The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-05-10
FOR FEMININE READERS
THE MAJORITY OF WOMEN HAVE A
DISCONTINUED EXPRESSION.
Action-How TO Fit Shirtwaists-
Various suggestions.

The woman with a contented mouth is
rare as the dodo to-day, says Golfers
Weekly. A cursory glance at the occupants
of any street car will point that fact.
Women still smile when occasion demands.
AT the dinner table. at luncheons, at teas.
at social functions of all sorts, the modern
woman's face is wreathed in smiles. her
lips turn up riotously at their corners, but
when she is alone her face betrays her.
Study the mouths of the women who ride
alone in their luxurious carriages; watch
the faces of the women in the street cars;
note the woman anywhere who believes
herself TO be unobserved; always the down.
ward droop.
Among men things are different. A man
may have a brutal mouth, a dishonest
mouth. a stubborn mouth. but he seldom
has an unhappy mouth. AS a rule, when
not hidden by a mustache or beard, his
mouth is distinctly noncommittal. 1t does
not declare to the world a state of mind.
The exigencies of a business life have
trained it too well for that.
Are the women really as unhappy as they
look when their features are in repose? And
if they are, what is the reason? Does the
QOWnNdIu uIOOp tHcdu mere surface lISl-
fulness, or a divine discomfort, or a deep
rooted sorrow. or only sheer fatigue?
Possibly the opening up of new avenues
TO power and achievement has stirred
womankind to discomfort with established
conditions. The downward droop may be
a commentary on feminine progress; but
even a yearning for immortal fame or for
the ballet or for a club presidency is not
sufficient apology for the spelling of faces
In whose semblance, we have been assured,
angels are painted.
The restless striving that dominates
American society, the national feverish
longing to climb the social ladder and join
the elect, who perch upon the giddy heights
of democratic aristocracy, as represented
by the Four Hundred, may have turned the
lip corners downward. strongly drawn
class lines may be opposed to the theory
that all men are born free and equal, but
they are wonderful promoters OF serene
content. If social aspirations, a consum-
ing desire for dinner invitations and for an
expurgated visiting list are responsible for
the discontinued mouths of our women,
some mighty medicine is needed to purge
feminine minds of folly and restore to
woman her sense of values.
The fatigue theory seems more plausible
than any other. The average woman to-
day is chronically tired and disposed to feel
sorry for herself. Hence the droop. Small
wonder that she is tired. She is the most
phenomenal exponent of the strenuous
life. Modern demands upon her time ana
energy have converted her into a human
pinwheel. She whirls madly through do
mestic duties. household economies, Froe-
bel child training, sociological experiments,
club duties. social obligations. She spins
through music and literature and art and
physical culture and dietetics. She must
be d 'well-rounded woman" She must
not only know and do a little of every
thing. she must know and do a great deal
OF everything.
There are society women who turn over
all domestic and family affairs TO paid SUI
bordinates; yet, despite frequent assertions
10 the contrary, the tendency to-day is to-
ward greater conscientiousness in such
matters. The ubiquitous college girl takes
life very seriously. She isn't above filling a
lofty social niche. but she has theories
about housekeeping. and she knows all
about hygienic care of children. She insists
upon keeping her Intellectual muscles in
training through study and club work. She
feels a responsibility in regard to the sub
merged tenth and goes in for charities and
settlement work; incidentally she believes
in athletics for women and keeps up her
golf and tennis. She has set an appalling
pace for her sisters. Women are engaged
in a mad endeavor to accomplish the i'm
possible and the result is nervous prostra-
ton. IL may be that the downward droop-
ing lips are another of the results.
Some of the strons-minded sisters may
urge that the discomfort is due TO mans
shortcomings but man is the same old man
and the shortcomings are the same old
shortcomings. while the disseminated fem
mime mouth in its epidemic form is a devel-
opment comparatively recent.
1t seems logical to credit the phenomenon
to those features of wO.nan's present phase
which are most distinctly modern and az
deplorable. If the dear women will but
turn up their mouth corners and look happy
humanity will more easily tolerate other
weathercocks that veer TO the wind of mod