Evening star., 1903-11-28
THE WOMAN AUTHOR.
What Publishers Say of Her Present
Work and Of Her Future.

From the New York Tribune
OF all the professions open to women In
the present century there are none in which
she has taken such prominent place as IN
that of literature. Every publishers list
bristles with feminine names. Some of the
best selling books Of the time are OF feml-
nine authorship, and critics who are at most
pains to assert that women never have done
and never can do anything worth while Will
yet admit with some bewilderment that IN
current literature they are almost II not
quite on par with men.
Various theories have been prOpOunded TO
account for this circumstance; but the one
| which suggests itself most naturally Is that
literature was for a long time the only
means of self-expression open to women.
They could not lead armies or sit in parlia-
ment Though a few women at long inter-
walls were permitted to run kingdOms): they
were debarred from the special training
necessary for success in music or paint
ing or architecture; but woman of genius.
with her fathers library at her command
and the educational opportunities afforded
by her own home, could and did write
books.
And as literature was once the only out
let for feminine energy, it Is still the most
readily accessible: the conditions which first
ist in a lesser degree. In spite of all the
other fields open to her. the modern woman
still finds in literature the line of least re-
sistanCe, and the women who write BOOKS
are a great host. The fences are down, and
here if nowhere else, women have a fair
field and no favor.
What use they are making of those op-
portunities it is perhaps, too early to de-
termine. but if the opinion of publishers
counts for anything they are doing some OF
the best literary work of the day. Never
thcess. the publishers have their trials with
their women writer's, and see room for I'M
provement along certain lines.
Every year" said +. n. Doubleday to a
Tribune reporter, we use more and more
of the work Of women and We find that
their work grows better and better. They
improve less rapidly, however, in business
ability. They are 'touchy.' they lack intia-
tive and have not enough of the common,
everyday faith man learns he must have
in dealing with his fellows. In fact, wo-
man often fears man Will do her who
probably is the very one, If she understood
his business character, who would do for
her the very best possible. Women are con-
scentious workers, but let them have more
faith and less conscience, and things will
even up wonderfully for them in dealing
with a square business man."
And yet so great a contradiction is wO-
man that this man, who finds in her such a
supera bundance of conscience says that
she is smarter than a man (n the sense
of sharper) that after marriage she be-
comes more so, until she is the one who
may do her trusting publisher.
Il would not believe" said E. p. Dutton
did not have numberless letters to prove
the fact. that supposedly intelligent women
could ask the silly, inconsequent questions
they do
In the same breath this publisher said
that women are yearly gaining firmer foot
ing in the literary world, and are contin-
ually scoring success. small and great.
s. 8. Mcclure thinks there is no sex in
genius. and declares that but for name or
handwriting he would never know even in
his business dealings with women writer's
whether they were men or women. He also
thinks that some of the most important
writings of today are from feminine pens
The power to touch the human heart is
theirs he said, land if it is true that the
devil hates genuine worth the woman writer
of today has found the weak spot In his
armor.''
Whether or not women are known as
writer's themselves, they are giving inyal-
liable help to their literary husbands" said
another publisher, mot only by sharp. dis
cerning criticism, but In actual work Don t
put that in, john, says the authors wife
that Is not how a real woman would dress
or talk And. oh. my dear she adds. did
we ever have a child of four who would
say tate wee little petite to shootje de
birdies?' If we did his dad might be for
given the desire to shoot him on the spot.' ,,