Evening journal., 1897-12-29
EDUCATED WIVES
A Teacher Says They Make the
Best Companions.
Women of Higher Education Are Ret
ter Equipped for the Duties of
Motherhood and Home
Keeping.

The following extracts are from an
address made by Miss Clara Bostwick,
teacher at the Elms school in Spring
field, Mass:
"What is the college woman's proba-
biiity of happiness in marriage COM
pared with that Of her less highly
educated sister? She chooses her hus-
band later. She is more developed; she
knows better what she is going to be;
she stands in better chance of not Sc
lecting a life companion whose tastes
and hers will prove helplessly antagon-
istic. And this is of especial Importance
In america, where girls and boys are
thrown. so freely together; where they
marry when and whom they wish, and
where the parents in many cases ap-
parently have little else to do with the
matter than to pay the bills and try TO
shield the young husband and wife
from the consequences of their folly.
The man whom girl would have mar
ried when she entered college is
probably not the man whom she would
marry when she is graduated from col
lege. This may result in the breaking
of some early engagement, but an en-
gagement that can be broken would
better be broken The college-bred
woman is also less likely to marry
from ennui. Even If she is unfortunate
enough to have no definite work, after
she leaves college, she has resources
within herself which can not only pre-
vent life from becoming a bore. but
which can make IL rich and satisfying.
Neither win she be likely to sell herself
for the sake Of home. She is better
equipped to support herself, if neces-
sary, and she has probably lost many
silly ideas she may have had about the
unladylikeness of honest, breadwin-
ming work.
"Finally, when she has been won, she
stands a much better chance of keeping
her husbands love and respect, be-
cause she stands better chance of In
teresting him.
"'Men don't stay in their homes un-
less they find their homes entertaining.
said a married woman of wide expert
ence in the world, in talking about the
education Of her daughter. I tell my
daughter that if she is ever to marry
she needs to know something for two
reasons; first to hold her husbands in
terest; and second, to have within her
self resources that will make her hap
piness, to a certain extent, independent
Of him; in which case he viii be much
more likely to stay in love with her.
'The statistics in regard to the mar
riage of college women viii not be COM
plete until we have also the statistics in
regard to their divorce. The state
ment has been made, whether truly or
not, that as yet no Vassar graduate
has been divorced. OF course. all col
lege women are not interesting. any
more than are all college men; but the
-four years companionship with noble
thoughts ought to make one at least
less stupid.
"Mate the educated woman with the
educated man and you have a probable
ity that they will continue to interest
and love each other; that there will bs
intellectual companionship between
them; and that each will have sufficient
respect for the others mental ability
Il All lnOA4A Caulll " llJccADAC q
government of the home and the chill
dren, not by managing each other
keeping clear of pandering to eacl
others foibles and prejudices, but by
frank and fearless discussion as TO wha
is reasonable and right. This is not thi
condition of affairs in most homes.
"The women of the higher education
bring to motherhood, too, a bette;
preparation than do those Of smalle
opportunities. The reasons for thi
are both physical and mental. The.
are, as a rule, older, physically mature
and the opinion is held by some physi
clans that, for the sake of the physica
perfection of the race no woman shoul'
marry until she is 25. They have
wider knowledge Of physiological an'
psychological laws-or they have tn
ability to acquire (which must brini
forth benefcent fruit in the rearing o
their children. They know more pre-
foundly the responsibilities of mother
hood; and their realization Of the i'm
portance of details in the training Of
child disposes them TO look upon wha
might seem drudgery to other wome
as glorifed, educational opportunity.
Boston Advertiser.
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