The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1873-08-14
influences In French
Marriages.

e AS regards intellectual progress, maj
riage ordinarily leads the French to moth
ing. The notion that wife and husban,
may usefully hel p cath other on such
road seems not to enter their heads. I'm
less, in special cases, where the acquire
ment of knowledge, or its distribution h
others, constitutes the occupation of life
When once they have left of schooling
the French cease to study; they continue
what they call their Education" but
they give up instruction The two
words are here employed in the sense
which is peculiar to France-the former
meaning moral and social teaching only,
the latter implying solely book-learning
in its various forms. They continue to
| improve themselves as men and women,
as toward their soul (when they think
| they have one), or toward the world at
large; but they abandon the attempt to
add to what they learned in youth. These
descriptions are of course general, not
universal but their application is so
usual that they need not be accompanied
| by any special reservations. With such
views and practices, it is natural enough
that marriage should induce no new ideas
Of action. a husband may push his wife
toward art, though that depends on her
prOclIvities; but scarcely ever will he
think of leading her 10 read, or of com
municating to her what he may know
himself. In quantities of drawing-rooms
in France an open book is never seen in |
some of them even newspapers are ex-
ceptional objects. This does not apply |
to the higher classes, where, frequently, !
. Il
but the want of books OH the tables of the |
b0tUge0iste creates cherries blank which
no profusion of plants or flowers can fill
up. Sometimes one, observes two or three
stately volumes in red morocco, which
evidently are never looked at, and proba-
bly, have never been read all they do is
to confirm the thought that their proprie-
tors look to other people, and not to print,
for fresh impressions. But conversation,
whatever be its merit. whatever be the
clever use made of it, does not replace
reading as a developer of knowledge all
it does is to enable us to use knowledge,
if we have it, In this direction French |
married life is far inferior TO our own
Dur women read our men generally feel |
some sort of interest in what their wives ,
ire learning; and without pretending
hat marriage is, with us, an aid to study, |
t is so certainly when we compare it to J
what occurs in France. Music, on the
is more general in French houses :
han in ours ; art is more keenly felt and =
more naturally utilized. There marriage '
erves an end, for it is particularly after |
marriage that French women attain the Il
kill which distinguishes them in all the t
orms of indoor adOrnment, which means Il
he daily application of the home shapes
f art. To this the husbands contribute -
good deal; in this they help their wives
But, whatever be the value of such ac- {;
ion, whatever be the additional attrac- II
on bestowed on home by this common Ia
fort to add charm to it, the absence of
ne higher tendencies of intelligence i'm q
lies an inferiOrity of object which is one i
the weak points of the entire system.
he sentiments find full satisfaction in O
lost French marriages-the affections a
re contented-family duties are atten- a
vely and even eagerly performed-home
decorated, so far as the purse allows, 2
18th the wise ambition of rendering it -
ore seductive but there is little culture .,
the intelligence, and the pleasures al
hich that culture is capable of producing p,
marriage are relatively unknown OF
lackwood's Magazine. m