This month we honour the strength, power and spirit of women. We celebrate the achievements of women throughout history, and their many contributions to the world.
Speaking of history, what if some of the world’s most legendary women had worn glasses? And speaking of legend, what if fairytale heroines had worn glasses too? Would the stories have been any different?
To start with Red Riding Hood, well… Without a full examination it’s difficult to say whether it was a case of short-sightedness or long-sightedness or possibly astigmatism. But seeing a wolf in a nightgown and believing it was her grandma? Getting lost in the forest in the first place is a sign that her eyes needed attention. Or maybe she just needed a better GPS.
Come to think of it, the course of all fairy tales could’ve been changed with just a few pairs of prescription glasses. Maybe Sleeping Beauty would’ve seen that spindle and avoided the finger prick. Maybe Cinderella would’ve left the ball in time, because thanks to a pair of glasses she would’ve read the clock on the wall and seen that it was almost midnight.
With an appropriate pair of glasses, that other princess could’ve found the pea under her mattress and got a decent night’s sleep – instead of doing nothing and complaining about it the next morning. If Jack’s mother had had a pair of glasses to correct her vision, she might’ve noticed that those beans were magic, and capable of producing one remarkable beanstalk.
And it doesn’t end with fairy tales. How would the course of history have been different if Cleopatra had worn glasses? (Considering the Egyptians worshipped their felines, she no doubt would have worn a pair of cat’s eye frames.) Marie Antoinette could’ve bought a pair of readers, opened a recipe book, and figured out how to bake cake for the masses (and then let ‘em eat it). We’ll never know how things might have been different if Helen of Troy had worn glasses. Maybe a stylish pair of sunglasses would only have enhanced her legendary beauty.
Who knows what might have been had the women of legend worn glasses? Who knows how the world might have been a different place? Then again… Joan of Arc led an army. Elizabeth I was on the throne for forty-four years. And they did it without a single pair of designer frames or prescription lenses.
So we celebrate the women with prescription frames and without. With readers, with contact lenses and with fabulous shades. Across the world and in so many ways, you are women of vision. And we salute you all.
VISIONARY WOMEN
