Omaha daily bee., 1896-03-08
VIEWED AT LONG RANGE.
french Woman Writes on America
Family Life.

French Woman Writes on American
Family Life.
The Forum for MarcI contains a very in
t~eresting article. ON Family Life in Amer
ica," by Tn. Benton (Mme. Blanc). the
well known French novelist and critic whose
brilliant essays In the Revue des DeuX Mon
de3 last year on THE Condition of Women
in the United States aroused such wide
spread interest in France and England. In
her Forum article Nine. Blanc draws scme
very striking and instructive comparisons
between French and American family life,
and her remarks betray an intimate ac-
qualntance with our customs and character
istlcs. The American family. she thinks,
is less homogeneous. less united in the
same interests, less blindly submissive to the
authority Of a head. than the French fam
lily. A great part OF our home-life, she
thinks, is sacrificed to our progressiveness,
hence the license CT children and young
girls, the insignificant part played by older
people, and our lack of The Amer
lean young man is better educated than the
European, but less refined, and less defer
ontial to the wishes OF others. On entering
upon his career, ne becomes absorbed in
his Individual interests to the exclusion of
all others. Losing regard for home ties, which
are broken up by his desire to be out in the
business world and achieve his independence.
She sympathizes with our business man
who works in harness at home VIII lie
his family passes years in Europe lead
Ing that purely worldly life which
the American colony in Paris exhibits, all
under the pretext that travelling develops the
young people. and she isugGeats that instead
of Americans exploring" Europe in search
OF culture and learningIltheyi should become
acquainted with the great academies and In
etitutions for culture and study which are
now to be found all over Youriown land. APP
propos of the new woman"iM Nine. Blanc con-
fesse9 that their indeperdeninand democratic
ideas are breaking up centuries OF trad !onal
etiquette Of French socieiy, and even influence
ing French national laws and customs. Di-
vorce has now been ins.ituted In France, and
tho laws of succession have1to some extent
been modified. French speeple have always
been thought very sentimental. but Nine.
Blanc says they are notA-that a great part
Of the sentiment attributedIto Partisan So
ciety has been cultivated dfrom US. 1t ap.
pears that Irritation was sihknown In Parip
until II was introduced by aie American col
ony. and that 1t i~nspirespin Frenchmen and
Frenchwomen a horroriiI equal to that with
which certain Puritan5i severely regard sin.
She emphasizes very strongly the independ-
ence OF the American young woman. and
thinks that while girls in France are brought
up a little too exclusively, with a view to
please their future husbands, American girls
are perhaps too much concerned with the
purpose of personal development, and both
systems have their inconvenience She feels
that the laws OF progress, the better reeog-
nized rights OF women. and the spread Of
democratic Ideas throughout the world, all
herald the establishment of a type In family
life similar 10 that OF our own. and with
certain reservations which she mentions in
her article. Nine. Blanc declares that she
shall be delighted to see French family life
OF today become more and more American
lied.
On the subject OF education aud matri-
mony Nine. Blanc writes: shall j dare 20
express my whole idea? The severe educa-
ton that TIE American girl receives agrees
especially with those who atterward choose