Evening star., 1909-07-17
UNREST Of MODERN WOMAN
REASONS FOR DISSATISFACTION
WITH DOMESTIC LIFE.
Eager to Play a More Useful Role in
the Affairs of the World-Wants
Bigger Duties.

Susanne Wilcox. in the Independent
On every hand modern woman shows
Signs of unrest and seems secretly or
avoWedly dissatisfied with the time
honored, crcumscribed sphere Of the
"womauly woman. This is true in spite
OF the fact that the old time gentle
woman is still much lauded, and the ten
tatively progressive woman of almost
every sort is much inveighed against
1t must be confessed. however, that in
the voluminous discourses against the
modern woman little account is usually
taken Of the deep-rooted fundamental
conditions developed in ths course of
social evolution. which are responsible for
this widespread and growing unrest.
Two classes of women generally e,care
censure: the poverty -pnched drudces
who are forced to serve as wives mothers
and bread-winners. because welded to
incompetent OF INDECENT husbands or to
"orNmen VINO are unable single-ha nded
TO keep the wolf from the door: and the
plain housewife, VINO strictly attends to
household duties without aspiring to have
pursuits or interests which overlap those
man has long claimed to be exclusively
his own. A mere glance over the great
majority of modern women conyinces ono
however. that the plain housewife is
rapidly disappearing. and is being super
seGed by conspicuous minority of rest
less ambitious, half-educated, hobby
!ldlnS women on the one hand, and by
loving women on the other. who are
nevertheless secretly dissatisfied with the
role OF mere housewife.
And, strange as 1T may seem. not only
tne plain housewife but the privileged
lady Is also become Gisaffected and for
ner there is perhaps least sympathy
Originally lady meant the one Nc
baked the bread but in the course Of So
ca! eFolution II came to mean the one
VINO neither baked nor did any other use
ful service. Until very recent period
tAe ideal lady possessed personal charm
ana beauty; learned all the s,,htler arts
OF consumption and idleness: had no lu-
ties which involved D. rsoral service az
cept to her lord and master: and vas
Wl1eiH, !. e., possessed a modicl,m of IN,
virtue with which tradition endowed the
anger. Her mental development was re-
slriclea TO teachings which tended Il,
make her decile and decorative, and if
she eentured to reach beyond this intel
lectuai boundary she transgressed rbe
traditional laws Of womanliness.
In short, while mans habits and educa-
uon nave tenfed to give him mental dis
clpllne and scientific methods of cork
the training of woman still tends to de-
Neiop her feelings (the heart at the ex-
pense OF all else. The result is that her
hatural emotlons-love, hate, envy. jeal-
ousy and temper-moditied hy srhtlery
and subterfuge (the pre-eminently female
characteristics In the animal as we'll as
human world) are highly developed along
with seir sacrifice, patience long-suf-
lsfahce ana timidity. And the inveterate
ciaHn OF man has been and still is large
ly true, that woman is an Instructive
and intuitlve being. and is not vet become
thinking. reasoning one. Clearly the
roie o1 .ady las developed IL code Of
aiiolais morals "hlch are strictly domestic, and
woinan's primary impulsion-even ex-
csedlng that OF motherhood-is to win,
please ca1ole and minister to the hus-
band: while mans morals have become
largely public and industrial.
Woman's Mental Unfolding.
NOW II women had persistently been
educated in converts and taught nothing
beyond the refinement Of life they might
perhaps remained docile and content. But
the average young American woman. es-
pecially II college bred; leads a life OF
mental unfolding and progression abreast
with young men up to the time of mar
riage. Many Of the higher occupations
have been thrown open TO her. and if
slie s. Goes not md a congenial mate early
in life she avails herself of these oppor-
tunities and finds much satisfactio in
useful employment and pecuniary inde-
pendence. But such women. who abound
IN America. are often nevertheless res
tive and acquire all sorts Of idiosyncra-
sizes and, physicians tell us, in time de-
velop organic and nervous diseases or be-
come alphabetically unsexed. largely be-
cause they lead abnormal unnatural lives.
repressing their reproductive impulses
After marriage the mans course in
life is continued aggression, acquisition
and competition. involving a thousand
public and industrial issues which absorb
his chief interests: while the course of
the married woman, no matter what her
talent or previous training, becomes gen.
orally one of social and mental inhibi-
tions. Forthwith she must lock-step with
all other respectable married women; sink
or conceal her talents. unless they be in
the nature of accomplishments. and short
chain her interests to meet the require
ments Of conventional. domestic or dec
orative life. This doubtless is why after
a lapse of years. when the glow of love
has cooled. mental incompatibility often