The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-04-03
THE CHILDLESS WIFE.

In the house where there are no chill.
dren. what are the holidays, with all the
joyous preparation that belongs to them
in other houses? What are birthdays,
Sundays, storytelling twilights, bed
times? What the glad morning hour?
Surely it is a dreary place without the
shouts and cries, without the outside in
terests, innocent, fresh. amusing, that
children force upon it; and that is for
lorn woman who has none of the strange
ly wise questions to answer that chill
dren ask, none of the dear condolences
to receive. none of the happy excitement
of training young spirit as she would
train flower. of shaping life, of seeing
herself perhaps reproduced. with the
chance of correcting and obviating her
errors. The mother with her baby on
her knee, showing him his first flower,
his picture, watching his first hearing of
tune. his first rapture over bright col
ors, over another child, the first express
ion of his tenderness, will tell you that
there has been no interest and no JOY in
her life comparable to this. and will won
der if you SMILE and will pity you if
destiny has left you without that ex-
perience. Even the mother who has lost
her child has an interest that is deep
and vital, and in way satisfying, in
following that childs spiritual growth,
still with her thoughts, in feeling that
she is not without child, nor is the
child motherless.
That there are women who look with
disinclination upon the idea of bringing
this great happiness into their lives
seems incredible. 1t means to them the
dropping of year out of their active
pleasures, out of dining, driving, dane
ing bicycling. horseback riding; it puts
a bar to the parading OF possibly gor-
geous toilettes, limit for the time be-
ing. and perhaps for time afterward. to
theaters and operas and all the social
gayeties. They are not afraid of sick
ness and pain-very few women fear pain
excessively they want the pleasure
of the passing moment and they do not
want care and responsibility. They en-
tirely forget that much of the sanctity
of marriage depends upon the presence
of children in the family; that health is
preserved by obedience to natural laws;
and that, if the purpose of the universe
is the gradual perfection of the race.
then they are contravening the divine
intention when barring the extension of
the race so far as their power goes. A
woman whose husband is drunkard or
insane may feel that she has no right to
continue that awful inheritance; a wo.
man in poverty may hesitate about
larger family than she can clothe and
educate-very often the hesitation is not
on her side; such women anyway are
greatly to be commiserated. But the
unfortunately childless women in better
circumstances have no idea Of what they
deprive themselves "a happiness to
which no pleasure of ball or toilette is
comparable. They make for themselves
a desert, middle-life without compan-
ionship, and an old age without love.
And they rob themselves in the heyday
of their health and strength of the en-
brace of little arms, of the kisses on vel
vet cheeks. the watching over dewy sleep
the adoring worship of tender newborn
souls, the ineffable delight of loving
something infinitely better than they
love themselves.-Harper'S Bazaar.