So I was workshopping a chapter this week and I have a scene where one of my characters breaks a strand of cotton with her teeth. She would have a pair of scissors, says someone from my Writer's Group. I'm not so convinced - nor others in the group. She would have had a little sewing kit, another insisted. But she's a baker's daughter in the 16th century, we debated. If it even existed, could she afford such a thing? So I go off and investigate.
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| From Nederlandse Proverbs |
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And what do I discover? Bruegel yet again. There are a pair of scissors in his painting Nederlandse Proverbs (on the left hand side, under the awning):
On the left here, is a pair of 16th century scissors - which seem remarkably similar to those painted by Bruegel. So it seems that my character doesn't need to use her teeth after all...