"Blue stocking", it is so accepted to call not lovers of extravagant products of the nosochny industry at all, and I will give, contrary to the female nature at all forgetting about coquetry and belonging to the fair sex which, somewhat, obliges the woman to be charming and sensual. Similar persons devote themselves to career or intellectual activity.
Today this amusing phrase - "A blue stocking" - has scornful and even offensive character. However, having addressed sources of its emergence, it is possible to understand that initially it had other value is perfect. There are several main versions of origin of this "color" set phrase.
Version first is English
According to this version the history of emergence of a phrase can be carried to times of England of the eighteenth century, the period of blossoming of literature and creative circles. Socialites preferred to spend a free time at a certain lady Montague who in the house managed to organize society of philosophical and literary orientation under the direction of the man of science of Stellingfield, the advocate famous in those days with the settled traditions of fashion.
Stellingfield expressed the shouting protest against styles by means of extravagant dresses which surely included blue stockings instead of the habitual and accepted for carrying under clothes white.
It is considered that this fact became the reason of renaming of literary society into society of Blue stockings and gave the name to the famous poem by Byron.
Version second is Venetian
According to the so-called Venetian version the expression "A blue stocking" was born in Venice thanks to intellectual society of young aristocrats, devoting the life to studying sciences and wearing blue stockings as distinctive attribute of the belonging to the world of knowledge.
Version third is French
The third version carries to France the 17th centuries and forces to pay attention to the comedy by Molière "Erudite women" which is allegedly devoted to the ladies who are interested in intellectual questions and looking at the same time it is ridiculous and ridiculous. At the same time meetings of society of this sort which was really existing in France in those days really did not do without the atypical blue stockings shocking public.
Anyway, modern "blue stockings" perfectly study, often build brilliant career, however completely exclude from the life admirers and other feeble efforts towards creation of the relations.
Today problems of the female blue stockings refusing private life can be connected with too strict education and features of character which are perhaps created in the childhood under the influence of sneers of peers.