Ebay, The French Revolution and Margaret Atwood...

Definitely not three things you'd place hand in hand, but recently, they've been dominating my brain.

First of all, all three are addictive, the more you get into them.

Second of all, they're all a reminder of days gone by... On Ebay, 'Vintage' is my most clicked link - 80's Wayfarer Sunglasses and a beautiful Tie Rack scarf from somewhere in the 70's are my only purchases so far, but that's not bad for a girl who's only had an account for four days. I love trawling through pages and pages, asking my mum's opinion for that genuine Pretty in Pink look, cooing and mentally discussing how I'm sure I saw something very similar in Topshop last month...    Saying that, Topshop have nothing on the power of John Hughes, whatever the masses say.

I've just discovered the complexity that is The French Revolution (thanks to a finally optional Uni module, enticingly entitled 'Politics and Revolution') and the things people said, did and wrote are unfathomable. An event so simple, that escalated so fast - much like all political issues-  generated so many opinions from so many people ahead of its time. Female oppression was in fact first brought up here; a good century before it reached mainland Britain and Emmeline Pankhurst's brain and voicebox -  Olympe de Gouge, please step forward.
I have just come across this amazing woman - the original feminist, a martyr for her cause. She developed the original pre-nup and the idea that men should pay for their offspring - married or not. Jeremy Kyle would have loved her, however 18th Century France was not quite so liberal, and she was executed for attempting to push her ideas. Her writings were certainly hysterical, but it was a revolutionary time and the contraceptive pill hadn't been invented - who can blame her?

Feminist writings do not - and in my opinion can not - come any more mind screwing yet elegantly poised than any book by Margaret Atwood. Everyone rates The Handmaid's Tale, and it's a good book; it's a great book. Second only to Nineteen Eighty Four in the dystopian world, but The Edible Woman gets into your brain on an entirely unconscious level. Just like everyone thought Olympe was a hysterical female, you could accuse  Marian of being incredibly dull; doing a 'woman's' office job, doing 'woman' things (worrying about dresses and getting engaged) and yet, by the end you don't want her to be either sex. Sex becomes an enemy; all of the differences between men and women seem irrelevant and you resent men. I would even recommend it to male readers; the intense difference between men and women in the 60's are clearly presented, from the issues of single mother-dom to education being limited for females at the time. You can't help but come away feeling changed.

Days gone by aren't always as pretty as scarves and sunglasses, but they're essential for understanding now. Especially when you're about to spend £50 on a dress that's not even an original and one click can save your purse and credibility...