The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-12-30
TIjE DIsCONTgNT OF WOMEN.
What Thoy Need TO Relieve Them OF au
IrtoiornblO burden.

Scte York World.
OurS is an age OF dlrCouIent, and It is
not surprising that women eh0re in the
restlesaness. But in this, 40 In moat
other matters OF disadvantage, women
have more than their fair share Of tho
afiiction.
Life 10 uuqueationably hard upon our
women, especially upon those. OF thom
who arc cultivated, md the fact is re.
Elected in n growing depression, tend.
ency not to pessimiRm precisely, but TO
an attitude Of hatlled encouragement
akin to pesslmism.
II was not 60 4 generation or two ago.
The more refined women oil that time
were contentGnd happy. Their familieO
were apt to be large and their duties as
multiiarious, while social life with them
was simple, natural and unconBtrained
"a round olgenuino enjoyment. Not
all OF our graadmothers were happy, and
n all our women otto.day are unhappy;
but there can be no doubt in any obscrv-
ant mind that species OF discomfort,
disappointment, uniest, Is much more
prevalent among women now thaH it
was awhile Ngo. Life seems 10 lack
interest for them.
Tho reason is complex, OF course. All
reasons for human conditions arc so.
But it ia not past finding out. The fun.
damen,el trouble ia, apparently, that
while We have adopted the plan OF edr-
eating our girls US thoroughly as We edu.
cate our boys, we have not readjusted
tho AlAirs and conditions OF life In euch
fashion as TO provide congeuial employ.
ment and interesting occupation Tor edu-
Gated womaEkind; VIC have by cduca.
ton created cravings which We have
made no provision for Satisfying.
Tho educated man passes at once from
his college to some form Of engrossirg
intellectual occupation, pursued with
serious earneBtress and usually a5 a
means OF livelihood. For him lilo is
illl. His mind is ut work and has no
time Tor brooding or WEAKNESS. The
educated woman, on the other hand il
in most cases left without occupation Of
Il kind to engage and exercise her facul.
tiles. She is not usually get to earn her
own living. She may or may not have
q household or q taste for household
duties. Even il che has both these are
not enough for mind trained to ouger
aeItnesy and feeling itself fit to crapple
Sith more difficult intellectual prob
lens. Her household duties, however
couscientiously done, do not afford suili.
cient occupation for the intellectual
side OF her nature.
There are left reading, society, or some
form OF art to bs pursued rs an amateur.
But one cannot read perpetually, the
employmcItB OF the amateur are very
unsatisfyipg to really cultivated and
ninCere mind, while society in our time
and amongthe Tell.to-do involves frivol-
| ity, artifcIaiity and undue Excitement,
from which reaction resGlta.
These arc only general statements Of
truth. and not universal by any means.
But they fairly represent the outlook lille
presents, in vRriously modified form, to
d large proportion OF our cultivated wo-
men who arc neither rich nor poor, but
what we call comfortable" Whatauch
women need is work, not pottCring pre-
lenses OF work, but actual, earnest, abb
sorbing work, with Ell object 10 be achiev-
ed by its doing. AS the world is coz
stituted at present they cannot have the
work, except in rare instances where
their bent lies in one OF II few directions.
They are not trained tor the work OF
merchants, bankers and the like, and it
is not the cuatom OF our time that they
shall engage in such work, and because
OF this defect OF education and this eocial
custom they suffer.