The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1855-03-29
e G0utational.
From the Pennsylvania School Journal.
The Proper Sphere of Woman.
an Essay 6y MISS LIZZIE \. P. RYNDER,
Of L0ch HAran (ItLaknll (i1lnt1L

from witty TO severe have attempted to
outdo each other in singing Of woman 8
charms and woman's duties;-statesmen
have alternately culogized and condemn
ed her;-"fast' women in Boomers have
been wandering over the country, en-.
deavoring to elevate themselves to a place
they were never designed to occupy; and
broken down politicians, finding their ef-
forts to WELD men in vain, have caught
hold of all the inflammable material they
could and in the mind of; woman. and
tried to kindle it into blaze, by holding
conventions, mass meetings, &C., for the
amelioration of the sex in general: and
yet, Notwithstanding these mighty efforts,
poor woman is unchanged-is woman still
And now for the reason.
The proper sphere of woman, and her
elevation to the highest positions in So
ciety, have received the attention of some
of the most prominet men in the civilized
world; but, like other geniuses, their paths
have either led through the clouds or the
mud; and so we have women, disdaining
all medium flights, either trying to soar,
like the fabled Icarus on waxen wings,
far above man, or sinking passively into
the mere slaves of bis will.
Purely virtuous, hearted women
! see the falsity of both courses; and as it
requires Il thorough awakening of all con-
cerned to produce any radical change, SO
woman's condition remains just as it was
before this attempt to arouse ber to full
sense of the situation she was imagined
to occupy in the world.
But we must not overlook the opinions
of j1st and liberal men: in regard to wo-
mans proper sphere.
Although they may not admire the
brass that would take 4 woman to the pull
pit or the bar, yet they rejoice to meet
her in friendly antagonism in the field of
letters; and | venture to assert, almost
without the fear of contradiction, that
whenever a woman has discovered any
evidence of latent genius or even COM
mon place talent, she has met with more
encouragement and assistance from these
men, than from her own sex, or from
those who would debaso her by improper
elevation.
The education of woman has been and
still is rather superficial; but thanks to
the onward spirit of progress, (not to Wo-
mans Rights Conventions schools are
being established where she can have all
the facilities usually afforded to man, to
acquire sound knowledge; and soon
very soon-tbe women of the United
States will have no reason to complain of
the limited sphere of action, open to the
exercise of their talents.
Experiment has proved that the deep
or and more abstruse sciences are learned
as readily by girls as boys, and therefore
they should have equal advantages for
pursuing them. Even if these are never
after called into action, the mind will be
strengthened by the labor performed in
acquiring solid education, and woman will
be enabled to grasp greater and more
comprehensive views of life than she can
can now.
Woman's education is too triRing and
aimless to develope the wealth of her in.
telleet, and it will be always SO until we
have better system to follow When q
young man leaves school, he feels and
knows that his real, practical education
is but just commenced; and he immedi-
ately selects some trade or profession, to
which he devotcs all his energies, with
the expectation of winning either wealth
or fame by the acquisition and use of
knowledge; but with waman how differ .
ent! When she leaves school, she imag-
ines herself perfected in all that woman
ought to know, and if wealthy, sinks at
once into the listlcss, noyel-reading,
pleasure-pursuing woman of the world;
or, if poor, her time is generally employ
ed in that most absured of all woman's /
faults, "keeping up appearances" just as
long as she can subsist on the charity of
her parents and other friends.
When these means of support fail, ne
cessity compels her to make some active
exertion for herself and, as not more
than one in twenty of the women in this
condition know enough to engage in
teaching. they resort to the needle in
such numbers as to produce, ultimately,
the pale faced throng of over worked and
halt paid scamstresses one meets so often
in the streets of our cities. This fact does
not imply want of energy and intellectu-
alty in woman, but merely displays the
false light in which she is taught to view
herself. We arc what we are made, and
must ever continue SO, until the educa-
tion of woman shall have become thing
of Importance with the world.
Women, as well as men, should be pre-
pared for any and every vici4situdo Of
fortune; and there would be healthier
tone in all society if every woman had
some fixed and useful object in view, to
which she could devote her energies
Mothers haze duties to perform of the
most important nature, and the sounder
their education the better fitted are they
to perform those duties; but hundreds of
lily assorted matches, bringing only un-
happiness in their train, might be pre-
vented. if the minds and hearts of women