As We Are and As We May Be

"As We Are and As We May Be" by Walter Besant is a series of essays from the late 1800s that examines society and the state of humanity. The texts center on the hardships of women in the workforce and the climbing numbers of learned females vying for jobs, while covering the possibilities and problems they come up against in a transforming world. It begins with the idea of a working gentlewoman, noting that more and more educated women are looking for jobs in hard economic times. Besant talks about how it's humiliating for women to have to sell their services like everyday workers and slams the hard facts of their lives, like small paychecks and struggling to find decent work. He argues that big changes are needed, like teaching and training, to help women earn a living and stay out of poverty, and the first essay sets a serious mood for the collection, showing Besant's caring ideas and dreams for things to get better.