Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-05-08

Three ways are open to him In which
he can overcomeo them after a fashion.
But not one of them answers fully all
the conditions existing. In the first
the masculine form can be made to
represent both itself and the feminine.
Consequently such sentence as the
following could be framed: There
everybody met his friends. Women
as well as men would be included I'm.
der his. Though never really satisfac-
tory, this was once the preferred usage.
Fer time it served the purpose fairly
well, and it still does SO occasionally
and perhaps frequently. But there
has been for good while past dis
Hnct dislike to this construction. One
result Of the. increasingly important
part that the female sex plays In life
and literature Is the growth of repug-
nance on the part Of the feminine ele-
ment to have Its identity merged In
the masculine. Subconsciousness Of
the injustice of it has now passed
over into full consciousness that under
this form Of expression its claims are
not really recognized; hence, while wo-
men may use 1t, they do not like 1t,
and men have come to share largely
In the same feeling
Another way out of the difficulty
was devised. To satisfy the claims of
both sexes resort was had to two rep
resentative pronouns. The sentence
previously given would accordingly APP
pear In the following shape: There
everybody met his or her friends. But
such form of expression pleased no
one. It was felt to be formal, to suffer
from that stiffness which is always
sure to manifest itself when natural
ness Of expression is sacrificed to mere
precision Of statement. Besides being
Objectionable on the score Of clumsi-
ness it was subject to exception on
other grounds. In words with feminine
Examinations, like heiress or heroine.
the fact Of sex is indicated, indeed, but
it-is not made obtrusive. When, how
ever, we have distinct contrasted
forms. as in 'his or her." it is lifted
into an undue and almost aggres-
sive prominence, where there is mel
Their desire nor occasion Ito make it
prominent; hence this particular usage,
while serviceable in certain documents
and acceptable always to the devotees
OF strict grammar, is usually detested
by everybody else.
A third way out Of the difficulty
there is, and 1t was long ago taken by
the holder spirits. This was the con-
struction according to the sense. The
plural pronominal forms were used to
correspond to the idea Of plurality ex-
listing in the singular subject; hence
men said In the sentence quoted: There
everybody met their friends. Exam
pies Of this usage can be found abun-
dainty in works OF high reputation, but
those given here for the purpose Of L.
Illustrating It will be taken from sim
gle one. This writer is Jane Austen.
She is chosen not for her eminence.
but for her sex, for as a general rule
highly cultivated women speak and
write the language not only with more
naturalness, but with greater scrupu-
ziousness and purity, than the CORE
spending class of men. Examples from
their works are In consequence more
convincing Here are two or three
taken out of many. ut Is very nm
fair. J" says Miss Austen In Emma, !" ito
Judge of anybody's conduct without an
intimate knowledge Of their charac.
ter" Again In the same work the re-
mark is made that 'they say every
body is in love once In their lives" In
Mansfield Park" she observes that
nobody could command attention when
they spoke" These examples. which
might be multiplied from numerous
other authors, are sufficient to indicate
the attitude Of those who adopt the
third course. Every one can see that
the problem is very pretty one as 1t
stands and that the interest in It viii
never die because no satisfactory solu-
ton Of 1t will ever be found Thomas
B.. Lounsbury. Professor of English,
Yale University. in Harpers Maya
Zine.