The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-09-21

THE NEW YORK EVENING GAZETTE asks the
question, What is medesty? and then goes on to
say Strange it may at first sight appear, this
question has no definite answer whatever. The
rules by which modesty may be defined are here
and everywhere absolutely arbitrary, and entirely
dependant on custom. The Turk is shocked at
the freedom which Christian women are allowed.
FUAD PAoHA admired the beauty of English
women, but was Mortified at the idea of their rid
ing on horseback. 1t is the height Of immodesty
for woman to appear in the streets of an Orien-
tal City, unless her face as completely concealed
as any other portion Of her person. This We call
barbarism; they return the compliment in COM
menting on our own customs. When SHAKsPEARE
conceived his characters Of Desdemona-Portia-
Ophelia-Hero and Beatrice, the embodiment of
which by modern actresses is such delight to
modern audiences, woman would not have been
tolerated on the stage. ALI of those exqusitely
womanly characters were originally borne by men,
and it was nearly fifty years after the death of
their great creator before it was considered
s.modest" for woman to appear on the stage. So
in literature, it is only within a few years, less
than half century, that the appearance OF women
before the public has not been considered breach
Of womanly modesty. The few exceptions we're
regarded as intellectual monstrocities and tole-
rated only on account of their undouot-
ed genius. But We need not compare dit
forent countries with each other, or different
times, to see how purely arbitrary the rules are
which govern the popular ideas of female modesty.
Our own customs md our fashions are full OF pa
rado1es. The successful actress is receive with
shouts OF applause tom the people; papers crt'cise
her voice and manr er, FORM face, e1pr> on-they
never think OF fer as unwomanly or lnmodest.
Even the oppon nts of the theatre object to it on
general grounds of morality and publ .;ood; they
do not talk of the profession as immodest in itself
Contrast with this the grave doubts and the severe
structures, which have been expressed so frequently
in regard to The propriety ofa woman appearing in
the lecture hail. talking quietly to an audience for
an hour or two, dressed in the simplest stye. and
appealing solely to the intellect of her hearers.
What struggle there has been with the public
sentiment on this subject. So in our fashions.
When long dresses had been the rule for years
upon the street as well as in the drawing ROOM a
lady's ankle was concealed from sight as carefully
as the face of the Oriental woman. Within the
last few years. however, the ankle has made its ap-
pearance in the world encased with ornamental
shoes, and made es attractive possible. 1t is no
longer surrounded by the mystery Of long skirts,
which almost Danish its very name from society. |
There are very many paradoxes in fashion; the |
bathing g-dress, for instance, which lady would be
shocked, along with all her friends, to be caught
IN, a hundred yards from the clearinghouse, or in
the drswing-room Of her hotel. What, then, is fe-
male modesty2 Is it mere abstraction-a fiction
"A poetic fancy?