Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-05

W
From ths Dostsn oouzisr.
One OF the most marked characteristics Of
modern life is the enormous increase which IL
makes in its demands upon woman. II has al
ways been true, from the dawn of civilization,
that the role Of women in society and in life
has bean more intricete, althoueh less broad.
than that Of men. II has alwsyv bean asked at
the hands Of women that they should BE- 4 thou-
sand times more flexible than men. that thew
should adapt themselves to q hundred coudi-
nons which men ignored or scorned. and that
tney play IN the drama Of life o score Of
paris 20 every one which was undertaken bv
their fathers, and brothers, and sons. AZ life
mas constantly grown more and more complex,
rather than diminished. Life TODAY demands
OF woman more changes in day than a man
is required TO compass in month. She must.
rom moment to moment be one thing after
anotner, the wife, the mother, the woman of
society, the leader in reforms, the sharer in
this work of charity, and that labor of intel
iectual progress. until it is miracle that she
Is aole to do any OF the multitudinous duties
imposed upon her.
:. or course in q great measure this is due to
the fact that women will accept these burdens.
Men escape much by the simple method of re-
fusing to take it upon them. It is idle to .ex-
pect men to bend to all changes with which
women cucumber their lives, and SO the lives
OF men remain and are likely to remain more
simple than those of the other sex. Women
are as rule sufficiently well able to
oppose their wills to personal opposi-
ton, but the women are few and far
to seek who are capable of standing out
against circumstance. Perhaps the difference
Is that man argues with himself and is sat-
isfied with his conclusion, while a woman
must argue with a second person or her argu-
ments are apt to be as water spilled upon the
ground which cannot be gathered again. A
man convinces himself that he is right and
that Is the end Of IT. He acts upon that con-
ciuslon, while woman in similar case would
be apt to find it impossible to be satisfied un.
less she could have the confirmation of some
one else to assure her that she was justified in
her decision
But whatever be the cause, of the fact there
Is no doubt. The woman who is of the world
To-day must be prepared to be all things in sue
cession. She must be the careful housewife,
the social leader, the religieuse. the scholar,
the wit, the confidante, all in turn. She must
compass at least a show of all learning, she
must be In sympathy with all branches OF
knowledge and feeling and thought; she mus,
attend to hundred forms of life of the
very existence of which her grandmother
were Ignorant. Whether she has been
wise in taking all this burden upon her
1t will hardly fall within the province
OF the present generation to decide.
whether the children and grandchildren OF
tnese Wonderrui women Will be the better or
the worse for the extraordinary strain which is
put upon the mothers of the race any man may
speculate, but no man can tell. Every woman
might be supposed to decide for herself how
far she will share this high-strung life, but as
a matter of fact no human being is able to
escape the influence of his day and generation.
We are part of a whole, and, although woman
may to some extent withdraw herself from the
current in the end she is forced to choose be-
tween being left a stranded waif' on the shore
OF the stream and taking her part of whatever
the life of her time may be-