V. Hansen's letter to an unwanted suitor.

If Men Played Bridge Like Women Do.

This letter came to Virginia from a friend who had heard a rumor she was getting married. Because we know that Virginia had no intention of doing so, this friend's advice about cleaning and in-laws is often amusing. It is also an important example of the expectations which Virginia's community had of her.

Virginia Hansen, Heartbreaker.

Virginia utilizes her sarcasm and pointed attitude toward men in one letter to a Mr. Stephens dated Feb. 9, 1945, asking, "Why should I, a weak and weary and distraught sufferer, obey the demands of an unknown genius?" She revealed this mindset especially toward men of power, or, at least thought they were in power.

Long before she became a post-war spinster fighting the norm of early marriage and motherhood, Virginia resisted attempts by men to date and marry her. In a letter from 1946, typical of her sense of humor and spitfire personality, Virginia rejected the advances of a man who had heard of her through mutual acquaintances and asked her to meet him for a date in Preston, Idaho. In her letter, she insists that she doesn't cook and can't keep a home clean. Overall, she makes it clear to him that she has no interest in dating or marriage.

Not only is this letter amusing, it offers insight to her personal opinions about marriage and gender roles. The last line "You wouldn't like a queer warped creature devoid of matrimonial inclinations, who prefers crossword puzzles to disfiguring pillow cases with French knots, and who loves to keep score at baseball games but abhors trying to whip up dainty little lunches for big, strong, hungry men." is a great example of the way in which she thought of gendered relationships, that they were really too much in favor of the man and not the man and woman equally.

Virginia had a complicated relationship with men. Although she clearly didn't want to marry one, she had professional relationships with plenty of them whom she apparently respected. As a teacher and public librarian, she had many opportunities to interact with them, and her letters to and from the men she knew were (mostly) friendly. It seems that Virginia's distaste for the male population was based on domestic experience, although the exact cause of this distaste is unknown.