15, 1940).
The Short Film
The Tramp is also a short film starring Charlie Chaplin as the titular main character. In the film, a hobo exchanges the Tramp's sandwich for a brick so the Tramp must eat grass. The same hobo later bothers a farmer's daughter, and the Tramp comes to her aid with the help of the brick. When two more hobos show up, the Tramp throws all three into a lake. The grateful girl takes the Tramp home, where he fails as a farmhand. He again helps drive off the hobos (who are now trying to break into the house). The girl's fiancé arrives. Though a hero, Charlie, knowing he must go, writes a farewell note and leaves again for the open road.
The film also stars Edna Purviance, Lloyd Bacon, and Leo White.
The Tramp was released on April 11, 1915 through Essanay Studios.