A Single Thread

by Tracy Chevalier

She wondered if Arthur ever felt uneasy walking on his own. She suspected not. Men walked through the world as if it belonged to them.

“It is important to make one’s mark. It may be the only mark we make. Sic parvis magna.” Violet raised her eyebrows. This was not a Latin phrase she had learned. “From small things, greatness.”

But that is what we women are trained for—to give to others, to make others comfortable, whatever we feel for ourselves. It can be tiring, thankless, to be so generous all of the time.

Violet understood her sigh. When a woman wants a cup of tea, usually she has to make it for herself, and for the others around her. There is no better taste than a cup of tea someone else has made for you.