The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1880-07-28
American Women.

/ The men of Nation inevitably make the
women what they will, and the women il
| return impress upon their children what
! they have received from their own fathers
/ Hence it comes that the existence of the
/ American woman has become almost as
/ purely objective that of man. Her ideal
of life from her cradle has been associated
with the maximum of eXertlon. There Is
no quietude among Americans, and wonder
| fully little egotism in their social life. 1t
is never ending series of sensations and
mental shocks, which keeps the whole being
in a nervous culver, allows no time for any
quality save that of energy to develop it.
self symmetrically. The American woman
is as unquiet in her thoughts and ensaved
by her duties, however light, as the man.
Even when she visits she has no air of re-
pose. Her conversation is not thoughtful,
but actual. She tells you what she does or
suffers, not what she thinks or feels. There
is no reYerie about her, no suggestion Of that
brooding spirit which indicates a capacity
for imprisoned affection, capacity which
to bachelors is always ideally seductive,
however little the married man may appre-
ciate or return it. Yet, generally speaking,
undemstrative as the American girl may
be- she will wear her life out in working for
the man she loves. She torgets all about
beinq for him in that merciless energy which
always drives her into doing for him.
There is. again, another reason why the
American girl seems cold to the superficial
observer. 1t is because she Is free. She Is
educated to repress emotion, because her
independent movements expose her to con
tact with men of all classes, among whom
there are many very vile persons" Her
GOODNESS of demeanor, therefore, is her armor
against impOrtinence or even worse things.
She passes, Diana-like, through crowds of
!
slant suspects her Of being other than sheis,
because her manner shows her at once to be
a free-born, spotless American woman
They never dream that because no one is !
watching her she means to 90 astray.
The defects of the American girl may be
done away with by giving less prominence
to the purely intellectual or purely practi |
cal side of her education. For while one |
class of men isstriving to solve the problems
of life by educating women intellectually, |
there is another class which Is shouting for |
education in domestic matters. While the |
professors at Harvard are rejoicing over some !
girl who can take in their phslosophies and |
their mathematics, the newspaper editor !
sings the praises of her who can roast a tur- |
key bake bread, or make her own dresses.
Neither gives the poor girl any chance to
exist, but only to work. with either hand or
brain.
No one says to her, "You are not only |
yourself, but possibly the future mother of
other beings. Do not therefore allow your
self to be driven by either school of apostles
beyond what you may do easily, comforta-
bly,, or pleasurably. The healthy balance of
your nervous system IS far more. important
to you and your future family relations
than all the mathematics or dress-making,
or even roasting of turkeys Occupy your
self steadfastlv but without STRAIN without
hurry and emulation the |
apostle said (and it must have been meant
for Americans) avoid emulation
Find out first what you can do best, and
even if it does not come up to somebody
else's standard, learn to content yourself
with that July Atlantic