New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-09-15

1NcoNGRUITIEs OF THE PARLOR LECT-
IRE AND THE SUMMER SCHOOL
THE AMERICAN woMAN's INDiscRIMiNATE RUSH
INTO ROYAL ROADS FOR ALL SORTS


.eTbe American woman's race after culture would
ha h,dicrous II IT were not pathetic" said
Henry James American an absentee sister, whom
the writer met recently in German pension
Every letter get from my women correspondents
t home Is full OF lessons lectures. courses OF read
ing and the like. II their schooldays were never
10 end: mornings with the poets. afternoons with
the essayists, and evenings with the scientists
Here Is the mother of one OF my friends whom
went to school with, should not like to say how
long ago. taking a course on psychology ana hyp-
,otsm with this daughter and this daughters daugh
ter. And my sister -niaw. not content with grind
Ing away at French all winter. writes me that she
is going TO a summer school of languages along
with her children. 1t seems to me should rather
be ignorant than put myself on par with my chill
dren in that way How typical these summer
schools are. too OF the scramble, attempting as
they do, In five or six weeks what IL taxes
years really to acquire. Then the way our women
nock over here. culture bent as they announce!
Old and young marrien sy,d single. rich and poor
but all alike intent on culture by the shortest route
There must be terrible sense of deficiency and
terrible unrest behind II all to keep them going at
the rate they CO." II
There was much truth as well as some injustice
in these structures which were. moreover espe-
cially worthy OF attention as coming from an Amer
ican woman who was not only far enough from the
fray herself TO judge OF II dispassionatey but VINO
also possessed TO unusual degree OF the cult
ure thus contended for. Spending most Of her time
abroad. acquainted with every civilized people. and
acquainted polyglot to whom language is
means. not an end. in Itself she had become easily
and unconscious.y what her less cosmopolitan
countrywomen strive to be consciously and with no
little Of the clamor that is apt to accompany con-
scious effort From such point of view the strug-
gle OF the latter for struggle it is as yet, must
strained. and even at times ridiculous.
MISTAKEN IDEA OF CULTURE.
Of
culture itself which this struggle for it exposes for
Is not culture rather growth from within out. an
evolution OF the individual than thing external to
him which my be ACQUIRED o1-hard like French
verb or an rhetorical fa6t?, II may, indeed, be an
accompaniment or even direct result of such ac-
QUESTIONS. but it is something and above them.
nevertheless. Yet that culture is precisely these
things or that it is at lehst something concrete,
extraneous and Immediately attatnabe. Will be
found TO be, confesse3ly unconsciously at the
bottom of all these morning classes and afternoon
lectures and evening discussions that multiply
ing in way that shows how great is the demand
for what they are supposed TO supply Nor is this
misconception to be ascribed TO n lack of educa-
ton. which so often leads to overestmation of
the value OF mere school learning for the college,
girl is eager in the quest her sister Of no de-
gree.
II want to be a woman OF culture" writes uni
versity graduate Of 'S5. Il haven't any particular
haven't any particular talent; but l want to go
abroad and study German. and become woman of
culture"
There are hundreds. nay thousands Of her coun-
trywomen abroad to-day on a similar quest-for
Europe is the Mecca Of this pigrImage-with sim
ilarly vague IDEAS Of what this culture that they
seek really is. The consequence is many situations
which. the critic above quoted remarked, would
be ludcrous If they were not so pathetic. For in
stance. an American student in Leipzig was regu-
Early accompanied to his university lectures by his
elderly mother and his elderly aunt sweet, gentle
ultra feminine little old ladies, both of Them who
nevertheless. in their blind quest for culture showed
a pitable lack of the good and the fine sense
for the fitness of things that are part of It, In
deed. one knew not which 10 marvel at most; the
generous courage of the young man who feared not
thus to face the ridicue of his classmates. or the
zeal Of the women, which made them utterly OBJ
livous to the improperly and absurdty Of their
position.
A FUNDAMENTAL INCONGRU1TY.
Again. the incongruty Is Of another kind. as
when young woman crosses the broad ocean for the
culture that consists In a smatterlng OF foreign
languages and music, and continues quite uncon-
scious of the fact that her manners are uncouth.
her enunciatlon Of her own tongue barbar-
ously uncul,ivstsd and her Ignorance of 1T such
that she writes home that she is getting on al
right" in he German. This from a college grad
ua:e. toe lr Iced. the college graduate. both male
and female Is often much more in need Of some real
rudmentary schooling than of the culture that con-
sists In further accumulation Of imperfect knowl-
edge. or, rather information. For that Is what
this so-caec culture really is. Monday, French
Tuesday literature; Wednesday. German; Thurs
day. science; Friday Italian Saturday, art. with
further subdivisions to mornings, afternoons and
evenings. is a programme that would not daunt
woud-be woman of culture. Naturally 1t Is all
superficial. often deliberately
81 do love 'hese lectures said woman VINO was
coming out of Of the public readings at Column
bla College IT'S such an easy way OF getting an
Idea OF a subject. l never should read up anything
for myself but If get some one who has TO tell
me all about l. I'm perfectly happy
This is the secret Of the immense success hnan-
eai and otherwise, that the paror lecture Is meet
Ing with In fact, the parlor lecture. rather than
the summer school, which is fast developing be-
yond It. may be sad TO typify this womans move
ment. Some more clever or more needy woman
for II Is 10 be observed that this is industry
Piled as II is supported. almost exclusively by
women--"reads up subject. gets together
Silence in some patrons paror and tells what she
has read. and what they might read. too, II they
would take the troGb,e to visit library or consult
an encyclopaedia. Seldom indeed is the lecturers
learning profound. but them rarely are her hearers
critical and they generally fatteringy grateful
Tor any Information she max irnpart.- Next to the
elementary character Of much Of this information
what stss ts4 9Ase!yse Nse is Tho '''ss' In (which
1t is rErrtyfd.Eacts- that every school boy or
cir. ought 20 know retaled again and accept I'd
apparently, at least-as novelties II foreign
country be the topic and none is more popular the
attention lis especially devout. How II is rewarded
may be inferred from the fact that such lecture
which wild doubtless be extremely popular win
ter has been prepared after six weeks flying trip
to the country TO be treated OF by the lecturer,
who Is entirely ignorant OF its language!
Perhaps II is inevitable where play a
part that Clothes should be factor. AT any rate
this is the case in the par.or lecture.
Il always buy my lecture gowns in Paris" says
the lady who has the selfconfdence to lecture about
people whose tongue she cannot speak. "One
has impress ones audience, and ones clothes
must be nice enough to bear a close and critical In
bpection."
SOCIAL CONSIDERATIONS A FACTOR.
The social considerations dear 10 womans soul
are also q factor-and nowerful nne-ln the mar