Chapter 203 - The old-fashioned man

Finland and Caspar walked hand in hand to the car. When they reached the car, Caspar gently placed Aleksis in the car seat before opening the door for Finland and entering the driver's seat.

"You're such a gentleman..." Finland praised him, a broad smile engraved on her face.

"I'm an old-fashioned man," Caspar replied.

Finland just smiled at that. Indeed, since she knew Caspar, she noticed that the man was very polite in treating women. He never cursed in front of a woman, always opened chairs and doors automatically, and always acted very protectively.

When they were crossing the road, for example, he would automatically take the outside position that blocked the road so that the woman who walked with him would feel protected.

In Finland's opinion, in modern times like these, many men use emancipation as an excuse to act a certain way. She often saw internet posts about men who took a seat on buses or trains while they women had to stand with the excuse, "Men and women are equal, why should I give up my seat just because she is a woman? I'm also tired if I have to stand."

When Finland brought this topic up and discussed it with Caspar, the man just laughed.

"Indeed, times have changed," Caspar said. "In the past, men would sacrifice their coats to cover puddles of water on the road so that the women could walk on them without getting their shoes and feet wet. Men in the past were indeed educated to protect and treat women with respect. Men would also mind their language if there were women in the same room, they won't talk dirty or curse because they respected the lady's presence."

"I often see such acts in movies about the past. Was that really how people acted in the past?" Finland asked curiously.

"That's right. But you must remember that women, even though they were treated with respect at the time, did not have the same rights as men. Women were only able to take part in the elections several decades ago, after a lot of educated women demonstrated and fought for their rights (suffragette).

In the past, all decisions about the nation, the state, and life in general were made by men, and women could only accept all these decisions as they had no voting rights. No matter how smart or how great a woman was, they were still a second-class citizen. Even Marie Curie was not allowed to accept the Nobel Prize at the time, because she was a woman. Fortunately, her husband, Pierre, refused to accept the Nobel Prize, unless his wife got the same recognition - because the discovery of radiation was the result of their research together.

It's good that the times slowly changed. The world war and the industrial revolution contributed to changing the situation. While men went to war, the women became pillars of the economy as they had to do all the jobs men left behind. If the women hadn't worked when the men fought in the war, the economy would have been destroyed. I support all gender equality movements, but because it had become a habit for me to respect women like in ancient times, I can't change - I'm used to being a 'gentleman' like this…" Caspar said with a smile.

He coughed softly as he remembered that on the one side he acted like such a gentleman, but on the other hand he used to dump many women, "Uhm... I know I'm not an angel, and I made a lot of mistakes in the past. But hopefully now I've become a better version of the man I am."

Finland touched his cheeks with affection and smiled back, "Since I know you, you have never acted like a jerk. I am also glad that you still act like an old school man in this manner... It feels good to be treated like an old school woman..."

"Hahaha... well then," Caspar said happily. "By the way, do you know why men had position themselves on the outside when they were walking with women?"

"Because their body would be closer to the road and they can protect the women from passing vehicles?" Finland answered curiously.

"No, this was a custom that existed from the Middle Ages. Back then, there were no cars and horse-drawn carriages were also quite rare." Caspar looked rather amused as he thought about the past, "Hmm... In the past, houses usually consisted of two storeys, and people often dumped used laundry water through the upper window. When men and women walked together, men would walk on the outside so that if someone from the house they pass by happened to dump dirty water, the woman would not get wet because of her position was closer to the wall. The dirty water would be dumped on the man who was walking on the outside..."

"Is that so?" Finland covered her mouth in disbelief.

She really didn't know that it was the reason why men and women walked in a such position. In modern times, of course, it was to protect women from the passing vehicles, but apparently in ancient times, it was to protect women from laundry water. She did not expect it at all.

"Hmm... do you want to know one more interesting thing?" Caspar asked.

"What is that?"

"Why is the women's shirt buttons on the left while the men's shirt buttons are on the right?"

Finland immediately noticed the buttons on her shirt and then the buttons on the Caspar's shirt. Sure enough, the positions were the opposite. She had never noticed this before.

"Gosh, you're right... The position is reversed. My shirt buttons are on the left... and your shirt buttons are on the right." Finland frowned in surprise, "Does this have something to do with emancipation too?"

"Uhm, no. Actually, when the buttons were first invented a few centuries ago, only women from the upper class were able to buy buttons for their clothes. Buttons back then were so expensive. Rich women and nobles of that era never wore their clothes themselves, because the fashion in those ancient times were very complicated and troublesome. They needed their servants to help them get dressed." Caspar explained.

"If you were a poor woman, you would wear simple clothes that you could wear without the help of a servant. So, the clothes of the people in the lower class were easy to wear and did not have buttons. Upper-class women's clothing had buttons on the left side so it would be easier for their servants to attach.

On the other hand, men, whose clothes were not too complicated to wear, could attach the buttons themselves, so the position of their buttons were placed to the right hand's side of the clothes. In the past, men also often kept weapons under their clothes, so they should be able to access them more easily.

That was why, until now, men's shirt buttons are on the right and women's are on the left, even though now men and women can now wear their own clothes and no one keeps any weapons under their garment. It is a tradition that lasted for hundreds of years and has been difficult to change. So, until now, the women's shirt buttons are on the left and the men's shirt buttons are on the right."

Caspar smiled happily when he saw that his explanation fascinated Finland. Finally, his knowledge for being alive for hundreds of years could be used to amaze this girl. Caspar could not wait to tell many other things that he had experienced and known for as long as he lived on earth - nearly 450 years!