The sun., 1898-02-06
WOMEN'S CRITICISM.
jUNlUS HENRI BROWNE ON ITO A.
SERTlvENESS.

Art IL Any FOrm-Sho ftoIoto 0ooo1p
and Personalities to Anything Else
MID Criticism From Close Rsassssr
leopsstght. ,sss. BY, the. Author. '. ~,
Although it is generally admitted
that American women have % . sex''
advanced much more than men dufina
the last 50 years. the last 50 particular.
~, there are still great many average
women, % there are average men. who
expose themselves to comment and -.
tire BY their defects and foibles. Man.
being naturally more sensitive to the
virtues and faults Of women than to
bis own, may take special pleasure iu
insisting on their every variation from
the ideal. Be this as it may, it is plain
that many women have degree Of as.
sertiveness. an eccentric form Of criti.
oism, that is not usually shared BY men,
1t is easy to find examples
Men Of education and self discipline
are commonly inclined in making state.
msnts to use qualifying phrases, such a.
II think. ""It seems to me, "lu my
opinion. ""As l see it. '"Iu my appre.
hension," and the like. Women who
claimto be educated and to be self discip.
ned very frequently omit those phrases,
become merely dogmatic. not because
they arr rude-they are as rule far more
politic than men-but because they get
excited, and the slightest opposition 80
irritates them as to make them often
forget the rules of courtesy. Not 10 su
perior women, high bred women. No
one pretends that their manners are not
what they should be. They who say,
1T il, ""It is not. ""You don u know"
you're mistaken" I'm repeating
what l know" II am not to be contra.
dicted, You're right; you agree with
me, ""I am absolutely sure, II have
positive proof, There's no mistake
about it," are the average women. They
must be. though they would never con.
fess it. The average woman has NOR.
tai dread Of being thought so, conscious
~ she must be Of being paught else. All
women but the exceptional woman are
the average fully 40 out of 80, includ
ing those who assume to be the better
sort
A style of what many women call
criticism likewise betrays the average
woman. 1t is heard continually. 1t is
excessive personality, exclusive gossip,
only that. Yet it goes, strangely enough,
by the exalted name of criticism, which
is pure irony. however unconscious on
the part Of those who employ it. 1t is
hard to understand without specimens.
which are constantly forthcoming when.
ever and wherever two or three or more
women are assembled at the close Of
any performance. any presentation Of
art, any manifestation of intellectual
effort-reading. drama, lecture litera
ture, picture show, concert. opera, seri
GUS exhibition of any kind. The COM
ments offered are all alike. resembling
those Of merely social occasion One
ignorant Of what was criticised could
not distinguish between a Greek poem
and an opera bouffe, a metaphysical es.
Say aud violin solo, comic song and
. Beethoven symphony,
Tins the feminine talk runs after the
: arst night OF new comedy, say, at the
Lyceum theater. the audience having
dispersed and bevy of women partak-
ing Of ices at Sherry's:
THAT second scene in the third act
was very strong Mary Mannering
never
Several impatient inter uptions. One
> voice dominates tho others and gets con.
trol. did you Sta that woman without
a hat in the fifth row ia the orchestra?
She wore purple gown, 1t fitted ad-
mirably Who could have made it: She
wore beautiful lace. 1t was slngularly
becoming She
"The man just behind her was much
interested in her plainly, He stared at
her all the time. Her escort should have
resented it, but ne never noticed 1t. Hc
must have been her husband He was
very plain, and his clothes were old
fashioned. His coat vas three years old,
and
THAT young woman iu the middle
Of the dress circle, first row, was very
pretty. She seemed y stranger. Her eyes
were very bright. She WAS making them
at everybody. She must be desperate
coquette She can't lie married, but =
So the prattle about clothes, men and
women continues until the little com
pany withdraws. no further reference to
the play can be induced There may l'r
few who wish to speak of it. hut per-
sonalities are so much more allurDg
that they engross the hour. All "criti.
Cisms" are Of piece.
The spring or autumn exhibition OF
the Academy Of Design evaporates iu
the same way. Pictures are swallowed
up in gable. Somebody. feminine OF
course, names gifted painter who has
done an excellent work. 1t is thought
that she is about to give the secret o
his power. But she mentions the cir
cumstance that he and his wife dis
agreed and separated finally. Then fol
lows diatribe on the disloyalty Of art
lists generally and the folly that man!
women are guilty of concerning them.
A dozen or more scandals are re
hearsed iu rather conventional man
uer, and art is wholly ignored for ru
mors and title tattle. This vein is O.
much more Welcome than principles o
knowledge OF art that the average WON
ar upn't ralaasa IL IN anv AccOnnt