The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-02-05
In WOMAN'S BEHALF.
WHY HAVE WOMEN NO TIME.

xAy WIN I'm y DLl1ALl
WHY HAVE WOMEN NO TIME.
Several Reasons tsiven---Are Not the
Writer'sConcIusions Logical and Correct?
Men seldom complain of lack of time,
out of business hours: but women COM
plain Of it habituaily. Whether at home
or absent from it. they arc ever occupied.
They alw;..s have hundred things to
do: they are never able IL finish, before
going to bed. "hat they have planned
in the morning. husbands frequently
speak Of this without capacity to under
stand it. True. women have far more
to 10 than men. true, their work can
never be finished. But is it true that
they i,avc no time? And if it be, is not
tie fault measurably theirs? As has
ctscn been said. they have all the time
L.src is. If the days were fortveight
hours long would they have any more?
Not particle. Persons who uniformly
feel ana gay that they have no time, are
pretlestincd never to have any.
Why is it that women have no time?
Chiefly because they are without system;
because they do not take advantage of
odd minutes: thirdly. because they are
always trying to be polite. The fact
that men act very differently may ac-
count for their usually having time to
do what they wish While women's
time is liable to ceaselcss interruption;
while they have no hours. as men. still,
might they not adopt some thing like
system? They generally know, when
they get up in the morning. what their
occupations will be until the hour of GO
Ing to bed. They should devote differ
ent periods to different duties, and ad-
here to them as rigidly as they can. In
theory. they often do: in practice they
do not. They obey impulse and the
init themselves to bc turned aside from
the thing in hand to some thing else;
and each interruption involves thrice
the loss Of time that the mere interrupt
tion costs.
Their duties become confused. their
intentions tangled. and when the day
has closed they find various things neg
lected which they had fully made up
their mind to perform. The next day,
they think they viii not fail Of per-
formance; but the same circumstances
intervene, with the same result. And
SO it goes from week to week, from
month to month. until the poor women,
constantly struggling. constantly resolv-
ing. constantly failing, get very nerv-
Gus. and despair Of ever accomplishing
what they undertake. They keep
bravely and actively at work: but the
consciousness of regularly falling be-
hind must ultimately effect their spirits
and weaken their determination. They
are inclined to attempt more than they,
or any one of their nature, in their cir
cumstances can possibly achieve. If
they would attempt half rs much, and
complete the half, the effect would be
salutary. Nothing is much more dis
heartening than the memory Of not do
ing what we had purposed. A series of
such memories will, in season. weaken
the will and thus impair capacity.
Wemen are more ccu,ageGu Us, morally,
than we are. When we should despond
and lose our hold on life by repeated
failure, they retain their confidence. and
still grasp their aim. They hope against
disappointment. They believe after ten
or twenty years of never having had
time to do what they wish. that they
will vet have all the time they crave.
Beautiful faith. Sanguine women!
As an example of want Of system, a
woman decides to appropriate two hours
of Elorning-from III to IL o'clock-to a
certain occupation. She is at it when,
ut 1890. some ordinary acquaintance
calls, having no right Or reason to inter
rupt her. Does she ask to be excused,
as q man would? By no means She
thinks that she ought to see the ac.
quaintance, presumably feminine, or il
would be pity to send her away after
she has taken the trouble to come, ETC.,
etc, in the typical manner Of woman's
over-compassion. She sees her; she
consumes an hour or more of valuable
time. and then that engagement mus,
be deferred. The next day arrives, and
she begins again. At II o'clock, Il let
/ ter from dear friend is brought in
I 1t is delightful to read: but it demands
no answer at any given date. 1t has
however. touched her heart; she will
reply while her emotions are warm
She spends two or three hours in thai
! way, when fifteen minutes would have
| sufficed lhow women waste themselve.
In writing superfluously long letters.
and again the special duty is deferred.
These Interruptions continually Occur
they are Of great variety, but com
I mcnly Of more or less social character
and SO interfere with routine as K
render it impossible. A man would no
admit of any such encroachments on hi
business or duties, and therefore save.
his time for his own use, instead of dis
tributing it misccllaneously among hi.
fellows, who are not at all benefited by
what is a positive loss to him. The Sc
| rious mistake of VIC men is in their effor
to combine the social and the practical
| to be attractive and efficient simulta
neously. Who has ever known woman
having any relation 10 society to say K
visitor. 81 have just five minutes t.
/ spare and then | must go?" She may
say, Il am in great hurry: have al
important engagement" and at the enc
of an hour. she will be SO interested il
the conversation as to be unmindful o
her hurry or engagement. Occasionall..
woman is SO energetic, SO practical, 81
severe as to look at her watch. and dis
continue an interview abruptly, on ac
count Of the warning it gives her. Blu
she is regarded by her own sex as un
conventional, eccentric, unaccountable
he majority of them would rather b,
behind in any number of obligations
than be guilty of behavior SO disagree
ahle. To be disagreeable, is, in thei
eyes, the deepest OF sins, the most un
pardonable of blundcrs.
Quick as women are in thought, rapit
as they are in execution, they seldom
know how to profit by the brief inter
walls between various kinds of work
They do not have time to avail the m
selves of bits of time. They are SO yer,
busy that they ean not think of trifies
Their minds dwell on important labCrs
They do not wish to begin what tho
can not finish. Consequently, the,
lose, nearly every day, an hour or two
eompaSa3 of divila,1 mi mt aS ~ hich the,