are the best part of the whole experience. In this case, there were three segments, one of which compared the women of 1953 with the women of 2003. I found it fascinating. I was not around in 1953, but still, I found some of the attitudes from that era had shaped and molded my own way of thinking. It was an eye-opener for me, and it is here on this page that I confess my own shortcomings.

In 1953, women who went to college did not do so in preparation for a career. They went to be in the right place to find themselves a better husband. All that was expected of them after graduation was to marry, produce children, and serve as their husband's faithful companion. Courses atWellesley at that time included instruction in poise, elocution, manners, posture, and even how to put a glorious dinner on the table for hubby's business contacts at a moment's notice.

If, perchance, a woman did not find a husband by the time she had graduated and found herself looking for employment, there were only three avenues considered acceptable. She could become a nurse, a teacher, or a secretary – all while continuing to look for Mr. Right, of course. Characters in Mona Lisa Smile would claim to be majoring in pre-law, but when faced with the opportunity to actually enter law school, most backed out in favor of returning to the accepted roles – marriage and motherhood. Mind you, these were the brightest women in society at that time.

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