Samuel Pepys, born on February 23, 1633, into a family of only five at the time but would grow to be a family of eleven. His birth took place only ten days after the great Italian astronomer, Galileo had been in Rome for trial because of his belief which stated that the earth revolves around the sun, which is true. This goes to show you that he grew up in a time of very intelligent people, in Galileo's case. He is known as England's great diarist because he kept a diary for nine years until he stopped because he thought that his eyesight was being lost.
Samuel Pepys was a smart man himself, if it wasn't for his intellegent plan to tear down the building near the Navy Office and St. Olave's Church in London, the Great Fire of 1666 would have engulf the two buildings in flames. The diary really shows how times were in 17th century London. Pepys shares with us one day that he punched his spouse, Elizabeth Pepys, in the face and her eye was bruised for an entire week. This goes to show that men felt superior to women and that they treated them as a personal possession. Having a black eye for a week is a pretty long time so Pepys must have hit Elizabeth pretty hard, so it certainly wasn't a love tap.
After reading Pepys' diary I think that it is safe to say that he fits the stereotypical rich man who loves his money above all else. I noticed this especially when he writes about the fire in London. Pepys shows how narcissistic he is after he throws a party while the fire was going on. Through the entire book Pepys is either eating at someone else's house or he has company over at his house. At one point Pepys traveled across the river to new clothes just because his were dirty, While the fire was still ablaze. I don't know anyone who would go out shopping while one of the biggest fires in history was going on.
No comments:
Post a Comment