Wounds
Wounds are figurative of the predicaments which women withstand in their matrimonies: “A Woman who seeks Consolation under Domestick Troubles from the Gaieties of a Court, from Gallantry, Gaming, rambling in Search of odd Adventures, childish, ridiculous and ill-natur’d Amusements, such as we find in the unhappy Madam M——’s Memoirs, the common Methods of getting rid of Time, that is, of our very Being, and keeping as much as we can at a Distance from ourselves, will find these are very insignificant Applications; they hardly skin the Wound, and can never heal it, they even hurt, they make it fester, and render it almost incurable.” The soothing of the wounds is unmanageable because of the omnipresent complications that they tolerate throughout their marriages. Wounds corroborate that bliss is not a surety for all women. Women nursing the sores of marriage cannot be explicitly gratified.
Beauty
Beauty secretes internal weaknesses and distresses of women: “What an ill Figure does a Woman make, with all the Charms of her Beauty, and Sprightliness of her Wit, with all her good Humour and insinuating Address, though she be the best economist in the World, the most entertaining Company, if she remit her Guard, abate in the Severity of her Caution, and Strictness of her Vertue? If she neglects those Methods which are necessary to keep her, not only from a Crime, but from the very Suspicion of one?” For a woman, being stunning is not an immunity from marital challenges which are common in matrimonies. The loveliness makes it tough for outsiders to speculate that a woman’s marriage could be enduring woes.
Virtue
A woman stomachs the utmost obligation in her marriage for she is anticipated to sustain virtues more than the man: “She justifies the Injury her Husband has done her, by publishing to the World, that whatever good Qualities she may possess, Discretion, the Mistress of all the rest, is wanting: Though she be really guiltless, she cannot prove her Innocence, the Suspicions in her Prejudice are so strong. When she is censur’d, Charity, that thinks no Evil, can only be silent; though it believes and hopes the best, it cannot engage in her Defence, nor apologize for irregular Actions.” Virtue is what qualifies a woman as a flawless wife. An honourable woman endeavours to advocate her husband’s standing even when she could be aware that he has a mistress. Her discretion is contributory in subsidizing the sustainability of her marriage.
