The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1866-01-31
THE DAILY EMPIRE.
n. n. ROBINSON,
PUBLISHER AND PROPRIETOR,
e Dayton, Ohio,
wednesday, January 81, 1866
WOmnn and Her PIace,

A writer commenting upon recent work |
Of Mrs. II. Beccher Stoves, utters the fol- |
flowing truthful sentiments. The material |
asm Of the age is destroying every princi-
pie of true religion and robbing life Of all
Its beauty: s.
The instinct of women TO seek q life of
repose, their eagerness TO attain the life of
elegance, does not mean contempt for ln-
Dor, but IL is n confession of unftness for
labor. Women were not intended to work,
not because work is ignpble, but because il
Is as disastrous to the beauty of woman
flower. Woman is TO be kept in the garden
of life, she Is tO rest, TO receive, to praise;
she Ia to be kept from the workshop-wOrld,
where innocence Is snatched with rude
hands, and softness H. blistered into ,un-
sightliness or hardened into adamant. No
social truth Is more in need of exposition
and illustration than this one; and above
all, the people of New England need to
know IL, and better, they need to believe II.
II is therefore, with regret that we dis
cover Mrs. Stowe, applymgs0 harshly, and,
as we think, so indiscriminatingly the
theory of work to women, and teaching a
society made up of women sacrificed in the
workshops of n State. or 10 the dust~pans
and kitchens of the house, that women must
they do not work and that woman com
mitted to the drlIdgery of household Is
more creditably employed than when she Is
charming, fascinating Irresistible in the
parlor or boudoir. The consequence of this
| fatal mistake is manifest throughout New
| England, where the girls are all beautiful
and the wives and mothers faded, dis6guret
and without charm or attractiyeness. Tlre
moment girl marries in New England she
Is apt To become q drudge, or lay figure
on which To exhibit the latest fashions.
| She never has beautiful hands, and she
would not have u beautiful face If n utili-
ltarian society could apply her face 10 any
thing but the pleasure of the eye. Her
hands lose their shape and sollness after
lchildhood, and domestic drIidgery destroys
4 her beauty Of form and softness and bloom
i of complexion after marriage. To correct,
or rather TO break mp this despotism of
! household cares or of work over women,
i American society must be taught TINT
women will Inevitably fade aud deteriorate
unless II insures rcpose and comfort to
them It must be taught that reverence
for beauty il the normal condition, while
the theory of work, applied to women, is
disastrous alike TO beauty and morals.
| Work, when IL IL destructive to men or wO-
men, is forced and unjust
All the great masculine or creative cpOchs
have been distinguished by spontaneous
work on the paat Of men and universal
reverence and care for beauty. The praise
of work and shtrificc of woman 10 this
1 great heartless devil of work, belongs only
to and Is the social doctrine of Il mcchani-
cal age and of utilitaTian epoch. And II
the New England idea of social life con-
tinues to bear so cruelty on woman, we shall
) have n reaction somewhat unexpected and
shocking.
Let no one infer that we put in plea fol
| rhaf In IaI nf ~
the droll life of women of fashion. Whai
we claim is that woman can be spared the
, necessity of all physical or mental labOl
( Except that which Is necessary for health
: fnl oxercise), and that men honor them
, work for them, and love them too much Z
! let them go forth into the disfigurements o
toll. .... e
: If we wish to illustrate the best of thai
! ! epoch in which justice was tempted Il
0 mercy by the dazzling beauty of Phryne
y II we wish the best of that splendid six
= teenth century la Italy. in which beauty
1 and strength co-operated TO protect pericc
$ art; IL we wish something of that free anC
{ stately epoch which gave Shakespeare e
i the world, we must rebuke the pretension
/ of n mechanical age, and assert the right o
women to be kept outside the workshop
l. and the kitchen. All the great male an,
aesthetic epochs worshiped the beauty O
women. The epOchs Of decadence wor
k SHIPPED pleasure, and men were devote'
TO enjoyment. Witness the time of Charlie
s ii. w
i Man, in his best estate, can not be helpe'
!. 'worthily by "A slave nor efficiently b.
!. the lay figure Of a milliner's shop. II
help women must keep the freshness of he
e strength and the vivacity of her spirit
> She must be rest In hours of weariness
# an impulse in moments of Inertia, and a
i all times refuge from the dirtiness of pub
Y lie life.