Secretary

Calgary, December 2025

Feminists are claiming that we live in a patriarchal society. They say that men maintain their dominance in politics, in corporate boardrooms, and in science and engineering. They are right, it is all true, but women have one everlasting power over men. It is called sex. There are countless examples of so-called honey traps, where a beautiful and intelligent woman outsmarted a powerful male victim, causing his ruin. But this female power doesn’t have to be always destructive. It could be beneficial to both parties, as the following story demonstrates. It took place in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, one of the most patriarchal societies in Western world of that time.

Peter grew up in a privileged family. His dad owned a textile factory which provided clothing for the growing English fashion industry. Peter was the only son, and as such, he was supposed to take over the business after his dad retires, and his two sisters were expected to marry husbands of adequate social class. That’s what all good Victorian families were supposed to do. Therefore, Peter got a good education, and his dad tried introducing him to the business, but Peter wasn’t interested. He wasn’t really interested in anything. At the university, he didn’t have many friends, and he found chasing girls boring. They didn’t attract him. But men didn’t attract him either; he wasn’t homosexual. What Peter wanted was to be left alone. But he wasn’t a rebel and did what the others told him to do. Therefore, after graduation, he started to work in the family business and, as was expected of him, married Maria, a daughter of his dad’s business partner. For a wedding present, Peter’s father bought them a nice house to settle. They moved in a day before the wedding, but their wedding night wasn’t great. Peter didn’t enjoy it. His wife was a virgin, it was painful for her, and there was blood on the bed sheets. Peter couldn’t understand why there was such a fuss about sex.
“I didn’t like it,” said Maria.
“Nor did I,” he replied.
Those declarations defined their sex life during their marriage. Occasionally, to comply with their parents’ desire to have grandchildren, they did it, without enthusiasm and without results. Their life settled into a boring routine where every day was exactly the same as the previous one. In the morning, Peter went to work in his office located in his dad’s factory, and Maria was left alone with the servants, having absolutely nothing to do. All her friends had already children, and she didn’t fit into their group anymore. Also, she was not interested in the charity work the women in her social class were supposed to do, and she was increasingly unhappy. When the boredom became unbearable, she decided to do something. To cure her perceived infertility, she registered with an expensive clinic of an expensive doctor, and her treatment continued until she had two children with him. She never saw Peter again.

When Maria left him, Peter was somewhat lost. Now, when he came home from work, there was nobody to talk to, nobody to have dinner with, and he felt lonely. There were servants who took care of him, but they didn’t provide company. Peter wanted Maria’s replacement, but he was still married to her and couldn’t have another wife. In the England of Queen Victoria, divorce didn’t exist. Peter couldn’t have another wife, but he could have a secretary. His dad was passing more and more work to him, and Peter needed a woman who would keep his mail, set up meetings, write letters, take dictation, and that’s how he found Anita. She was a graduate from the new type of commercial schools where women were trained for that kind of work. But Anita was not only a secretary. She was also a beautiful young woman. Even Peter, who found girls boring, couldn’t ignore it. When he brought her to his office for the first time, as a decoration, she fitted in perfectly.

But Anita was more than a decoration. Soon she got the grasp of the business, scheduled Peter’s meetings, maintained his mail, and when writing letters which Peter dictated to her, she asked questions or made comments which he found useful. But her main contribution to the business wasn’t her secretarial skills; it was her looks. When Peter had meetings with his business partners, and Anita was taking notes, his partners paid more attention to her than to Peter. Then, after the meeting, some smiled at her, and she replied with a smile which was well within the Victorian social norms but promised more if the opportunity arose. Such an opportunity required more business meetings with Peter, which in turn brought him more contracts. This was good, but there was also a danger. What if one of his partners offers Anita more money and takes her away? Peter didn’t want to lose her, and he became worried. Until now, she was for him just a secretary, and after work they went to their separate homes. But Anita’s home wasn’t a beautiful house with servants; it was a room in a crowded lodging house, and it wouldn’t take much to tempt her away for something better. Peter realized that and wanted to do something for her, but it wasn’t easy. The social norms of Victorian England were very strict, and a scandal would ruin his business. Peter had to be very careful.

Anita also knew that she must be very careful. For her, Peter was the door out of poverty, but she would have to play the game just right. Scandal would indeed ruin everything. Therefore, her morning greetings and afternoon goodbyes to Peter were carefully designed to imply some promise without suggesting too much. And it worked.
“Anita, would you mind staying a little bit after work?” he asked one afternoon.
“No, why?”
“I have a new contract, and I need some help.”
The contract wasn’t that urgent, it could wait for the next day, but they were together after hours, and the mood in the office was more relaxed. When Peter repeated such a request a few more times, Anita knew that things were going the right way. Then, during one of those sessions, Peter touched her arm, and she didn’t react. Then, when Peter kissed her, she responded with passion, and from then on, there was no way back. If Peter wanted to keep Anita and avoid a scandal, he had to quit his job and move away where nobody knew them. There, he could present her as his wife and start a new life together. Therefore, one evening, when he had dinner with his parents, the following conversation took place:
“Mom and Dad, I have something to tell you,” Peter began.
“What is it?” asked his dad.
“I will quit working for you and will move away.”
“Why on Earth would you want to do that? Is something wrong? Did somebody offend you?”
“No, not at all. It is personal.”
“Is it Anita?” asked his mom. Women have better feelings the men for such things.
“Yes.”
“Do you love her?”
“Yes.”
You want to live with her?”
“Yes.”
“And how do you propose to do that?” asked his dad.
“I wouldn’t cause a scandal. We will move somewhere where nobody knows us. I will start a business importing materials for the textile industry, and Anita will live with me as my wife.”
“And what about Maria? You are still married to her.”
“She is with her doctor, and we have never met since she left me. If by chance she finds out that I live with another woman, I don’t think she would cause any problems. It would look as bad for her as for me.”
At this point, Peter’s parents could feel very offended. He was breaking the most sacred rule of the Victorian society. His parents could get mad at him, threaten to disown him, but they didn’t do any of that. They were reasonable people and realized that this was the first time when their son wanted something out of life for himself. Something more than what he had so far. They helped him to find a new home, and his dad supplied the money to start Peter’s business.

Then, when everything was settled, and Peter’s parents were visiting them, his mom asked:
“Tell me, Peter. Was it you who won the love of Anita, or was it the other way round?”
“It was the other way round.” Peter didn’t hesitate at all. Then he turned to Anita:
“Admit it, I was an easy target for you. A naive young man who knew nothing about life.”
“Yes, you are right. You were an easy target. Are you sorry?”
“No, not at all,” and he smiled at her.

This is how my story ends, and I don’t know if the current feminists would like it.