The San Francisco call., 1905-04-19
TELLS OF PARIS
CONVENT'S AIM
French Professor at State
University Describes the
Making of Society Girl

BERKELEY. April 1s.-Attracted
in part by the fascinating title of his
French lecture. and partly by one
of the most interesting and magnetic
personalities of the university faculty,
an audience, chiefly feminine, that
filed to overflowing the students hall
in the observatory, listened this after
noon TO NJ Robert Dupouey's dis
course on THE Life of a French Girl
In Stylish Convent in Paris" The
lecture Is the first of a series to be
given by the French scholar dealing
with the life and social activities of
French women, each being delivered
in the French tongue of Paris, in
which Dupouey is naturally a master.
He spoke in part as follows:
At the time the long war between church
and state in France is ending with victory
for the state it may be interesting to put
Catholic education opposite state education
by two contrasting examples Therefore the
lecturer proposes to-day to describe the edu-
cation OF girl in stylish convent Of Paris
and next Thursday he will tell Of the studies
OF another girl in one of the laic lycees.
Mile. Simone is the imaginary name of a
girl who is really living in Paris. Her grand
parents. whose ancestors were driving the
plow in the small estate situated in re-
mote part of the province. suddenly become
millionaires by a lucky series of rich in
heritancess consequently the father of Simone
married girl of a higher social rank than
his own and having removed his home to
the most aristocratc society of that city. His
determination and wealth and the cleverness
Of his wife helped him in succeeding, in part,
but he is even now feeling some condescension
in the attitude OF his new friends He is
with them, but he is not yet-he never viii be
one of them.
BY sending their daughter to the most
stylish and aristocratic convent of Paris. the
called Cours de PAssomption. situated at 9
was to give her the company and friendship
of the girls of the noblest families. to efface
in her mind and soul all traces of her plebeian
origin and thus to facilitate the means Of her
being completely and without any restraint
accepted by the best aristocracy of France.
IN ract the a tIv tGos ts, @ no1 & Se q ia
bent and trained to her future role of an
aristocratic lady. The convent supplied her
with all accomplishments necessary to a per-
belonging to the nobility.
First the school has rarefied. as It were,
humanity all around Simone by allowing her
no other companions. no other friends than
the girls and the young men OF the highest
social cast.
Second it has taught her in sciences. liter
ature art and ethics only that which she
will have opportunity OF using in her worldly
life In the conversation OF the salons. a ms h,sa
society enterprise. as fashionable and
stylish occupation destined to bind more closely
together the people of the same condition
At last the school has shaped and polished
the political opinions of Sirnone SO as to make
republicanism and royalism by representing
such opinions to her as indissolubly associate
with a well-understood religion.
Mr.. Dupouey gave a circumstantial
account of the foregoing processes,
showing by many illustrations that
the stylish convent provides "Simone"
with what the lecturer called a 'su-
perficial knowledge of all sorts of
things" so that. as he declared, she
will never stop short in any talk,
about any subject, also illustrating
how the convent fmpresses on the
mind Of "Simone" 'prejudices and err
rors," because these are the prejudices
and errors of the world in which she
is to live.
Concluding his lecture Mr.. Dupouey
said:
In short. the convent has made simone a
society woman more than a woman. in the
broad sense of that word. Smone will now
be distinguished and bright: she will know
how to dress how to talk. how to smile.
Maybe she will not know how to live. The
laic lycees give the girls a stronger, more
human education, That education VIII be the
subject of my next lecture.