The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-07-13
WOMEN NOyELIsTs.


alterations during a long period, and
ought not to be surprised If women use
the same privilege. But there is no
reason in the nature of things why the
books Of women, If they are thought to
be bad in tendency should be condemn
ed simply because women wrote them.
We do not regard bad book with any
added horror because man Is the
author: and in authorship both sexes
come upon common ground. Neither
is a woman's good book any the better
because a woman wrote it. The novels
of Ouida are full of genius, Imagination
and powerful misunderstanding; but, 10
the main. are morbid and unwhole
some. IL matters nothing to
the world essentially. that they
emanate from a woman 5 mind. A few
Young women, in the last two or three
years, have taken pains TO put forth
trashy and lascivious novels, which
have given the takers OF nonsense a
great deal to talk about. But so FAR as
the effect on readers goes, It would
make no whit Of difference who scrib'
bied these tales II the takers Of non
sense would refrain from laying stress
on the fact that they were scrlbOled by
girls. These young women are trading
on their sex. They offer us a mere
travesty or mOckery of the law that the
really strong and honest women OF
great intellect follow in writing Sc
riously and sincerely about that
very serious, bat sometimes IN
sincere. thing, human life aud socle-
ty. Take away from these young
women the false Importance now TOOL
ishly ascribed 10 the fact of their sex.
and YOU take away all that part of their
stock in trade which seems to cast DIS
credit on womanhood. For when they
write vicious books they really lower
sply Themselves. and not their sex col
lectlvely. These are the persons who
give to audacity in women noyelists
bad meaning. But. on the other side
of the account, we have lengthening
Iisr of those women who have 5een au-
dacious in the good sense. Mrs. Hum
nhrey Ward, Margaret Deland and
Olive Schreiner appear IN that llst.
There will always be mystery enough
in our life without our cultlvating IL
The instructive and vigorous advance
of women toward the free and open
discussion OF matters which are posi-
bly of even more vital moment to them
than to any one else appears 10 me
most encouraging. IL islu accord WIN
the larger liberty extended TO them I'D
all the fields of actiOn-in law, me- d.
cine. theology aud business. and their
ouiet assumption OF freedom in litera-
ture is an inevitable result OF the gains
which they have made III other dIrec-
tions The world reVeTes Shakespeare;
hut IL has no reason 10 be proud OF his
grossness: and critic make every effort
tn remove the blot Of il from his fame.
1t may possibly happen that IN the fu-
ture we SHALL have some female Shapes
neare who will defy decency as much
"a the greatest Of English men poets
defed it. That would be a gfuesome
result of the emancipation of women d
minds. Still, we should haze to face It,.
mr. do not think it will come. More
and more. women are learning what
this world is in which they live; and.
IA they learn. they are Inclined TO talk
and write about il, and TO lessen The
bestiality and misery they see here.
Their influence is for purity; and, not.
outstanding the unworthy lapses OF
some of them who write viciously, the
more swiftly their freedom in Literature
h granted, the speedier will tnelr
triumph ia the cause Of purity be. Hu'
man nature has a higher Temperature
than o glacier. but 1t moves Just al
slowly. We should rem-m ber this
when Judging this movement OF women
which has now begun. believe that
lby the mingling of free feminine
thought with the current of literature
we shall be borne on to most de 'iraolt
goal.-George Parsons Llthrop. In The
North American Review for May.