Greta of Higginbirch Manor | LMAC FreeStyle Collage No. 175

Greta grimaced as her head pounded fiercely. Silently she stood with her hand holding her elbow high above her waist as instructed. She didn't dare ask the crucial question, "why do women subject themselves to this torture," as her handmaid secured the last tie-in on her corset. Placing a hand over her mouth, she held back breakfast from refusing to stay choked.

"You're of age now young lady. The future lady of Higginbirch Manor. Time to shape you into society's standards. Besides, the portrait painter your father commissioned will arrive next Tuesday."

She desperately wanted to hiss, if this is what I have to endure for society's sake, I'll gladly not participate. Instead, she merely offered, I hope he's sufficiently talented to capture fully my pain so that society will take notice."

"Hush now, girl before others hear you. I understand your dilemma, missy." With a mischievous smile, Jenny whispered, "you can hide it so that I can't find it next time."

Greta lowered her head. "Mother will just purchase another one or two. I've no escape from this fate worst than death."

Jenny flashed a wry smile, glad common folk such as herself didn't have to deal with the rigid societal pressures and expectations heaped upon young women.

Finished fitting Greta for her upcoming debut portrait, Jenny left her to ponder her fate. Greta plopped down on her bed, rolled over several times, and flailed her arms wide in protest.

Greta's parents were rigid in their interpretation of societal protocol. There was no convincing them to cancel her debut. The only satisfaction she craved was to run free among the verdant gardens with her English Toy, Mabel.

She slipped outdoors. There, she forgot for a while about the torture to come in two days. But the days slipped by faster than she anticipated.

Tuesday was upon the household. The day of Greta's portrait session.

Jenny woke early and rushed to Greta's room. She must eat well in advance of the corset tightening if drama was to be avoided. It was her job to ensure all went well. Jenny just shook her head as she knocked on Greta's bedroom door.

To Jenny's non surprise, the corset was missing. Two hours later, she discovered that Greta didn't just hide the corset, but she and Mabel used it in their tug of war campaign in the garden. Torn and covered in dirt and green grass stains, the corset was unwearable.

And with no replacement, intervention was required. Shivers overtook Jenny at the thought of Greta's father discovering the mishap. He would instantly calculate that the garment was used as a full-scale tactical sabotage having already learned through staff gossip Greta's distaste for it.

The hour was upon them. And it was too late to correct the situation.

The moment Greta’s father walked in to check on her progress, Greta leaned into the velvet armchair and gasped dramatically, "my undergarment is ruined. No way can I sit for the portrait now. I'll look at pudgy as Mabel."

Forgetting decorum, her father glanced from Jenny to Greta to Mabel to the corset with displeasure hanging from his drooping chin.

"You both wouldn't look that way if you'd reduce your daily intake of sweet meats."

Before he could continue, the portrait painter arrived. By the time the painter set up his easel in the parlor, the entire household had been dragged into Greta’s misery.

Gesturing Jenny to summon more staff and hurry with the corset, she waived them off and demanded that she alone knew how to position the contraption to provide the least discomfort. She then proceeded to meticulously tie the corset laces into an advanced nautical knot that required a pair of garden shears and three heavy gasps to untangle.

"Dammit, these women will be the death of me, her father proclaimed loudly after slamming his fist on the dresser. Call you mother in here to straighten out this debacle!" he shouted.

Greta's mother raced to her room, not understanding exactly what the emergency was. Upon seeing the ruined corset, she defaulted to the only solution she knew: lecture her daughter on poise.

"Dammit woman, that's not going to help in this situation. Do something worthwhile!" her father demanded.

Terrified of the events being exposed and her social reputation ruined, her mother frantically began loosening the laces herself, ruining her own pristine manicure in the process.

Greta loudly threatened that if her ribs were crushed any further, her expensive breakfast of poached eggs would make an immediate, aggressive reappearance all over the family’s heirloom rug.

All hell broke loose at that moment. Greta began to wail and promise to faint if she were forced to wear the corset.

Seeing his daughter gasping like a stranded fish and his wife screaming about silk preservation, her father threw his hands up, shouting that he refused to pay a painter to capture a medical emergency.

"Greta, enough of this nonsense! How are you ever going to attract a suitable bachelor worthy of your social standing?"

Greta immediately calmed enough to answer as though the morning's drama never happened.

"Why father, you've ensured my dowry is overflowing, attracting the best your money can buy. Some social-climbing libertine will surely come sniffing. And I'll accept whatever fate has in store."

Exasperated, her father threw up his hands and stormed out of her room.

When the painter finally opened the door, he didn't find a poised young aristocrat. He found Greta lounging comfortably in a loose chemise, eating a pastry, while her exhausted mother gasped for air on the sofa.

The professional portrait painter smiled. Finally, an interesting subject for a change, he thought, placing his finger against his chin. Excited, he set up and waited, thinking. Or, should I just go ahead and capture society at rest for my next masterpiece?

For that day's sitting, society's standards would simply have to wait for the next generation.

For my current freestyle collage, the theme involved a rebellion of sorts by someone who knows how to conduct one properly. My style of collage is a Freestyle. Although I usually include the current or any other contest image in my designs, I'm not required to. However, if you'd like to join in visit: LMAC Community.

In preparing my theme, I discovered a lovely image of a young girl. Her existence could have been the late 1800s as I noticed the type of dress she wore. Immediately I thought of how women were forced to wear items that fit society's standards during that time in order to portray a certain appearance.

I wanted the scene to be simple with the dress as the focal point as though the young girl was preparing to have her portrait taken. That's when I imagined the back story for the clothing. I hope you enjoy.

I utilized Canva to blend the different type images. Below are my steps in which I began with a blank, white canvas, then added layers of elements, removing backgrounds, resizing, duplicating, detaching elements from their backgrounds, colorizing, and repositioning items as needed incorporating the tools at my disposal in my Annual Pro Membership Subscription.

Below are the images I included to complete my design.

Below is my completed collage design:

Thanks for your visit. I appreciate it. I hope you like my freestyle collage theme.