Throughout history, women have always had some sort of carrying device, be it a handbag or a purse or something else. Have you ever wondered why this is? The answer may surprise you. It is very complex, and ties into everything that separates a woman from a man. Besides the obvious, of course. In fact, we have knowledge of woman carrying handbags as long ago as 430 B.C.
Not merely a way of carrying things, handbags and purses in generally have always played a significant part in society. From the with-doctors medicine bag, to the society ladies handbag, there are a lot of links that tie together all the different uses to which bags and purses have been put.
The first part of the reason, is simple and obvious, namely that you need a bag to carry things. Of course, everyone needs to carry things on occasion, but you don't see men carrying a purse. Or at least, not often. The reason for this is that women have, evolutionarily speaking, been the caregivers of the family and were responsible for making sure that everyone had what they needed.
Beyond this, women were also responsible for raising children, and this it was necessary to have at hand anything a growing child might need. As well as this, there is another traditional role for women- the organizers. I'm sure you've noticed that most big events, even nowadays, tend to have a significant number of women in key organizational roles. This isn't a coincidence, and it's this same organizational mindset that inclines them to keep a purse.
The second reason, is that a bag conceals its contents. Now, I know this may seem rather obvious and trite, but what you may not realize is that anything hidden immediately becomes the focus of imagination, and is surrounded by an air of mystery. A bag, be it the bag of a doctor or a wizard, contains peculiar items beyond the understanding of the common man. This sets the holder of a bag, any bag, as a person apart- marked out in some mysterious manner.
Your average woman, of course, is hardly an ancient and mysterious sage. Her handbag is, usually, not filled with particularly strange items (although many men would disagree), and so it may seem somewhat ridiculous to apply the same mechanism of mystery to her, as to a medicine man or doctor. And yet, her purse does conceal its contents, and it does serve to surround her - at least a little bit - with an air of mystery.
So a handbag rants the woman carrying it a mysterious aura, besides allowing her to have everything she might need for the day at hand, and neatly organized. This covers two of the reasons that women carry handbags, and I'm sure that you can guess what the third is going to be.
A handbag is fashionable. Yes, it is really that simple. Women like to be fashionable, and particularly in today's society, that means they must accessorize. More then that, a handbag gives a clear and straightforward indication of the women's place in the world, and her social standing. I'm sure you could immediately gather that the woman with the drab brown handbag is at a rather different place in society then the one whose handbag is covered in glittering diamonds.
Take, for example, Margaret Thatcher. Notice how closely her handbags resembled that of the Queen Mothers. Was this coincidence, or was there some deeper connection? Maybe both of these women chose the same style, because of their similar positions. Both leaders, with a great deal of power, and most importantly both female, it should come as no surprise that they both would choose similar handbags.
In conclusion, handbags are astonishingly significant. Closely linked to everything that makes a woman a woman, a handbag enables her to keep organized, appear more mysterious and attractive, and display clearly her social standing. This, then, is why woman carry handbags.
