The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1898-03-29
HER RIGHT
TO Be HOMELY
Absence of Beauty Leads to
Women's Enfranchisement.
when the Gentier Sex becomes
stern Her Chance Arrives OF Shar-
ing the World with Men.

IAN American new woman boldly
I claims the right Of her sex to honeli-
ness" says Nine. Barine in the Figaro.
AT a meeting in New York the other day
! she said i'm substance: Has woman the
right to be homely?' Men will not admit
il. According to them. beauty is our
first duty And what a heap of stupid
! things they have said upon this subject,
and what lot of absurdities they have
also made us say. But believe firmly in
uoman's right to be homely.'
1T is hardly necessary TO say that she
does not mean the dislgarements which
nature inflicts upon many. The lady only
refers to acquired LONELINESS. such as I'M
becoming costumes, carelessness. con-
tempt of vanity, and of all the perversi-
ties in the art Of pleasing.
Since the world began women have
tried To please men. They are obliged to
do so. because upon that their entire life
depends Rousseau gives the reason for
this in a page IN 'i'cmile, against which
an English woman, the celebrated Mary
| WCilenstoneCraft, the first new woman
vigorously protests. The men. the men,
ALWAYS The men, she cried. and her fol-
lowers Of the present day repeat the same
thing Nothing can bring out more clear
Iy the dependence Of one sex upon the
other than this constant preoecupation To
please the master. the bread winner
Only. the privileged ones ask him for
happiness. The greater number are con-
tented with the necessities Of life for
themselves and for their children.
The right to LONELINESS would be the
complete Acknowledgement of woman. 1t
would put an end TO the female state,
placing woman upon an equality with
man; not a fictitious equality. such as Is
required by diplomas or rules, but a real
equality one hundred times more impor-
tant than the right TO vote and hold Of
fee. The day when woman viii be able
frankly 60 say 10 man. You do not adj
mire me. but 7 don't care she will share
with him the empire Of the world.
Il know very we'll that the feministes
aspire 10 this conquest as the logical COM
plgtion Of their ediEce Their aim is to
procure for woman the means Of an in
dependent existence. ana TO give her a
wider field Of activity.
THE right TO LONELINESS would be the
best PROOF OF their victory. | may add
that the thing would become a necessity.
business woman has no need of being
pretty. II is more convenient for her TO
have TO have no sex, to be a neutral crea-
ture. like the toiler in a nest of ants 1t
would be contented with such situation.
Sophie Hoyalesvska. the great mathema-
tcian. died of regret. She had the mis-
fortune TO fan in love with a man who
saw nothing in her but a neutral crea-
ture and had not the slightest idea Of
marrying her. Sophie Kovalevska became
Respondent and died, after having re-
qu5sted a friend to write her history so
that II might serve as a lesson 10 the
In MIGHT a. -. al IN
initiate her example and rebel against the
law Of nature.
Let us admit that she was an eXcep-
ton. Let us suppose that nature was
wrong in fashiOning woman to be n
wife and a mother. and that maid could
be just as happy 10y becoming lawyer
or the captain Of a ship. Then the right
TO LONELINESS. ] am afraid. would be an
ideal or. in other words an Illusion. Let
us not speak of the equality of sex. Let
us rather admit il. But the right to
homeliness once admitted in good society
and practiced on a grand scale, would
bring about the end of legitimate love
The New York lady did not look upon
this side of the question, which, never
theleSS. has it's Importance. Ii would be
impossible 10 compel every woman to he
a new woman There must always re-
main a considerable number who are
bound 10 stick 10 the theory Of Rousseau.
10 the law Of nature. In fact. they viii
be all the more numerous because the
opposition Of the other class must neces-
sarilv bc weaker I leave to be imagined
what would be their advantage over the
enfranchised hut uniformed virgins who
might driII companies under the blazing
sun Of Louisiana. Considering the little
Of virtue that is found among men. | am
afraid that they would all seek the So
ciety Of the unfranchised. There are mo-
ments i'm life when the most spiritualistic
lean toward materialism. In these deli
cate and dangerous moments the right
to LONELINESS would necessarily lead TO
the bankruptcy Of honest women. The
stron--minded would do well TO think Of
this before starting out upon the danger
,r-- ,.,a1 r,-onosa1 -