The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-08-06
he Won1an's Page Of The Tirmes-Dispatch
Girl Of To-Day Not
Sweet But Smart

The world Is poorer OH account OF
the disappearance from 1t tine gentle
heroine who has permanently vanish
ed out of fiction and idealisrn. The
appealing. zelf-voiced woman with
whom the men OF an older generation
fell helplessly in love. has no place
in the needs of rough and tumble
scurrying modernism. Such a wo-
man would be most uncomfortable in
the society OF up-to-date girls who dc
not take refinement and the little man
nerisms dear to her heart. into vital
account.
swestnczs Non-EssentinI.
The girl w.ct1 whom to-day reckons
Is smart, but not sweet. Sweetness. as
essential in haI makeup, Is not re-
quired Of her. Consequently. meeting
the demands of her world without this
GROWING grace, she doesn't want to
be sweet. She and those around her
would look upon sweetness as a great
weakness and a detraction from the
confident poise of her character.
The Conspicuous feature OF modern
standards Is not what the world re-
auires. but what 1t does not require
In short. that ii makes no requirements
81 nll.
Present Point os View.
Rudeness. by way OF illustration Is
enloS!zed as grit. crude outspokeness
liz esteemed as frankness, and utter
absence OF tnctfulness as straight
forwardness The least advanced man
in the laiter-6ay novelistic class
would shrink from asking the read
er's admiration on behalf OF meek
and unobtrusive maiden. To catch and
hold the fancy OF modern fiction lovers,
heroine need only TO be Us slengy II
talk and behavior. II she were AT
imperfectiy trained and disciplined
rchool boy. Among the men OF hei
class. especially. she is ranked in
proportion as she Is defiant OF conven-
tionaiity md reckless in principle.
Present Ambitions In Fiction.
II seems 10 be the amhition Of
novellsts at present TO produce by
means of their art women that are
naturally unsympathet!c and calous,
who have power to charm or
awaken responsive feeling. but are
only distinguished as women by the
names they bear, and their feminine at
tire
The shrewd. calculating egotisYn OF
the modern novel heroine is q reproach
10 The womanl!ness which she and
others Of her type try 10 throw away
from them. as they might worn on;
or cCst-on garment one that is no
longer fashionable and consequently
not 20 be regarded or tolerated
Love No Longer n Factor.
To the woman masquarading
thoroughoui the pages OF action IN
ronplng style may be accorded the
virtues OF prettiness, Intelligence and
;he art OF being 81 credit 10 dress,nak-
ors IN matters OF the toilet Reading
about her demonstrates her ability
TO win and hold secure position IN
fociety. TO be able to make money or
the stock exchange or. more frequent
~ TO lose IL But as 10 loving or be-
ting ioved--that Is beside the question
FOR such a type
Not ancstion of Morality.
The question OF the lack of love In
the composition OF the modern wo-
man. Of hct.on is not question o!
morality Being clearer Of vision and
more strongly on the defensive, there
Is n chance for the woman OF the
present generation 10 be more virtu-
Gus than their predecessors Not less
good then but less mannerly and less
elegant TOO superior and independent.
too obviously So to need sympathy
Hearts being no longer fragile, or
brittle. or breakable, there is no sus-
picion Of heartbreak in the love-story
Erl. whose modcrnity has somehow
led 10 heartatrophy.
linn Deserves His Fate.
The man. indeed. who has come. to-
day. 10 be satisfied with the quarter
loaf OF tolerance and the cumming
fake instead of love. deserves nothing
better than what is bestowed upon
him, though the explanation or
masculine deterioration is TO he found
largely in the attitude of the feminine
half OF humanity toward the other
half.
fnappy Attitude of Girls.
The snappy attitude OF women to-
ward men has done away altogether
with the yes. dear cult, perishing
slike with curis and hoop-skirts In
stead OF this sweet and simple COM
plance. writers tell now of the "go
on" of the factory girl, and "rotl"
the favorite exclamation with which
she shop girl quenches any tendency
Toward sentiment.
Perhaps princess or n rural milk
maiG may yet be found. saved by !sola-
hon and environment from the tenden-
ries of the heroine class. But these are
the exception and not the rule. as II
is the fate OF comparatively few to
meet princesses or the shyly grace
ful type OF rustic beauties sufficient
iy often to Judge.
Beauty StJIl Irrestible.
AS in the days when Eve first saw her
face mrrored in a quiet pool fringed
with flowers. beauty still rules the
world, still places crown on a Queens
bead. or causes a King to forswear
his kingdom and count his loss as
Nothing for the sake OF a woman's
smile.
Men of this day have a thousand
distractions it is true. Unlike An
tony OF old who simply justified his
raison d'etre beside dark Actiums
fatal shore" what with business. club.
telephone calls. a new Mercedes and
bijou aeroplane. the product of
modernity has his life overhlled with
interest and still remembers his lady
fair though he may not brag about
her.
Not only do men OF to-day admire
beauty, but they are more critical
than men of yesterday. They are