The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-06-05
For the National Era.
COMMONPLACE WOMEN.
BY MINNIE MYRTLE.

iSheu' ana "epl over, by men of far loiIer intellect
80 1t will always lie, 10 the end time II is lesson
worth learning by those young creatures who seek To n
lure by their accomplishment or dazzle by their eepis
mat though he may admire, no man ever loves vou,,,
Tor these things He loves her what Is essentially de
ilnct irom- though incompatible with them-h4r a.,
man nature and her womans heart This is why We 50
oIeh see man OF high genius, intellectual power ~.
by the DE Staels and Cornnes to take into his bosom
some wsysde Hover, who has nothing on earth 20 raa
her worthy OF him. except that She s-vhst so few Oh
your leinae celebrates area woman"
We clipped the above from daily paper,
and We had previously seen it in half a dozen :
and we doubt not it will so be TO the end Of
time" that persons and things will be called
by their wrong names will be misrepresented
and misunderstood, and thereby much evil will
be done.
" For want of thought as well as want ~
heart by supplemented men, who have not
the capacity to understand anything but a sim
| pleton Of woman
We shall not dispute what this paragraph so
emphatically takes for granted, that there IS
nothing in life for women but to be "kissed.
cherished, and wept over by men - and if God
has seen fit to endOw her with qualities which
Z
III special manner for some other mission.
she must expect to be passed by for yaysida
flowers" and must also consider il the great
est of all calamities that she has not been able
to hide her talents under a bushel, or so OBJ
scure them that they should not stand in the
way of her preferment among the sol distant
"lords of creation"
But We will endeaVor to consider what CON
stitutes commonplace woman" We know
scores and hundreds to whom this appellatio,
rightly belongs, or rather to whom 1t is usually
applied; but they are not women destitute rs
intellect or genius. for ], is impossible 70 be- q
true woman, i'll the sense used in our quotation.
without great deal of both. What ia the
genius and what are the ACCOMPLISHMENTS
which are thus ridiculed as incapable of win.
ming the tore of men, though they may dazzle
and allure?' What are the qualities which :.
should be ladys aim to possess in order to
render herself acceptable in the eyes of men ?
WHAT'S it TO be "a true woman
We have in our eye two women. each of
whom would, to the superficial observer. eouaI.
ly deserve to be called " commonplace" The
one was wooed and won by a man of "intel-
lectual power and high genius" for the
very reason that she was quiet, passive. and
aflectonate-ju st the one for his lofty nature
to to eherish - the one to cling to him, and
with his-no will to 81 "sSntitul trust and
gently to his physical wants, ana InaG9.a}p a is,
home place Of repose. She had no intellect
ual gifts, and no troublesome Accomplishments
and when they had been few years married,
what was their home? A place Of repose tru>
ly, to which the husband came for physical rest,
but never for enjoyment. His wife had no in.
terest in his business, which she could not un.
derstand, nor his intellectual pleasures. Books
might have been stones, for I'll any power they
had to attract her attention; and of conversation
she knew not tho meaning-her charm was re-
pose. Her reasoning faculties had not been
cutivated-so 1t was useless to attempt to rea-
son with her; and submission became the neces-
sity OF all who would not see her quiet, passive
nature converted into something like that of an
infatuated animal Of the feline species when ell
ragged.
When nothing happened out Of the common
course, she was calm and bland as a summers
morning; but she had not been fitted for trials,
and had no strength for the andurance Of any
thing but uninterrupted prosperity. There
were children to train, bat the stddy of their
minds and hearts she had never dreamed to be
duty. When they annoyed her, she fretted:
when she weary, she sent them from her
presence. 1t is no part of a mothers duty 90
attend to tho intellectual or the soul.wants Of
her children. The sons must be educated
abroad, and the daughters must grow up ike
herself, in order to be attractive 10 men aud
the husband and father must seek elsewhere
the companionship Of mind, or go through life
without it.
Let us look into another home, where r. man
of high genius and intellectual powers wooed
and won a woman equally endowed though
with gifts of different kind--one OF superior
mental strength, brilliant and accomplished.
Her gifts are made the embellishments of her
home. She is the oontdante of her husband.
for he can freely disclose to her losses and ca
la;aities, without fear Of SCATTERING her nerves
or producing fit of Mysteries For his weari.
ness, she has the balm Of a cheerful spirit; and
for books, their interest and appreciation are
the same.
Everything that can give brightness and at
traction TO home, though an accomplishment,
should be deemed q necessary accomplishment
TO her who is to superintend and direct one
What more soothing than music TO the weary
man of care, what more delightful than 10 see
the evidences of taste everywhere about his
dwelling. But OF all arts, that Of animated
and improving conversation is the most useful
and perhaps the most rare. The merchant il
the slave of his leger, and the lawyer Of his
briefs and the monotonous details are almost
certain to narrow his mind and chill his heart.
But in the home We are now describing, the
wife does not permit her husband to contine
himself to the literature of reports. She keeps
herself acquainted with all that is passing in
the world OF letters, and their table-talk is the
result Of her readings. She believes ii woman's
province to adorn, to scatter howers aloor
ife's pathway, and endeavors to preserve her
youth and beauty, and to be ruled by taste III
lsess and ia all her household arrangements.
Tier children see in her u digniied aud self
relying woman, with mental and physical
strength for any emergency; and IN answer To
heir hundred questions, aud 10 satisfy their
hirst for knowledge, they are nolltold, $50 10
FOUR father" or Hush, / cannot endure yOur
She is capable of training them
or life and for Immortality. She is true
woman yet if home and family ties had not
been granted her. she might have become
Known to the world as woman OF genius
night even have degenerated into a celebrity
As il is, the fame Of her husband is sufficient
or her. Her ambition is satisfied when he ia
crowned with laurels and this is ever the case
With those whose husbands are capable of win
hing laurels.
The sentiment we have quoted originated in
he dark ages, and is still repeated, without q
bought of its real import-without any definite
dea what it means, and the wrong principles
md unjust aspersions it is continually spread.
ng in the community.
The women who are held up to scorn as ce-
ebriues, merely because they are celebrities,
re women OF lofty intellect, TO be sure, but
hey are not the less true aud noble women.
With hearts as warm with affection and "A ge-