Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1872-04-25
For theAdyertiser. :
fsuoort HuuPry.p

appeared a.short review of Heart Hun
grg;,, novel by Mrs. Maria J. West
nioreland, of Atlanta, Ga. This futile
fing at the production Of lady of the
South, in Review claiming to be South
fdernin its. tone and sentiment, has excited
my surprise, and awakened desire to
have "fair play" for the story of this
beautiful and gifted authoress.
Despite the unjust narrow and meagre
criticism Of Mr.. Allston, +" Heart Hun
g'y" has won its way to the favor and
commendation of the best .intellects of
America. It's literary success is beyond
the palsied stroke of the would-be-critic.
Mr.. Allston has been content to dismiss
the book after picking a flaw in the gram
matical construction of few sentences,
and, discovering that the authoress had
put few more "frills" upon the "dress"
of the heroine, than 'aas customary, even
in work of fiction, makes false
charge ofpetit larceny against heroine
of tho story, in regard to the solitaire
diamond ring of her lover, declaring the
novel sensational" and even "sensu-
ous." Such is his summing up of the
merits of the work. Hehas not attempt
ed to analyze the philosophy that per-
vades' the entire work, or controvert tie
changes that the authoress suggests
should be made in our present social sys-
tenn. To the thoughtful reader there is
more in "Heart Hungry" than fascina-
ting love.story, or sensational effect ari-
sing from tragical denouements. 1t is
full of bold, truthful, and progressive
reform, in regard to the education Of
woman, and the relations between the
sexes, single and married. :.
According to our appreciation of the
novel it attempts to show, First, That
the superficial system of instruction of
woman must be changed; that the sphere
of their labors must be enlarged. She
says:
comprehend that
"'Life Is real, life is earnest
they might be jealous. workers in the
great vineyard. But so long as the pres
ent superficial system of instruction con-
| tinues, so long as women are reared with
| the idea that they have nothing to do but
cultivate their physical beauty, dress,
and run the gauntlet of the marriage
! market to advantage, just so long will
they be the giddy butterflies of fashion
one finds them; with now and then an
earnest soul struggling for something
higher, only to be dragged down by gos-
sips and critics. The hallot-box is not
what is. asked for, not what Is needed;
but more thorough education for wo-
men. Is it not the mother who has the
training of her offspring7 She must not
be unsexed in the blind wisdom Of fanati-
cism, nor robbed Of single feminine
attribute; but to make "a perfect woman
nobly planned" she must be intellectu-
ally, but not masculinely, strong. She
must be allotted some nobler mission in
life than conjuring up frivolous, and con-
sequently pernicious, ways Of disposing
of her time" Page SO and 81.
Secondly, That the utter disregard of
their word, that characterizes the fash
ionable females of society, is the result
Of their false system of instruction that
they are all more or less guilty of decep-
ton and falsehood. In regard to the he
roine being engaged to two lovers at the
same time, she says:
at is to be regretted that women are
guilty of such irregularities, but when
| to be SO utterly regardless Of their word
is remembered they are perhaps as much
to be pitied as censured.'' Pago SO.
Thirdly, That their practice of coquet
ry, units them for selecting suitable
husband, and from becoming good wife
after marriage. That unlicensed coquet-
ry is nothing more or less than aprosti-
tuition of the heart; that there can be but
one greater false step, and that is u loss
ofphysical virtue. Speaking ofa coquetA,
she says:
"Such woman has no moral sense,
no ohigh-toned principle; her whole life Is
an acting falsehood; !; she is herself
libel OH her asher end, grieyous. She
! will mover metSea true wife, for the love
of single honest heart would never sat-
isfy the grasping desires of her own. She
can not fill a mothers holy place for the
chief source Of parental respect, conf
dence, is nullified, and The corner stone
of their education, truth, is put to the
blush. The deadliest drought is not more
poisonous to tho stomach than to society
and the family, is the daily heartless life
OF tile avowed coquctte. What though she
may not reel upon the streets and carouse
III dcns of iniquity? There should be
less excuse for her conduct than for the
unfortunate protligate, for she acts with
prcmcditatiom." Page Y.
Few women have properly appreciated
the utter decentralization that unlimited
flirting Produces and fewer have had the
honesty and nerve to state the cause so
strongly against their sex as is done in
the foregoing extract.
Fourtllly, That it is wrong to marry
for money, position, or from any motive
whatever, save that of true love:
Deliver mo from the conventional
love, de la mode, which sells itself for
| gold, AND induces the naridge de come
nance" Page 124.
Filthy, The whole thread Of her story
goes to prove although one or both may
marry from pure love, that it is senti-
ment that must be watched with all eager
eye, Uilu ilOuIlSllcu Will tNiiNSA hHshut
that the love so beautifully described by
the poets and writer's Of fiction, will not
stand the test of every day life; that the
heart must bc fed by it's daily and natural
food, kindness, attention, devotion, APP
probation, and ever thoughtful love-
otherwise it will perish and die, or it will
seek its wants outside of tho restrictions
and limitations of the marriage state.
If we are correct in our Judgment of
the book, 1t aims at correcting these
grievous faults of society. The fair au-
thoress, Qike D'Israeli in Coningsby, in
which he in telling his beautiful story of
love, is covertly vindicating the. charac-
ter of the Jews, or in Lothair is attacking
the Catholic religion is only using the
story of her novel and the various
dramatis persona, as the medium of
popularizing her philosophy Of love and
life; of correcting the faults Of her sex,
and of pointing out the way in which
woman may elevate and ennoble herself
in the eyes of God and man.
The charge that the work is sensational
is sustained by the facts of the novel, and
by the effect it has produced upon the
| raoliOr n1Ib1io Tho ooeortion that it ia