Life in 1905
This is neat, man! You plug in your father's occupation, and find out what would likely happen with you.
You are a Box maker!
- A Snapshot of your life as it might have been in 1905
Education
You go to elementary school until you're 11 years old. You particularly enjoy learning cookery and needlework, although you find laundry work tedious as you do too much of it at home. Your parents don't want you to stay there as they need your help at home.
Career Prospects
At 15 you start work as a box maker, a job that you have seen advertised on the hoardings near your home. Hours are long, the work repetitive and you hate your boss – he never seems to reward your hard work. You need to stay in this job though to bring in enough money to bring up your children. You and your husband find it hard to make ends meet from both of your salaries.
Leisure Time
You save up and buy a bicycle and in fine weather you go on trips to the park on Sundays. You love a good sing-a-long at the music hall.
Living Conditions
When you start work you live on the premises in a crowded dormitory. When you marry you escape from the dormitory and move to your husband's lodgings – a room in a terraced house. You find it cheaper to do most of the shopping at the back door – fruit, vegetables and fish from carts but occasionally you splash out on luxuries from the grocer's shop. As a treat you sometimes buy fish and chips from the parade of shops near your home.
Marital Relations
You meet your husband at work and marry at 17. You have four children.
World War One
Your husband is reluctant to leave you to go to war, but in 1916 he is obliged to as it's illegal not to sign up. Your husband dies in the trenches as a private soldier in 1917 at the Battle of Passchendaele.
Interestingly, this is what I get if I go up socially.
You are a Lodging house keeper!
- A Snapshot of your life as it might have been in 1905
Education
You go to school until the age of 14 and then go into apprenticeship.
Career Prospects
You stay in the job all your life, you don't enjoy it. There's little prospect of promotion, but it's the only trade you know.
Leisure Time
You look forward to going away for a week once a year – you only get 10 days' holiday per year. Usually you take the train and stay in a boarding house by the sea. One day you go to church where you hear sermons about the importance of improving the conditions of the working poor. You get fired up by discussions in your dormitory about how campaigners are trying to improve women's rights and you join a march in London in 1907 to show your support.
Living Conditions
You board on your work premises in a dirty, cramped dormitory. This is a condition of the job. A severe system of "fines" for every minor offence at work takes money from your small salary and you have little left to spend on luxuries. You eat in the basement dining rooms, usually bread with cheese, jam or lard dripping. You don't usually have time to go outside in the day.
Marital Relations
You don't get married but are involved with various men throughout your life. When you get pregnant by a man you work with you have the baby aborted in secret.
Post a comment
Or if you'd rather sign in to Comment with Open ID or your LiveJournal username, fill in one of the boxes below: