The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1886-05-13
When should Girls Marry?

When should Girls Marry?
In the current number of the Brook
lyn Magazine several well-known liter
ary ladies hold i; symposium on the
question, ''Whcn should girls marry"
Among Others, Lsvse Chandler Moul-
ton writes: A Z, .1sin sense Of embar-
rassmcnt attends .sny attempt to give
my views as to the age at which girls
ought to marry, from the fact that
know Of no subject on which it would
seem to be more impossible to lay down
hard and liked rule or even to gener-
a1ize with any degree cf satisfaction.
You remember the famous recipe for
hare soup. First catch Your harc2' l
should be inclined. IN answering the
question, to say, First show me Your
girl, for there can be no doubt but
that some girls are mentally, morally.
and physically better fitted to marry at
20 than others at %.
II indeed one must generalize as to
whether early or late marriages are
preferable, ! should certainly say that
more girls are capable of wise choice
ut % than at 20; and that ninetenths
of our girls would doubtless be happier
should they wait until the maturer pe-
riod. Two considerations would in
iluence me to a preference for mar
riagc late rather than early. In the
first place Is the certainty tha. girl
Of any brains would know great deal
better what she really needed, by way
Of companionship through life, at %
than she could possibly know at 20.
In the second place l would fain Sc
cure to girls the natural. healthful de-
lights of girlhood; that time when the
bud has not quite opened to the sun
and holds at heart the mornings fresh
ness. And yet the remembrance Of
certain girl brides, full Of hope and
trust. and entering on the new life
with the fresh enthusiasm Of girlhood.
constrains me to wonder whether
something may not be lost from the
glory OF love when the glory of youth
Is passed.
In the two very happ:est marriages
| can just now call to mind one W fe
married at the age OF q, the other at
that Of 80. And these marriages seem
to me ideally perfect. To these happy
pairs would apply my favoritc quota
ton from '.Jane Eyre where Jane
says. after her marriage with
Rochester: 'For us TO be together is
to be as free rs in solitude, as gay as
in company" But | would be very
far from dcducing from these two
ideal marriages the conclusion that
a young woman should not marry
under the mature age Of %.
The terrible danger is III the early
marriage cf people in a transition state.
when. before the wings have SPRUNG
from the shoulders of Pegasus, he may
be mated all unknowingly with the
plodding plow-horse. Unshared as
pirations, unshared tastes, unshared
acqnisitions-t these are fatal to coniu-
gal happiness. know, for instance,
man III high, official position, cdu-
Gated largely BY contact with the world.
by the very duties that have dcvo!ved
on him and the attention Of every dav 5
experiences, whose pretty, empty
headed wife must shock him by her
very accent every time she opens her
lips. He does his duty manfully. this
th0u WI ooGS oily OuC SuppOSc ut
would not be happier with different
wife.
Louisa Nj. Alcott writes as follows:
My reply to the question, .Whcn shall
our young women marry?' is from 23
to %, as few girls are ready for the
duties of married life before then, either
physically or mentally. Many are new
er tit. owing to the serious defects in
our modern education and inherited
ills.
when shall our young men Marry?"
is 4 still more important question to
my mind, because the sins Of the father
visited upon the children are too often
the cause Of that feeblencss which is
usually attributed to the mothers.
When young people are wisely prepared
for marriage and taught its sanc.ity i,
will cease to be the leapin in the dark il
is now to both parties, and the beauty
and vigor Of youth will make it what it
should be-safe and happy. AS teach
er, nurse, author, and confidante to
young and old have had many oppor-
tunlties OF looking behind the curtain.
aud am convinced that books on the
health of our boys are much more need
ed than any additions to the library OF
advice our poor girls are supplied with.
Begin at the right end. gentlemen. and
do not visit upon Ewes daughters the
sins Of Adams sons. making il unsafe
to marry at all.