The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-11-06
WoMAN,s SPHERE.
A Woman Who Inclines To Think That It L.
Growing Too Wide.


Growing Too Wide.
THE Guardian
1t is clear from the recent discussions
about female suffrage that there is a good
deal of uncertainty and difference OF opin-
ion atthe present day as 10 woman's sphere
in this world. The movement which led
TO the improvement in women's education
is still so young that its results can hardly
yet be tested. We have no sufficient ma
terial to enable us TO decide whether. and
If so in what direction, the female intellect
differs from the male. We have no ade-
quate means of judging whether those
special womanly qualities which are uni
versally valued and admired are inherent
IN woman's nature or are due, IN part at
least, to the circumstances of her past life,
sheltered as it has been from much of the
struggle and competition of life. Il must
still be considered uncertain whether the
particular direction taken by the higher
education of women is the ideally right
one. The advance has been so rapid that
we have hardly had time to breathe,
still less to ponder and Judge. But the cry
is Tor further advance, or rather for more
change, for new openings, Tor fresh de-
velopments.
1t might perhaps be wiser, seeing that
we have done so much, to be content for
the present to move a little slower, and
take time to test the work that has been
already done. There seems something
selfish in our haste. We wish that the
changes should, at any rate, come in our
day, that we may have the merit and the
benefit OF them. 4 little more caution
is surely needed before we take steps
which it would be impossible to retrace.
Is it too much to ask that those who wish
81 cchf i Of tai
to formulate what is their conception Of
woman's share in the work of society? I
have been told that the only way to decide
this is to open everything 10 woman for
which nature has not obviously untitled
her. This suggestion, for Christians at
least, has one decided objection. There is
nothing In the nature OF women to unfit
them for holy orders, but we cannot i'm
agine that any Christian, however adj
vanced an advocate of woman's rights she
may be, would wish to see women as
priests. Nature does not. therefore, seem
to be an altogether safe guide in this tam
gled question. / should like TO ask my
fellow Christians whether revelation has
not something to say to us on this subject.
The old story of the creation of woman
tells us that she was made as a helpmeet
for man. / doubt whether modern claims
IL
Pauls views about women are well-known,
but they are, as a rule, dismissed with
some remarks about the nature OF the
times or a statement that st. Paul did not
appreciate women-was a misOgynist, in
fact. Yet even he had valued women
friends-Priscilla, Phoebe, Lois, Eunice.
st. Peter was a married man, and lived
with women round him, and he had found
out that the ornament of women was "a
meek and quiet spirit" The political
platform OF the nineteenth century does
not somehow seem akin TO the meek and
quiet spirit.
fancy that have seen in America
among the best women a better idea OF
woman's sphere than is often to be found
in our own country. / seem 10 have no.
ticed there some glimmerings of an idea
that women should regard it as their duty
to bring sweetness and light, intellectual
as well as moral, into the lives of their
male relations and friends, and with that
object each woman should aim at making
herself as complete a character as she
could. III we women would only take the
trouble TO be something, to have a charac-
ter, TO have interests, to have ideals, TO
have true religion, who could say where
our power would stop? But no, we want
our rights we want to make a noise, we
want TO be OF consequence, we are afraid
that our opinions are not sufficiently val
ued, we clamor for an appreciable test of
our influence. The gospel teaches us
different lesson. II would
be we'll if we could content our
selves for a time with bringing the fruits
of our improved education, Of our enlarged
opportunities, TO bear upon the duties i'm
posed upon us within our old sphere, and
those others which are intimately con-
nected with il. Meanwhile we might well
study, with little more care than we have
hitherto done, what are the peculiar char
acteristics of the female intellect. Too
much time has been wasted in the desire
10 prove that it is the same or equal that
of man. If we believe that the fact that
the world is peopled with beings of differ
ent sexes is not due to chance but TO the
will of the Creator, we are TO believe that
He has appointed work of different kinds
for each sex. We cannot believe that in
the revelation He has given us He has
left us without guidance in the perplexing
task Of how this work is 10 beapportioned.