The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-01-27
FALLEN IDOLS.
Heroes of Novels Are No Longer wor-
SHIPPED as of Old.

Girls don't worship heroes in these
days" observed the woman who reads Sc
rious books sometimes. but thinks of friv-
olous things often. They prefer to be
heroes themselves. Dear me, what rap
turous. fearful times our mothers and
grandmothers used to have when they
read novels. book was not a mere book
in those days. 1t was a source of endless
signs and emotions and discussions, The
paper hero had almost as many adorers as
he had readers. But in these days where
is the curly headed school girl who con-
fesses 10 a secret passion for the hero of
the latest novel. and draws imaginary pro-
file portraits of her king. with very large
eyes and very thin neck. on the fly
leaves of her dictionaries and grammars?
1t would be hard. perhaps. TO ideslize the
hero OF the modern novel, in which Ito
use an Irishism) the real hero is certainly
the heroine, What room do the Beths,
the Isabel Carnabys, the Angela Lorrains
OF the twentieth century plot leave for
the dashfng. masterful heroes Of long ago,
whom gentle, crinolined maidens used to
love so well?
1T would be hard indeed to picture
Guy Livingstone leading to the altar the
irritating femme incomprise Mavis Clare,
or to imagine Ouida's gorgeous Chandos
pinned by the heroine with views and
requested TO favor her with a detailed
biography Of his stormy youth before
presuIning to offer her the remains of
his battered yet still acknowledgement.
No, the hero is dead-fallen from his
pedestal, buried in the dusty recesses of
the attic. And yet how well he once was
loved, How femininity thrilled to the
gloomy wickedness of Lara worshiped
Rochester, adored the surly Paul Washer
in Comm Thro' the Rye l know a dear
old lady who tells me that in her school
days (she 'Hourished' in the era of low
necked plaid frocks and visible white
pantalettes) she used to blush whenever
Marmion's name was mentioned and al
ways slept with little wOodcut of that
uninteresting knight under her pillow.
PERHAPS Rochester and Guy Living
stone NAV be classed as the Don Juans of
paper passions. Every governess ia the
forties took to sitting with her hands fold
ed and her eyes cast down. and addressing
her employer timidly as Sir Every
woman under middle age in the fifties
worshiped the iron-ja dragon who had
such a terrible temper. and was always
just going to let II loose. and always pro-
vokingly just didn't. The rosewater and
waxwork flower era which followed l.. o.
duced great number of BONES fortunes
for Tennysons King Arthur. and not a
few for Lancelot. among the warmer
blooded maidens. Dickens. Thackeray,
and George Eliot cannot show much of a
record in this line for their heroes. Only
the fascinating villain Steerforth, the ele-
CANT Henry Esmond. and the romantic
Daniel Deronda can claim q few eonquests
among literary minded girls. although !
have heard of one woman who confessed
she had been in love with Tertius Lyd-
gate all her life even after she married
q retired grocer.
During recent years Edna LyalPs
Donovan was much beloved among the
girls whose mothers had delighted IN The
Heir of RedclyfTe:' but since his lament
ed demise says an exchange. heroes have
been altogether at a discount. Whether
the modern heroine occupies the same
place in the heart of youthful man Can-
not be ascertained with certainty but
may be considered very doubtful"