Arizona republican., 1892-10-14
WHY DO WOMEN LACK "l4UMoRp
1t Is "Snubbed" Out of Many Women
in Early Life,

One of the brightest women whom
know recently deplored in print the lack
of sense of humor" in women. She
speaks of this sense as generally mo-
nOpoly of men-notably of newspaper
men. While ! admit that men laugh
and joke more than women do as
class, do not believe that they have
more natural wit or a quicker sense of
the ludicrous The seriousness and
gravity of most women are primarily
the result of early snubbing; seconda-
rily, of the lonely lives which most of
them live after marriage.
AS to the first cause: wonder If there
is a girl in the world with the least sense
of fun, the least love of rational laugh
ter and meIriment, who does not CON
tinually hear what a rattlebrain! Is
anything sacred from your funmaking:
or, "How can you find SO much to laugh
at? You laugh just like boyr' or, Il do
believe you'd see something funny in
funerals" or, worst of all, "ThoSe who
laugh while they are young must cry
when they are oldy'
Inever noticed any unusual gravity
in girl babies, or that they gurgle and
laugh less than boys. Indeed the two
very merriest, jolliest, most rollicking
babies | ever knew were girls. But
quite possibly they grew up to be two
of the "slow" wives whom their hus-
bands find so dull company. The con.
fined and restrained lives which are laid
out for most girls are of themselves sad
dening. An occasional walk, ball or
party, in all of which there is more or
less restraint, does not have the inspirit-
ing, enlivening effect of the everyday
freedom which the boy enjoys.
If girl is born in poor family her
constant need Of drudging indoors is
enough to kill her funmaking proclivi-
ties; if she is born to money the arti-
fatalities and formalities Of her life soon
destroy all her spontaneity. The so
called "best society" which regards
hearty laugh as a vulgarity and the
natural expression of any emotion as
sign of i'll breeding, cannot be supposed
a very hotbed for the propagation of
original wit and humor; and it may
safely be said that if society women are
not famous for flashing wit and brilliant
repartee, neither are the rank and file of
society men famous for the sparkle and
irresistibility of their original humor.
My merriest schoolmate Il had boy
schoolmates, tool was girl; not sim
ply a laughing girl, laughing as all
young creatures rejoice until cured by
time or training, but born humorist-
witty herself and the cause of wit in
others. In her inspiring presence the
dull and grave awoke to vivacity and
liveliness and the brilliant became daz-
cling. have known some men humor-
lists, and | admired and appreciated
them, but not one of them was quicker
to see droll possibility, more ingenious
in turning a funny sentence, more mex
haustible in resource, more constantly
a-bubblo with wit than that girl whom
nobody ever heard of, excepting her
schoolmates mot six of whom knew how
to admire herr and the grown mp friends
who were continually wet blanketing
her.
Unfortunately hers was a rich family,
and she was early put into the crimping
and fluting machine of good breeding"
and etiquette, trained for that sort Of
society" which looks on all originality
as eccentricity, land eccentricity is such
bad form, you know" Years after |
met her again. What was she3 A ma
chine with the springs taken out; bobo-
link taught to sing fashionable music;
beautiful, hfeless creature to put fine
clothes on, to take to the opera, to be
possibly betrayed into o well bred SMILE
The snafflebit and checkrein of "socie-
ty" had done their work.
And how is it with the poorer girl? If
she lives at home she must manage and
contrive and help her overworked
mother; the very labor OF living is de-
pressing. IL she SUPPORTS herself and