Ray A wrote: These are some very nice comparisons that make Joseph look just terrific. Porn star material plural wives. Decent women would've course have rejected him, going by your analogy. Didn't you previously argue that sex had little to do with polygamy? You have become so desperate that you're dragging a 16 year old into maturity and responsibility to absolve a 30 year old man.
I am only taking the view of a critic who only sees horny toadism in Joseph's behavior. As a critic I would also need to see if fanny did not suffer from a strong sexual appetite and leave the door open for her tempting Joseph Smith.
A sixteen year old was usually much more mature back then than now. She would have known the ropes.
I intend to lay a foundation that will revolutionize the whole world. Joseph Smith We are “to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to provide for the widow, to dry up the tear of the orphan, to comfort the afflicted, whether in this church, or in any other, or in no church at all…” Joseph Smith
karl61 wrote:SHE WAS YOUNG - SHE WAS A MAID - SHE WAS POOR - AND THEN SHE WAS HOMELESS.
I have heard of maids tempting their employers. Haven't you? And being poor, all the more reason she would be attracted to power.
I intend to lay a foundation that will revolutionize the whole world. Joseph Smith We are “to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to provide for the widow, to dry up the tear of the orphan, to comfort the afflicted, whether in this church, or in any other, or in no church at all…” Joseph Smith
A sixteen year old was usually much more mature back then than now. She would have known the ropes.
Why me, do you mean sexually mature? Surely not? Do you know what the sexual mores of that part of America were in the period in question? Can you give me evidence please?
"It's a little like the Confederate Constitution guaranteeing the freedom to own slaves. Irony doesn't exist for bigots or fanatics." Maksutov
Nevo wrote:NB: If Don is right, Fanny Alger was more like 18 when she married Joseph Smith.
She couldn't have taken the 'marriage' too seriously, otherwise she wouldn't have 'left' the relationship, whatever it was, and married someone else (legally I assume).
I'm still wondering who on earth Miss Hill was?
"It's a little like the Confederate Constitution guaranteeing the freedom to own slaves. Irony doesn't exist for bigots or fanatics." Maksutov
Victorian values were not actually present among the upper class who were awash in sexual diviations. A pretty vibrant subculture was present in victorian england among the upper class.
However, in America it was not victorian values but puritan values that held sway and this would require a religous implication. This is why that it would have been difficult to engage in premarital sex without loss of reputation and respect. Fanny would have been no exception.
But fanny did not seem to have a problem. The problem seems to exist in the mind of the critic.
Rubbish. Sexual deviations were present in 'all classes', but as a general rule there were very strong social barriers in place amongst 'most' people of 'most' classes, and Puritanism 'began' in Elizabethan England Why me, don't forget that...
"It's a little like the Confederate Constitution guaranteeing the freedom to own slaves. Irony doesn't exist for bigots or fanatics." Maksutov
Why me, do you mean sexually mature? Surely not? Do you know what the sexual mores of that part of America were in the period in question? Can you give me evidence please?
See pages 16 and 17. But the entire essay is a good read.
I intend to lay a foundation that will revolutionize the whole world. Joseph Smith We are “to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to provide for the widow, to dry up the tear of the orphan, to comfort the afflicted, whether in this church, or in any other, or in no church at all…” Joseph Smith