The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-03-22
The MOtHaer-in-LaW

sllhjcct-a much-abused class of people,
since it is II upon which Witlings are
always apt to fall back when their
BRAINS are empty.
Ancient, and therefore, it might be
supposed, venerable, as the institution
OF mOthcrS-in-laW is, the abuse of them
is quite as ancient. From the pages of
the first stOry-tcller down tothc columns
Of the contemporary daily press, orr
and accusations regarding them and,
indeed, the prayer-bOOk itself joins,
by inference, i'll the cutlery, f0rbidding
a man to marry his wife'S mother
warned, perhaps, by the example of
IycurguS i'll emitting parricidc from his
list OF o%tlcnScs, as dccming it a crime
Impossible to commit, and determined
to make assurance dOubly AREAS if
there were q case on record in which
a mans mOther-in-law would marry
him!
A stranger from another planet, arriv-
ing among lis, would certainly find
himself obliged to believe that all of
IL family discOrds, our social troubles,
and frequent divorces, if not our na-
tlOnal embarraSsmCntS, proceeded from
that fruitful tree of all evil, the mother
in-law and that in the face of the fact
that there was no m0ther-in-laW in
Eden, and yet Adam and Eve fell out.
For Il w part, we are thankful
there was nc mOthcr-in-law there; for.
had there been, We are very confident
that the forbidden fruit would have
been quietly tucked out of sight and no
words wasted, and there would then
have been no need of the Bazaar as Il
Journal OF the fashions of this day.
But, i'll all seriousness, what atrocities
are they that a mother-in-law perpe-
trates which render her an object of
such almost universal male d~etcstatiOn?
She brought her daughter into the
WOrld-that might make her sacred
with the II who loves her daughter:
it seems to have the opposite effect.
She loves the daughter toO-that might
occasion q tender sympathy and COM
munity Of interest: on the contrary, it
produces only Il bitter rivalry. There
is no sacrifice she would not make for
her daughter, to the point of health,
time, pleasure, comfort, and sometimes
life itself: so far from gratitude being
yielded for the sacrifice, it is claimed as
tencG being called praiSewOrthy, its alb
sence is called criminal.
1t is, indeed, possible that a mother,
conscious Of wrongs received i'll her
own days, when her eyes were blinded
by affection and cOnstraining cirCum-
stances, looks at her daughters hus-
band with eyes that now are open, and
sees how the world might be made to
move onward so far as he Is concerned.
But the mother who, having such
knowledge, acts upon it, and opens her
daughters eyes as we'll, and incites her
to rebellion against the powers that be,
is as rare as the mother who pOisOns her
child. She desires her childs happiness
and peace; she knows that rebellion
ruins that peace, and is, in fact, a men
tai and moral poison that would destroy
her. 1t is hardly likely that, in the
nature of things, she will administer
such poison, even it she have it to adj
minister.
There is, however, a singular, incOn-
sistency in the emotions which men are
supposed to cherish toward their moth
ers-in-laW. Let the wife be sick, and
who so necessary then rs the mother
in-laW? Straightway the telegraph
summons her. She comes: the house
is kept in order, the children are clean
and happy, breakfast is punctual, coffee
is clear, the wife is cared for.
The wife is cared for: by the husband ?
Is it he that wakes and watches all
night long, and directs the household
al day, or, when watching is past,
starts from sleep a dozen times to meas
ure the drops, beat the pillows, renew
the dying fire. bathG the aching head,
cool the parched mouth? Rarely. We
are generalizing, and are therefore
forced to say that, save in those. excep-
tional cases which We will not be so
wcak-mindcd as to particularize, the
man is a nuisance in the sick-rOOm he
would do more mischief than good
there; he is glad to have his nights
rest freshen him for his days labor.
No; it is the mOtler-in-law. Tire In
b~elle-mere!
But the wife RECEIVERS. She is up and
about; the crisis is long over; she can
drive out she can visit theatres. And
then? Why, then-a bGS the mother
in-laW!
No; if you are in medium circumstan-
CeS, where servants are poor and scarce,
the mOther-in-law does very well to
take care of the baby when you want
your wife to go out with you; and to
help get up the supper, with her supe-
riOr skill and experience, when you are
going to give your little whistparty ;
to take care of the house when you
carry your wife off on journey; she is
Invaluable on mOving-days, on occasions
OF measles and humps, and, Ill short,
whenever and wherever an upper ser
want is neCeSSary-an upper servant
whose faculty and knowledge are not
to be had for money, and which, if they
were, you have not the money to com
mand. But at all other times she is to
be a mere aut0matOn, without feelings,
or desires, Or observations, or thoughts.
And, considering this, we never see one
Of these faithful, much-reviled, and
much-enduring beings that we do not
think of that mOther-1nscct OF which the
entOmOlOgiSts tell us, that, having laid
her eggs, spreads her poor body shield
wise over them, and, as II by one the
wretched offspring are Matched into
the world, is slowly devOured by
them!
But since mothers-in-law are in Ques-
ton, why is it always the mans? Why
is it that we never hear any thing Of the
wOman's mOther-in-laW2 The man
whose mother-in-law lives with him
sees her but occasionally, and feels her
influence on but few subjects at most !;
the woman whose mOther-in-law lives
with her sees her all the livelong day,
and feels her influence from her bed
chamber to her sweetmeat closet.
Usually the two women acknowledge
their mutual interest; where they disa-
gree, agree to differ; the mother will
not weaken the swife's influence with
the son; the wife would despise the
husband who did not reverence his
mother. But should it happen to be
otherwise, should the mOther-in-law
chance to be taunting, %tyrannical pry-
ing. and misunderstanding, the wifc's
life is capable of being a burden to her
past masculine comprehension. He can