The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1873-06-12
WoMEN'S REAL NEEDS.
BY EMIL z FA1THFULL.

b1 EMIL Y FAITHFULL.
In England there are now three
million women dependent on their
own exertlons. 10 tell such as these
that weman's proper snbere ia Of
home, Is mocke ry, for they are forced
ed away from homes to get bread.
Though many barrier to woman's
earning a livelihood has been broken
down, there are still terrible Difficult.
ties in finding q Employment for wo-
men. Specially onerous Is the case
of those of fallen fortunes, members
of genteel class es. True it is that
young men now find it hard to get
suitable employment; they often
have to 60 ives It. But there is no
analogy among them to the whole
sale destruction of consciences,
bodies and soul Is, among women
destruction too often brought about
by destitution.
How can tender-hearted people
fold their hands while so many of
their sisters are driven to perdition
by the want of bread ? Statements
are published that capable women,
willing to work can get employment
at good wages. Good, steady, skill
ed labor is wan ted In just chose de-
partments where women have gain
ed position. The unremitting, earn
est application required to acquire
skill in these departments, is hard
for women to gp through. In them,
love of work for its own sake, is no
more inherent than in men. More
over, women ar e always looking for
the possible EN- ancipator. Men have
nothing bat the ir work to look to for
dependence. The greatest evil of
all is the lack of the right early train
ing, and for this the family, the par
ents and society in general must be
impeached. Society casts a stigma
on women who earn their own liveli-
hood, and pare nts pray that their
daughters may never be brought 80
low. AS to ed ucation, girls train
ing stops Just where the main part Of
a boys usually begins. Men are al
lowed full opportunity to devote
themselves to their chosen work, ana
are not diverted q by the demands OF
society. Won en- are at the beck
and call of ev verybody, as it were,
and have so m any society duties, 80
many distracting little trifes to at.
tend to, that the wonder is not that
there has not been a female Shak-
speare, Rapha Ell, and Newton, but
that women have done 80 much.
True marriage is the crown and
glory of woman's life; but it must
be founded on love, and not on de-
sire for a home or support, while
nothing can be more deplorable, de-
basing and cor rupting than the love-
less marriages brought about in our
upper society by a craven ambition
and longing for good settlement.
Loveless marriages, and a different
standard of morality for men and wo-
men, are the urses of modern socie-
ty.
The dignity of labor is not yet prop
erly appreciated. We agree that
work is honorable in man, but are
not yet convinced that idleness is dis
honorable in women. A contempt
for work is at the bottom of fash
ionable young |lady's mind. Erivoli-
ty is so general that it is surprising
that SO much good survives in spite
of neglect. So long as we frown
down and sne er at the efforts to en-.
large woman's sphere, we are encour-
aging frivelity and idleness In wo-
men. We hear the interests and
rights of WON en- spoken of as if these
could be sepa rated from the rights
of men-as if men ahd women were
creatures of a different kind.
A most com mon and mischiev0us
error is that which would make wo-
man the mere shadow and attend
ant of her lord, as if shadow could
be true help-meet. We have long
heard that m ans sphere is the world (;
woman's is home. But women have
part in the world, too, while men
are not ciphers in the home circle.
The material need of opening fresh
avenues for women is obvious; the
moral necessity is also of the utmost
Importance. Women must have
such occupations as will give them
true and gen nuine sympathies with
their fathers and husbands, who are
toiling day by day for their support,
while the women dependent upon
them are wearying out the hours by
trying to kill time. In this way a
wide gulf, constantly expanding, is
opened betw cen men and women.