The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-10-21

like ravening wolves seeking husbands
whom they may devour- On the contrary.
every one who Is familiar with what is
called the "woman's movement knows
that this is not the case, but that the wom-
en- engaged in the modern feminine activi-
ties intellectual, philanthropic, commercial
or even political, are quite as likely to
be womanly in the best sense, and to
have as many domestic virtues and ac-
complishments and as strong love for
home as their sisters who lead strictly
Selma Whites exist in every class of So
cfety. and have always existed If they
do not find one outlet for their discomfort
and restiessness, they find another The
times do not make them; they simply take
advantage Of the opportunities of the time.
whatever these may be. If as in an ear
lier day. their energies were limited to
their owa homes, they made life burden
TO their husbands. and. unless tradition Is
wrong, were as apt to drive those long
suffering men into their graves as are
their prototypes Of to-day. Or they car
ried things with a high hand in their So
cial or church circles, becoming there veri-
table tycoons. Women of this type are
quite as numerous in the conventional So
ciety of to-day as they are in so-called
public life.
Mr.. Grant goes still further in oppo-
sition to the woman OF his own time by
sounding the praises of the woman
Il g. zfr q r.
ticle concerning the heroines of fiction he
drops tear on the graves of the heroines
of the past-that is to say, the real woman
Of the past as he sees her. They had no
minds to speak of. it is true" he says.
THAT is, they were parrot-like in their
repetition of what their husbands and
fathers and brothers told them was so;
and their energies were devoted to house
hold concerns-the generation and rearing
of babies, the production of delectable
food, to darning, nursing, church work
and small charities. They were generally
timid and afraid of mice, disinclined to
athletic exercise and heroic undertakings;
they had no clubs, and did not aim to be
original. But think how dainty and pure
minded and tender they were! Dainty
with the niceness of dolls, pure-minded
with the innocence of the moated grange,
tender with the loving forgiveness and
foolish infatuation of idolaters, it may be,
and yet dainty. pure-minded and tender"
Now, with all due respect to Mr.. Grant,
this is unmitigated twaddle. The heroines
reader, are insufferably tiresome and in
sipid. just as they would be in real life.
Nor is there any good reason for
believing that they were any more
dainty. pure-niinded tender"
than the more energetic and intelli-
gent young women of to-day. 1t is
not to be inferred as Mr.. Grant evidently
thinks. that the girl of a century or so ago
who sat sewing her seam, her eyes mod
estly downcast and her curls falling over
with heaven and the angels. Far from it.
indeed. She was human, her world was mar
row. she had few things to occupy her
mind and it was inevitable that the affairs
of her neighbors should take large place
among them. Does Mr.. Grant think that
gossip and scandal and evil-speaking were
unknown to women in the bygone days
when domesticity was their only field Of
endeavor? Modern life, with it's clubs. it's
books, its varied interests, its culture, dis
tinctly discourages gossip and petty per-
sonalities. The sweetly domestic woman Of
the past may have been innocent. she
may not, but she was unquestionably ig-
norant. The modern maid has more world
ly wisdom, but innocence is not incom-
patible with knowledge. and Mr..
Grant himself would hardly assert that the
frank, honorable, energetic, clear-eyed
| intellectual girl Of this end Of
| the century is less sweet-natured
or pure-minded than her predeces-
sors. The woman of the past has gone her
| way not to return. and it would be we'll If
| nineteenth century writer's would cease to
| idealize her virtues or to mourn for her.
| and would endeavor to understand and ap-
preciate the aims and the character of the
| woman who has taken her place and who
| has come to remain.
Il