The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1860-02-16
From the Field aud Eireside.
LOVABLE HEROINEs.
by MARY Z. BRYAN.

In the many novelssnovelettes and ro-
mances, which have been, and are still, an
nually poured out at the feet of the public,
by the bushel::fp'i like so many plums--
goou,s -uau anu indifferent-how few are
the really lovable heroines 'pns find
:he heroines one would seriously like to
marry!
The Belindas, Amandas and Melissas of
the former chivalric romances are merely
pretty, characterless puppets, whose bust
ness it was TO wear white silks and satin
slippers, to faint and "do" Mysteries at
every denoemsnt, and to get into all man
ner of difficulties and dangers for their
Lord Fitz Mortimers to deliver them.-
These prosecuted females, who are de-
scribed as being angelic miracles Of curls,
compilations, eyes, etc., are about rs true
representations Of womanhood as the fash
ion plate figures in second rate magazine.
Dimly defined, as Shelly's picture of Queen
Nab, they move through the scenes of the
story, as the ndistinct figures of mag
ic lantern across the canvass Of the ex-
hibition.
AS for the class Of moral and religious
novels-of which Hannah Mores "Cu-
lebes" is n sample-their heroines are
as merely pcrsonifed virtues or vices, as
the characters in "Dred" are perambulaling
abolition opinions.
The heroines Of modern novels, plays
and novelettes, are, with some exceptions,
not whit more lovable than their satin
slipperedss predecessors. Female authors,
who might be supposed better able than
men to delneate the idiosyncrasies of their
sex, sometimes fail signaIly in making
their "pets" as lovely as they, no doubt,
wish them to appear. My Lord Byron's
bump of self esteem was SO largely de-
veloped that, in drawing characters, he
seems always to have consulted the 10 king
glass and drawn portraits of himself: so
in his Cai' Lucifer, Lara, Childe Harold
Manfred and all the rest, we have my Lord
Byron held up to our admiralion-a little
magnifed, perhaps, because viewed through
Eby ITSELF spectacles, bu: still unmis-
takably Lord Byron. So, some of our
female noveIsts and story writers seem in
capable Of producing anything but daguer-
reotypes of themselves. They follow Tup-
per's example Of magnifying" their "of-
fice," to such an extent, that they almost
ignore the many sweet, aniab:e, sensible
women, who might be made interesting as
heroines, though no suspicion Of indigo
sullied their immaculate hose. Nothing
but blue stockings like themselves will
serve their purpose. Their heroines are
usually writers, who fight desperate battles
for fame and bread with the points Of their
pen, wear their hair plain, dress in grey or
black livery, are as destitute Of archness'
humor and coquetry as owls, and as firm,
independent and flat footed as--as his Ex-
cellency Joseph Brown of Georgia.
The usual plan of such novels, so far as
the horoine is concerned, is this: She is
poor and gifted, is scorned by rich fools,
whom she regards with lofty contempt, be-
ing absorbed in the contemplation of her
foreshadowed destiny; at length, after
passing through innumerable tribulations,
she a0rites, creates sensation, hero ap-
pears and makes love to hear, but receives
the cold shoulder-througl some far.fetch-
ed crotchet Of rride or duty in heroine 8
Drain; or else, because her ambition or
ner martyr procivities decide her to crush
he orange blossoms for the prospective
,urcls. So she writes on: becomes un-
.appy, mopish and dismal; but writes on !;
grows thin, sallow and famous, and finally
discovers that laurels are scentless vegeta-
bles and won't make good tea, or that
they crumble to ashes in her grasp
fortunately, at this critical junctpre, the
hero turns up, and, the crotcbet having
evapol ated iii S, me way, she condescends
to bestow her hand upon him.
This is the general plot, for whose filing
s up we need only search the, newspapers
6 and magazines. Virginia Townsend, whose
stories pleased the public until It surfsited
with their repeated sameness, has served it
up for us-rehashed Or more or less .iodi-
fled, in every novelette, Of hers have read
lately; the heroines being writer's of books
IS Or contributors to magazinsa, and inyaria-
bly, becoming celebrated far and near
Our two best American novels bv adv a ars
thors-the "H'dden Path" and "Beaulab;,''
also afford examples. Both the most,promS. aetrp:
isiGent female characters wrote and ,sere
sternly intellectual. This "Beulaln w,l,,;csl,
the gifted Miss Evans has given us as shs,,,
hssoins, seems to be. young woman, ra,h,
, er.tart of temper, and laconie in speeeb =.
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