The shepherd that shears our ewes leaves half the fleece on their back. The spinster filches as much yarn as she can, the weaver underpays for what’s left. We are clueless. Peasants do not let themselves be cheated so. I could tell you much more, but better that you do not know everything. You should have hope, if nothing else. It will strengthen you to live far from your mother and her bitter regrets. Your father’s aunt is skillful but greedy, she will have to be paid. You will stay six months or a year, no more, and then you will come back and teach us to card, spin and weave. My cough will be gone as soon as we are reunited, because mothers fare poorly when deprived of their daughters. My head feels too heavy to carry upright, let me rest it on your shoulder, and do not pay heed to my tears.

This is the 66th of 100 women who talk to their daughters over 2500 years.

The 65th woman, her mother, is the only mother in The Thread who speaks to her son instead of her daughter. The 64th mother is taken advantage of by men of her family during the Plague. The 63rd mother, her grandmother, rejects incest which was common in noble families to preserve their wealth. The 62nd mother hires a poetess to help them fight for their inheritance. The 61st woman was a warrior, as were a number of women throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The 60th mother takes out her frustrated ambitions on her daughter. The 59th mother rewrites the 10 commandments for her child. The 58th mother does not take kindly to plucking her forehead. The 57th mother does not realize her husband is a swindler.

Earlier on, in ancient Greece:

The 18th woman tells of a mother separated from her daughter.The 14th woman loses freedom as she gains social status. The 9th woman’s blind sister lineage will not perdure. The 5th woman brandishes laughter in the face of fate.

It all starts here: first thread, and the last stories will take place in … present day America.