The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-02-21

81 believe that a woman's highest vo-
cation in this life is as wife and moth
or. / do not believe that women are
able or meant to compete with men. and
there is seldom any necessity for them
doing so. There is always plenty of
work which is purely womanly which we
may all go about without unsexing our
selves" said Mrs Parkhurst. wife of
the Rev. Or. Parkhurst of 135 L. Thirty
hfth-st
When interviewed yesterday morning
Mrs Parkhurst was found i'm the coy
parlor on the second floor of her home.
She wore garnet cashmere tea gown,
with a corded silk front. and made an
attractive picture as she sat with her
/ back against pair Of brown plush cur
4 tanS
"Then YOU do not believe in women
| taking up professions, Mrs. Parkhurst?'
F., said the reporter.
We'll. no; l do not 60 as far as that.
Tor understand that IL is necessary for
| some women to lead professional lives,
( but | DO not like TO see a woman look
| upon public career as the highest aim in
| life. Whenever [ hear anything about
women who wish to be seen and heard
| and become noted. I always think of a
| little speech made by Susan 3. Anthony.
| She was addressing a large audience OF
women and said: Some Of you may be
/ fired with the desire for notoriety. but
/ will tell YOU something which will make
| a woman more noble and wOmanly than
all the glory that a public career can
J bring upon her. It is the ordinary
! function Of wife and mother. Nothing
/ can be ahead Of either Of these positions
That is the way look at it; she can
/ net reach a higher standard i'm any pro
! feSSlun or on any stage ! myself never
III af,,6f ion
| hence. and L have always believed that
! oman, no matter what her Qualifica-
! tons may be, can find plenty TO DO at
| home. If she has children they need,
| and have right TO claim, her care. If
| she is childlesS she has not far to look
| outside her home for womanly work by
1 which she can help some one.
! II do not think that a woman should
/ give up all her time, thoughts and
/ strength 10 her children. because in
/ doing so she must kill the greater part
/ of her own individuality. and it is not
4 right for a woman TO do that Among
/ MY friends there are several women
! whom | look upon as being perfect moth
! crs one that occurs to me just now has
] three children who have grown TO be a
: part of herself. She sympathizes with
: everything they do whether she approves
| OF 1t or not. For instance, the oldest
! boy wishes to play foot
! ball, and his mother does
! not deem it wise that he should lay
| himself open to the injuries which nearly
! always follow such a game. People
| come to her and say: why do you let
! that boy play football: you surely can
J not approve of it2 No she will an
/ swer, 1 do not approve of it, but the
! boy wants to play, and l do not think
| that / have any right to forbid him, as
/ his game is very dear to him. and if 1
forbid him from playing he would i'm
mediately feel that l was out of SYM
pathy with his greatest pleasure Now,
] believe my friend is right. Those chill
/ drcn of hers never think of doing any
thing without consulting her. / remem-
Der a short time ago she was going TO
J give a child's party for them, and, Just
} before the little guests began to arrive.
( she called the three children aside and
/ told them that she would spend her
! evening upstairs writing, and that they
! must enjoy themselves as best they
/ could. Any one that could have heard
/ the hue and cry that went up from
! those children when they thought their
mother was not going To join i'm their
! sport could readily understand how SYM
/ pathetic she is with them.
: The Control of Children.
81 am afraid that many mothers make
a mistake by not controlling their chill
dren properly when they are very young.
1 think they often imagine that the
child is so entirely within their command
/ that they allow little things to pass; this
| should not be. a woman cannot begin
| with her children too early if she wishes
to be in sympathy with them; she must
| not leave them to nurses or governesses,
! or, in short. TO anybody but their own
| mother. Nobody can hire a mothers
care, and so many do not realize what
/ a fatal mistake they are making when
| they leave a child. no matter how young
/ to an ignorant nurse. L think that no
! matter how wealthy a woman Is she
| must take a real motherly interest in
her children in everything they do, from
F., their little games right along uD through
! their studies. I think a child who is
brought up in that way will be
more apt to grow up in way which will
I be satisfactory 10 the parents in their lat
| ter years. and between mother and
! daughter there cannot be too close a conf
| dence. A daughter should be brought up
so as to feel that there is always one
! person in whom she may contide every
thing without the slightest fear of re-
! bul1e or shame. And that person should
be her mother"
Would you consider that a girl
brought up in that way would need much
/ chaperOning, Mrs. Parkhurst?" was the
I next question asked.
mo, l do not, and I think the theory
| of chaperoning is dying out to a great
extent, and with it several other notions
| winch were ttudily d. ApDllShs OllCs lbA
| instance, that always seemed to me ex-
| tremely foolish was that If a girl had a
| gentleman friend call upon her the rest
| of the family seemed to think Ii neces-
saTy that they must vacate the room and
/ leave her to entertain him. / think
! people are getting more sensible now.
/ and that the wiser mothers treat their
! daughters friends as friends of the
| family A girl who is well brought up
| must surely need no chaperon in her
1 fathers house. If her caller was not a
! gentleman her first impulse should be
TO tell her mother
/ ChapcrOns ut the Theater.
Does a girl need a ehaperon when
escorted to the theater?"
mo, see no reason why she should
be chaperoned, and on such an occasion.
| OF course. is is the duty of the girls
parents to see that she goes with no one
| that they are not very familiar with. /
| do not approve OF girls going out TO
| these little suppers after theaters, unless
they are chaperoned. for / have known
/ Of some Of the saddest results to the
incest kind Of girls. l think that the
Majority of girls are inclined TO be good,
! and prove themselves worthy of trust
when they are trusted. / have great
! faith in the whole sex
Then. in that case. YOU must be in
! perfect sympathy with DR.. Parkhurst's
work and with the people he is trying q
reach"
II am" answered Mrs. Parl0hurst. lin
! perfect sympathy with my husband I
| have always refused TO be interviewed