By Robin Givhan
The Daily Beast
Dec. 12, 2011
Handbags speak volumes about the women who carry them—Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was no different. Robin Givhan on handbags and power. It is not surprising that a handbag should figure so prominently in the film chronicling Margaret Thatcher’s legacy–a sprawling tale brought to the big screen by Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady. This personal carry-all has long been both functional and symbolic. Depending on its style and brand, it can be a statement of status or a pronouncement of folksiness. Hand it off to a hen-pecked husband or a put-upon assistant and it can demean or belittle. A purse can impress and intimidate, bewilder, berate, or amuse.