The suburban citizen., 1902-08-09
woMAN,s PosIrloN IN sPAIN.
Little Better Than Domestic Slave, But
Satisfied with Her Lot.

~
Satisfied with Her Lot.
Woman in Spain has had no part in
The emancipation of the sex that has
aiken place in most European countries
N the last century, says a writer in the
FOrtnightly Review: "As a factor in so.
;lal life she stands entirely in the back
ground; man has the predominant inhu-
snce, and the position of woman is an
entirely subordinate one. To the for
Agner the first sign Of this is visible in
pirit of hospitality prevalent in other
countries, and which owes so much Of
IT'S character to female influence. In
this matter the ideas OF the Spaniard
retain a flavor of Orientalism, which
he progress of time and the general ad-
vance of civilization around him have
been unable TO dlssipate. He possesses
what we should call most limited views
as to the sphere in which woman should
move He thinks that good wife
should have no interests which may
distract her from the duties of her
household, and hence these duties-the
shief among them being the care and
bringing up Of children-form the chief
occupation Of the Spanish lady.
'Any unusual development of intel
iect in a woman is held by public opin-
ION to be unfeminlne, and the proper.
ton of intellectual women in Spain is
remarkably small. The majority of
Spanish girls are quite uncultivated, In
our modern sense of the word, except
rs regards hand-embroldery music and
dancing. for which the race has consid-
srable aptitude. Half q century ago
the photography Of a large percentage
Of well-born Spanish ladies would not
have come up to the standard of one of
our elementary school boards. The ed
ucation of Spanish women has indeed
improved during the last thirty years,
owing chiefly to greater facilities for
travel and a certain filtering through
Of foreign habits of life. But this has
only taken place within the recognized
lines of communication over the coun-
try. Physical training plays as small
a part in the education Of Spanish
women as does intellectual culture. In
this, too, there is a wide distance sep
irating the Anglo-Saxon woman from
her southern neighbor. One of the
most noticeable characteristics Of the
former is the love of exercise which
she has recently acquired, and in which
she can now with impunity indulge. In
Spain, on the other hand, not only do
women take little or no exercise, but
they have a strong aversion to taking
1t. Spanish girls are never. in their
childhood, taught to appreciate open
air life, and they have no opportunity
Of acquiring the taste later on. An en-
aeavor was made short time ago to
Introduce bicycling into Madrid as n
feminine amusement, but the attempt
was a failure, owing to the obstructive
attitude OF both sexes. The new idea
was only taken up by few votarles of
foreign fashion"
One result Of the position of the Span
tsh woman Is the easy solution 1t offers
Of "conjugal problems" The explana-
ton of this fact is to be found in CO.
rollary to the following general propo-
Bitiop offered by the author: zone OF
the most essential conditions Of conju.
gal happiness is that the views of the
contracting parties as to their respec-
live spheres Of action should be in per-
feet harmony. In Spain there is never
any question Of what a woman can or
can not do or think. She is a domestic
slave, but she is a perfectly contented
one, and no more devoted wives and
mothers are to be found than In that
~9try"