The Washington herald., 1906-12-23
Anomalous Attitude of Men
Toward the Other Sex.
CONTRAST WITH THE ENGLISH
Traditional French POIiteness Said
to Be Becoming LeEend-TWO
Sides Of Frenchmen's Behavior
Toward WOmen-NOThere Are Men
More Dependent and Respectful.

With his. Il Is true. II is one Of the first
things that struck me here.
Give an Englishman his coy corner at
the club. his favorite paper, the cigarette
Of his special brand, and his whisky and
soda. and for many hours. at any rate,
his fellow biped might become an extinct
product of the creation. Perhaps / ex-
aggerate. but one fact certain is that
an Englishman can be quite satisfied far
from the company Of woman, and that
the most devoted father, husband, or son
Will. on the whole, spend very little of
his time with his womaukind.
OF course we have many bachelors, too,
in France, but no woman hater. have
always wondered how monasteries could
exist in our country. The worst of French
husbands is more in the company Of his
wife than is the ideal husband in Eng
land. And it is very seldom that you see
an English boy escorung his mother
about ! know many a jeune file in
France who is kept IN, gloves, perfumes.
and bouquets by her brother. and who Is
accompanied and chaperoned and spoiled
by him. Until he marries she monopo-
Lies n great deal Of mis- leisure for with
Frenchmen the love Of club and sports Is
more often than not only pose. which
they are pleased 10 consider chic.
French,vOmen Restricted.
There may he some psychological rea-
son for it peculiar to the Englishman with
which ], as woman and a foreigner. am
not acquainted; but il certainly seems
difficult 10 reconcile their aloofness from
their womaukiud with the regard and the
true chivalry which an Englishman shows
toward women. A FTeuchman viii be
very quick 60 resent any lack of respect
toward his wife or sister: but rs a tribute
20 justice IL must be admitted that he
himself is n0t troubled by any scruples
where other mems wives and sisters are
concerned A pretty woman OF a young
woman, even quietly dressed and per
iectly CONNIE u faGt, can not walk alone
for ten minutes in a French town without
being subjected 10 Objectionable atten-
lions from men of all classes.
Strangers wonder that unmarried girls
OF good family in France are not allowed
90 go about uuacc0mpdnied IA = they do
mot realize that this would mean TO sub
nit sensitive and refined girls to very
strangers are very apt to criticise land
perhaps in this respect English people are
the greatest sinners what they regard
as the absurd customs Of "a country, with
tout stopping 90 inquire whether they may
not have their origin IN the peculiar cir
cumstanees Of that country.
one OF the delights Of England for my
|cOUutrywoman is that healthy latitude
and Independence that the Englishman's
courtesy enables her to enjoy Eng
/ lishwomen who are used to going about
free and UnnotiCed do not know what IL
means 10 the girls OF France-their first
outing in London without a chaperon.
walking alone without being followed.
/ looking at shop windows without being
spoken 10 by the inevitable vieux mar
cheur, sitting In a public carriage with
out being subjected to annoyance by the
cad opposite OF The man next her. Though
the London woman takes it for granted.
10 the Pausienne respect from the man
; in the street-at least freedom from insult
at every turns a delightful, almost in
credible. novelty.
Two Different BehavfOrs.
I II may be that the once and deservedIy
renowned French poIiteness has also been
victim Of the guillotine. but the fact
remains that we Of the twentieth century
Z know it only by hearsay. Politeness and
I the respect Of culture and the art Of
/ conversation are with US, the modern
/ citizens of France. things Of legend,
I which We are told existed once; things
quaint and pleasant, like the smell Of the
/ lavender still floating about your grand
+ mothers cscritoire, or like the smothered
sounds you can draw from her spinet,
\ but things not To be associated with our
/ dashing modernism.
/ I do not assume that these Old World
/ virtues have survived better in England
/ than with us. but the English. at least
/ possess still the essence Of pOlitenesS,
/ which, after all, Is the best part of IL,
I and which IN France is fast evaporating.
/ The Englishman may not be charming
/ but he IS respectful. The Frenchman can
/ be charming when he chooses; no longer
/ does he know how TO be respectful. And
/ the pity of it is that women, even, per
! fectly honest women, are forgetting what
! respect 10 them MEANS they are becom-
/ ing quite satisfied with the coarseT kind
/ of admiration. much as an unframed pal
ate might enjoy a vim ordinaire in pref
/ erence to some old cru of a less pro-
/ nomCed flavor
! 1t is possible that the Englishman gets
muChOf his well-bred correctness from the
/ fact that the women with whom he mixes
/ are of his own class, whereas, apart from
( the women he meets at home. the
/ Frenchman' lady friends could not be
/ received by his mother. When you meet
| him IN the part of chevalier servant to
| some fair companion you may be sure
/ the lady is a close relation of his or
some one whom his female relatives
/ would pretend not to see. So the French
man has to cultivate two different vo-
/ cabularies and two different behaviors
/ and it is no wonder if he not seldom gets
/ confused in his somewhat complicated
/ code of manners. If this is one Of the
/ real reasons for our mems decadence
/ much benefit to the morality and polite
/ ness Of young France might be brought
about by a freer association of nice girls
/ with their brothers friends, but in the
I present state of things what French
mother would be displeased to try the
| experiment.
Has Oriental Way.
| II the Englishman's life is chiefly spent
with male companions, if he keeps busI-
ness and home apart from one another it
may, as compensation. cause him to
/ idealize woman. While in France woman
| is mixed up in every phase Of mans life,
while she is his helpmate. his partner, his
companion, and not seldom his servant,
perhaps his constant familiarity with her
has the contrary effect. There is still in
every Frenchman a great deal OF the
| Oriental way of looking at woman.
And the French wife knows ii, but she
/ goes on helping her man. be she duch-
ess or midinette She viii forgive again
and again, she will let him squander her
dot and will learn how to do with fewer
! frocks Che delight of every French
woman) in an ever-pitiful attempt to