The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1874-09-04
A Kind Word for the SisterhOod.

Z tO the position Ot WiIt ana ilOkneE ildS
given rise TO some very absurd delusiOns
! in regard To the character of unmarried
wOIlen, and led married ones of average
capacity to rather Over-estimate the inn
I portance and value of their mission in
/ the world, rs compared with that of
! their single sisters. One of the delu-
sions referred TO is the very general i'm
preston which prevails, that there must
/ certainly be something abnormal in the
nature of u woman who voluntarily re-
mains unmarried.
! Said lady to me, who had come away
I from hearing Charlotte Cushman read,
strongly impressed with the attractive
and imposing personality of her charac-
/ ter and culture: "WhO'd think she was
an old maid ~ The surprise expressed
in the tones and words of the person
who uttered this exclamation is only
what has probably been felt by huud-
/ reds Of others on behOlding this superb
model OF womanhoOd. That so grand
and cultured q woman should volunta-
rily remain unmarried, is something
/ which people of small understanding
cannot, nor ever will understand
I lt is very common TO hear people ex
claim of a single woman, whose social
and feminine graces are such as to call
forth a spontaneous and hearty tribute
of admiration and friendship from those
about her, "What pity she isn't mar
ried :" as if matrimony were the ultima
/ hute of every wOman'S mission in life.
As straws show which way the wind
blows, do these seemingly tTihing and
involuntary eXclamations Of individual
opinion manifest how strong is the So
cial prejudice against unweGded women.
Another result of the undue importance
given 20 marriage over and above every
other relation or pOsitsOn that woman
I fills, is that it leads married women To
believe that they possess superior vir-
tues, and occupy 4 sphere that calls for
a greater exercise of the spirit of seli-ab-
negation. Hence we hear great deal
of what may be ftly termed twaddle,
about the seil-Sacriiicing nature OF the
duties of 4 wife and mothers position.
From the earneStnCss and emphasis
with which they dwell upon the matter,
one would suppose, if one did not know
to the contrary, that they had assumed
the position from a solemn sense of
duty instead of being impelled to it by
strong, human love, such as ought to
help make all things easy and pleasure
ble.
Though the writer estimates highly
the dignity of married wOman's posi-
tion and fully understands all the labor
and responsibility it involves, yet she
never could see, when n woman mar
ried for love, why the labor she performs
, should be termed one of self-sacrifice.
I'm entering the cOnjugal relation, and
assuming the duties that belong to it,
; she only follows out the strongest cTay-
ing of her nature. y woman, to be sure,
| may give birth to children so frequently
as To seriously deplete her vital energies;
or, unfortunate circumstances may COM
) pei her to such eXhausting bodily labors
in caring for her family, or helping her
. husband to get living, rs 10 bring on
, ill-health and depression of spirits to
such q degree rs to make the rest and
quiet of the grave n pleasant prospect.
But these troubles, though frequent, are
D merely incidentals that may, and do,
come in other forms to all women. If
labor and sickness and perpeXing trials
came only with husband and children,
then the married woman might Justly
claim to make all the sacrifice called for
i'm life. According to Webstcr's dcfini-
tion of the word, self-Sacrliice is only
incurred when a person gives up some
thing that is very dear TO the heart, or
yields up that which is of great value to
ones own personal interest. This q
happily married woman certainly does
not do, because her husband, her chill
uIElls anu llGl iluillt Eol|AALuLG the lillG-
gral parts of what are her own and her
, d.arest interests. But the same cannot
b. said of the duties and labOrs that
often fall to the lot OF unmarried women.
Many a single woman is compelled to
} perform the hard task of overseeing
household and bringing up children,
without any of the compcnsating and
sweetening joys of reciprocal love to
; tighten the burden of her uncOngenial
, and thankless toll, such rs comes to the
wife aud mother.
10 cannot be denied that many 4 mar
ried woman's lot is hard one, in the
l sense of a restricted, dwariing sphere Of
) thought and action, and the laboriOus
and oftentimes eXhausting nature of
their duties, vet so strong is the natural
instinct and desire in the sex for some
thing upon which to center their
: thoughts, labor and affections, that to
most women it calls for 4 greater sacri-
flee to forever fOregO all hope and pOssi-
bility OF possessing husband and chill
| dren, than to endure all the care and Ia
bors which wifehoOd and maternity
, bring. Thence | assume it to be all fol
de-rOl for the world to talk of the self
= sacrificing nature of 4 married wOman's
work, when they are only doing what
I they desire to; or talk of the superior
Ol liltlT lHlSSlOuf II moral
development is the object of life; for the
> truth is, il there is one position more
4 than another wherein are developed the
e higher attributes of human nature, it is
in that Of the unmarried woman of adj
vanced years; and if there is any human
L being who deserves canOniZatiOn for the
4 greatest amount of unselfsh, unremun-
e erative, unappreciated labor which they
: perform, it Is the dependent old maid.
Who does not know Of some unobtrusive
woman of this class, who makes herself
! the maid of all work in some family
r where affection seems to he dOled out tC
q her according to her willingness tC
shoulder all the disagreeable tasks Oi
the household, yet who bears the lOneli-
/ ness and dependence of her position
: with n meek uncOmplainingness that IL
A indescribably sad and touching. There
is n dim consciousness OF the self-sacri-
ficing nature of such a life, expressed in
: the commiseration which people really
n seem to feel for the woman who has
;, missed marriage. Hence | assert, when
L it comes to talking about selt-sacrifce,
c no one so well knows the meaning oil
c the word as does the dependent, COM
mon-place, single woman. But the rOLt
4 of the meek and humble martyr to heI
: life labors and her duties has so long
L been accorded, by q sort of universal
b consent, to the married woman, thai
: the unobtrusive virtues of the single sis
; terhood have been hitherto overlooked :
Ladies OiCH Magazine.
=.
q In the United States there is one doc
tor to every GlS of the population; il
France and England there Is only on,