The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-03-25
Plain Talk About 1voman's Work.

The Saturday Review has the following on
womans work, which is fully as applicable to
the women of the United States as to those OF
England, for whom the article was written:
1t is strange to say into what unreasonable
disrepute active housekeeping, woman's natu-
raj duty, has fallen in England. Take family
with four or five hundred year, and we know
how small sum that is for ''genteel humanity
in these days, the wife who will be an active
heusekeeper, even with such an income, Will
be an exception to the rule; and the daughters,
who viii be anything more than drawing room
dolls waiting for husbands to transfer them to
home Of their own, where they may be as
useless as they are now, will be rarer still: For
things are getting worse, not better, and our
young women are less useful than tneu
mothers.
What Is there in practical housekeeping less
honorable than the ordinary work OF middle
class eentlewomen? And why should women
shrink from doing for utility, and for the gen
eral comfort Of the family, what they would do
at any time for vanity or idleness? No one
need 90 into extremes, and wish our middle
class gentlewomen to t.ecome Cmderellas slt-
ting among the kitchen ashes, Nausicaas wash
nsssdiework neg only. But without undertaking
ANYTHING unpleasant to her senses or degra-
ding to her condition, a lady might do hun
dieds Of things that are now left undone IN
house altogether, or are given up to the coarse
handling Of servants, and domestic me would
gain infinitely IN consequence. What degrade
ton, for instance, is there in cookery? and
how much more happiness would there be if
wives would take in hand that great cold NUT
ton question
The whole scheme of woman's life at this
present time is untenable and unfair. She
wants to have all the pleasures and none OF
the disagreeables. Her husband goes TO the
,ak0 md mt
work there; but his wife thinks herself In very
evil case II asked'to do monotonous housework
at home. Yet she does nothing more elevat-
ing or more advantageous. Novel reading,
fancy york, skating, letter writing, sum up her
ordinary occupations; and she considers these
more to the point than practical housekeep-
ing. In fact, it becomes serious question
what women think themselves sent into the
world for. what they hold themselves designed
bytGod to be or to do Fancy q brilliant crea-
ture foregoing an evenings conversational
glory abroad for the sake Of prosaic
husbands more prosaic dinner He comes
home tired from work.. and desper-
restorative; but the plain COOK gives
him cold meat and pickles, or an abomination
which she calls hash, and the brilliant crea-
ture, full Of mind, thinks the desire for any
thing else rank sensualty. It seems little
hard, certainly, on the happy fellow who works
at the mill for such return; but women be-
lieve that men are made only to work at the
mill that they receive the grist accruing; and
be kept niidleness and usefulness all their
lives. They have 40 idea of tightening the
labor Of that mill round by doing their own na-
tural work cheerfully and diligently. They
will do everything but what they ought to do;
they will make themselves doctors, committee
women, what not, but they won't learn cook
ing, and they don't keep their own houses.
There never was time when women were less
the heipmates than they are at present; when
there was such wide division between the
interests and the sympathies Of the sexes in
their pursuits. -