Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1868-05-28
LITTLE WOMEN.

uiie,o speaks Of the change which has taken place
Of late years, and particularly in modern novels Of
the conventional idea of heroines. Instead of the
tall, dark-haired, large-armed virago, who might
pass as the younger brother of the husband-such
as Helen McGregor, Lady Macbeth and Catharine
de Medici, and the old fashioned murderesses oi
novels-as the type of the brave, energetic and So
premey criminal woman, we have the softest little
creature in the world. The palette is completely
changed .' ,'&'."' " -
Instead of five foot ten, of black and brown; they
have gone in for four foot nothing, Of pink and vel
low. Instead of tumbled masses of raven hair
they have shining coils Of purest gold; instead o
hollow caverns, whence fash unfsthomable eye
eloquent of every damnable passion, they have
Unified lakes of heavenly blue. -. ~ g.. ~.
In fact we have surfeit of small l-limbed, yellow
headed criminals who, in appearance, resemble
ideal saints and the old idea Of Lucrezia Borgis
or Messalina, has evaporated with the other pei
notions of our younger days .~'.
Yet after all, there is physiological truth IL
this association of energy with smallness, which
few, at first blush, would admit There is certain
tint of yellow hair too, which, with dash Of red
through it, is decidedly suggestive of nervous
force In our daily life who is the really formid,
able woman to encounter-the black -browed,
broad -shouldered giantess, or the pert, smart,
trim little female with no more biceps than Lady
bird, and just about equal strength with spar
row? Nine times out of ten your giantess, with
her heavy shoulders and broad black eyebrows, is
o timid, feeble-minded, good-tempered person, who
hasn't energy enough to spank her babies, and who
would swear that the moon shone at midday II
her husband so ordered ..... .,...s ~
But the little woman is isirrepressible. Too fragile
to come into the fighting section Of humanity
punny creature whom one blow from q mans huge
fist would annihilate fearless, and inso
lent with the insolence of those who know that
they have nothing to fear. She is afraid of moth
ing. She has had her own way in every thing and
everywhere. She is the pert, smart, pretty little
creature, who laughs in your face, de6es all laws
and carries everything before her. a..
AS rule, the little woman is brave When the
lymphatic giantess falls into faint or goes off in
Mysteries she storms or bustles about, or holds on
like game terrier. She will fly at any man who
annoys her, and bears herself as equal to the biggest
and strongest felowof our acquaintance. In gen.
era she does it all by sheer pluck, not by subtlety
or craft. Had Delilah been little woman she would
neverhave taken the trouble shear Samson slocks.
She would have de6ed him with all his strength on
his head and she would have overcome him, too, or
pulled his hair out. Judith and Jael were both
probably large women. The work they went about
demanded certain strength of muscle and tough
ness of sinew; but who would say that Jezebel
was not small, freckledfaced, auburn-haired little
creature full of the concentrated fire. the electric
force, the passionate recklessness Of her type?
In fact the only powerfully built, large-Gmbed
race of women, who were as brave and energetic
as they were strong and big, were the Morse wo-
men ofthe Sagas-those fair-haired Scandinavians
who were the fit comrades of their men, the fit
wives and mothers of Berserkers and the Vikings.
On the whole, though, the little women have
the best of it, more petted than their bigger sis,
tiers, yet infinitely more powerful, for they break
down all laws throw down all BARRIERS and are per,
fecty irresistible and irrepressible in all circum,
stances and under any conditions.