ScarletCourt

So sorry to hear you've been under the weather! Enjoy!

cherrios

Ok, I don't know if Allen can even carry a tune. But for some reason I feel like when the baby is born that Branson will be singing Irish lullabies to the baby. That he will be a very hands on Dad, not expecting Sybil to do everything.

ScarletCourt

Without a doubt, Tom will be a very hands on father. He probably has more experience with babies than Sybil does and likely would be showing her the ropes.

*OldHollywoodStarlet*

Yeah I see him be a hands on Dad too.

HarshBench

I don't know if Tom even has siblings, but I imagine that he grew up around babies. They would be around the neighborhood, at Church etc., not hidden away in a nursery like with posh people.

ScarletCourt

He's Irish and Catholic, what were the chances that he wouldn't have siblings?

confessor_meggy

thanks

btw, I too believe Tom will be more skilled with babies than Sybil, but she's a fast learner,so they'll both be wonderful

HarshBench

Well, if his father died young and his mother never remarried? For various reasons lifelong celibacy was very common in Ireland at that time, in and out of the Church.

I see your point though. My sister's first husband was Irish Catholic and he was one of six kids. Three of his siblings had four kids each, a high number these days. Oh, and when he was like 35 his father had a baby! My nieces have an aunt who is younger than they are!

I guess it just seems odd that we know nothing of Tom's family other than that he has a mother who lives in Dublin and thinks he's foolish.

Speaking of babies, has anyone else noticed that the S/T fandom is obsessed with Sybil getting pregnant? There are about three fanfics where she gets pregnant on the first night. That's why it's so funny that she got pregnant fast. I guess they are just so radiant and imbued with sexual chemistry that any match is bound to light a bonfire. They're like dry kindling!

But I guess what concerns me about the Catholic babies thing are the snarky comments I've seen about it. Some people are disappointed that she's already pregnant (like it wasn't bound to happen) and others have predicted that she's doomed to pop out baby after baby until she drops. I find this offensive.

baileycat

Yeah that is offensive. I don't care for the assumption that just because she's pregnant that her life now is over. Or the life that she dreamed of having when she agreed to marry him. I think I'll wait until season 3 to decide if she's unhappy with the choices she's made. Besides, Sybil's a positive person. I would like to assume she's sees starting a family as a blessing. And that being a mother will give her new challenges of what it means to work. Afterall, it is the hardest job.

L i N d $ @ y

That's for sure.

we walk free

aww I love the sound of that

confessor_meggy

totally agree, a baby is a blessing not a curse....

Talking about sexual tension, I'm surprised she didn't got pregnant in one of those scene where they were just looking at eachother in the garage

ScarletCourt

Actually I don't know how into fanfics you are, but getting pregnant is a well-worn plot device in nearly any fandom's FFs. It adds a dash to the plot esp if unplanned and it's always up to the woman to tell the man if they are or they are not, not to mention will they get married or what other arrangement will it be.

As for the snarky remarks, I think a lot of S/T fans wanted her to live the feminist dream of waiting for babies, but in Catholic Ireland, that's difficult to accomplish. If they had stayed in England, it might have been a different story.

alertthecorgis

I laughed so hard at this! Thanks for that!

baileycat

Nah, I don't think even staying in England would have prevented the early pregnancy. I think we tend to carry over our own modern sensibilities to these characters who back then wouldn't have made much of an effort at all when it comes to birth control. Yes, it was in the early stages but that doesn't mean Sybil and Branson would have gone out of their way to use it. They just let nature take its course.

Its like how some assume since we have equality in the home now, we want to believe Sybil and Branson are so progressive that they'd shared household duties. These beliefs took time to adjust to and even the most forward thinking women back then still did most if not all of the housework without complaint.