The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-02-26
Literary Taste in Women.


merely followed fashion in their choice of
books as in their choice of clothes, was
himself merely following the fashion of
decrying wOman's mentality. which has
been favorite form of ridicue Will,
satirists and would-bc cynics since th,.
days of Swift and Pope.
The latter S wel1-knOWn epigram Nest
women have no character tmeaniur indi
viduality) at all, was allowed to pass
almost without protest by our sisters of
the last century.
But women have outgrown such sheep
like submission to heing rontemptuousiy
rated. as they have outgrown the narrow
ness which made Pnpt's assertion posi-
bly, true Of the average woman of that
da HE v,ser-w,rk Of woman ;na;x;,-
uality is considerably higher at the pres
ent time, 4 fact which the learned criti,,
might have discovered if he had looked
about him. instead of hunting UP The
rusty arrows of the past with which to
shoot 'f"liies that have long since
flown.
The woman Of to-day is characterized
10y an independence of thought and taste
which expresses itself through her work.
her ways and her uttrrance>.
AS to the books she reads, it follows as
a matter of course that. wishing to ''kec.,
III step and thirsting for self-improvc-
ment. she takes for her guide the Scrip
tural Injunction: Prove all things: mold
fast that which is true
The bee. when foragiBs in 4 field of
mowers. alights upon many that are hon
eyless or poisonous, hut, after testing
them with IL sip. she HES away and bur
les her brown head only i'll the cups that
contain the sweet food she Graves.
oman would not he descendant Of
the hrst mother if her investigating
nilnd did not seek to sample all the fruit
III the Eden of letters: and because she
takes Il bite of some crude or unsavory
pIppln. which fashion or clever advertiS-
ing has painted i'll high colors, it does
not follow that she is pleased with its
flavor or lays it away in her desk 10
teaSt upon leisnrcly as she might Il per-
feet fruit which had garncred j seasons
dewS and sunshine into its mellow
round.
1T would be tame world indeed if
tastes did not differ. and if the same pen-
pie did not have different tastes to az
cord with their varying monlS.
Great men are fond Of telling us that
they read the traShicst novels as re-
Taxation from hrainwork Why not &C
| cord the same privilege to women:
Are there not moods in which any
thing like mental eNertion seems a strain
when music from 1.-The grand old mas
tiers would jar upon us. and only simple
strains he endured:
1t Is folly to say that because woman
reads the books whose eohcmeral sue
cess is due to IL fad, a freak. or Il fash
ion, these are the books she prefers?
How is she to know that book is
worthless until she has taken its meas
ure 10y glance. at least. through its
pages!
And there are authors SO unequal that
they cannot be gagged by Il single one
of their books. One may chance to miss
something really good by neglccting to
read a book because it's predecessor was
worthless.
AS an instance, when Miss Frances
Folsom, as the bridc-clect of a Presi-
dent. became all object of public inter
est. she was probed by an cntcrprisine
reporter as to the books she preferred
She was unguartled in those days. an,
innocently admitted that she liked
Oui1a. whercupon her literary tastes
were published abroad as ''loW' by such
papers as delight i'll picking UP sensa-
tional crumbs Now. Ouida had just
published ''Wanda." Il story on high
plane of self-s:acritice. heroiSm and pure
devotion; enriched. too. with pictures of
sublime scenery. uplifting to the imaei-
nation 1t was this book. wholly unlike
other works by the same author. that
thcs1'rcshlents fiancec frankly owned she
liked.
The days OF sweeping epigramS are
past. If the Scotch critic would leave
off looking at women through the sprcta-
cles of dead and gone pcdantic satiriStS.
and listen quietly to the opinions of a
few "averagely" bright women of the
present day. he will fluid that though
they may glance through books which
are the fashion by accident or ingcni-
GUS advertising. their literary prefer
cnces lie deeper, and oftener cling low
ingly to some book that has been left
high and dry by the ever-changing cur
rent of fashion and ropularity.-Mary
E. Bryan in New York Tribune