I found "The Virgin" by Katherine Philips very interesting for a variety of reasons. Although I would say that the expectations of women were much more severe at that time, the one thought that kept recurring to me while I read this is how people in modern society are still faced with a number of expectations. In some ways, it seems things haven't changed that much.

I do find that there are still a number of societal norms that we are expected to follow, otherwise we are deemed "strange", "fringe", or "outcasts". Society dictates that we leave home by a certain age, get married by a certain age, have children by a certain age and have a mortgage by a certain deadline. I do believe that the expectations of women in "The Virgin" (read: proper, "nice" women) still carries over to this day, if only in a slightly different form.

I had a conversation with a female friend of mine a few years ago, and we discussed the fact that it was sad that both of us knew a number of young women who felt obligated to suppress their intellect. Many of them felt that if they appeared too intelligent, it would scare off men threatened by their intelligence. Sad, but true. Again, I find it interesting that not much has changed since the writing of "The Virgin".