New-York tribune., 1911-04-09

terms of distinction IN his subtitle, DO
not belong together. They fatty con-
tradict instead Of confirming each other.
The champion Of woman's intellect as OF
more value TO the sex, TO man and 10 the
race than emotion yet allowed emoton
TO make a hopeless muddle of her NE
Economically a New Woman in prac-
tice and theory, she was romantic?lly
an "old" one in the surrender OF her
head TO her heart. There was nothinS
new or advanced in her defiance OF
social conventionalities, for here, IL
should not be forgotten, even the most
timid of unemancipated women had
found the courage TO precede her through
the ages, blindly obeying the mandate of
the emotions.
Mr. Taylor's book is divided against
itself. Starting with the professed pur-
pose of making more widely known
Mary Wollstonecraft's work as pioneer
and propagandist, he in reality lays
stress upon what is of least importance
and significance to posterity, the per-
sonal side Of her life: upon what in the
parlance Of the hour is called its
psychology" In this he follows merely
in the footsteps of his predecessors.
If Mary Wollstonocraft was not the
first Of her sex driven by hard necessity
out into the world 10 earn her own
livelihood in competition with men; if
she was not even the first woman to
earn that livelihood with her pen, she
certainly was the first to deduce from her
necessity, experience and struggle gen.
eral theory Her predecessors had been
content with simply doing; she must
prove her right to do as well, and that of
all her sisters. Says the author:
1t is the lesson of history that ex-
ample alone does not bring about reform ;
there IS always need of an intolerable
amount of preaching about It. 1t is the
privilege OF Mary Wollstonecraft TO have
been the first Of English women to put her
declaration Of independence into the form
of precise statement.
Mary Wollstonecraft's career is not
neglected by the author-quite the con-
trary-but the puzzling psychology OF
her private life intrigues him, as IT has
done others, for the very flatness Of its
q redeem but imperfectly one Of the
promises Of his preface. that of making
his readers thoroughly acquainted with
her writings. which. never reprinted
since their first publication, are all but
Inaccessible to-day, even in most public
libraries. He devotes proper attention
not only TO the "Vindication OF the
Rights Of Woman" but also TO the sig
nifcance Of her "Vndication OF the
Rights of Man" written in answer TO
Burke's Reflections on the Revolution IN
France" but elsewhere he rather sklmps
this side OF his subject. taking up her
fiction. for instance. only for the light
i, NAV throw on her own emotional
progress. while neglecting TO give
clear outline Of its plots and characters.
Again. in his account Of her employ
ment by the publisher Johnson he mere
10 refers 10 the translatiors she made
for him without naming the more I'M
,ortant ones among them, and ne IS
oven briefer on the subject or her I'M
traceable contributions 10 periodical ht-
.rature. Last Of all. he omits to pro-
vide either in his text or in an appen-
dix. full list of her writings.
In summing up his chapter on Inc
Vindication Of the Rights OF Man MI
Taylor pertinently says;
1, some WAYS this book is more funda
n,aI and expresses its authoress Hioi'
iinnnnIetelv than 'The Nindlcatloh OF Nt OH
ooin @ nybirb has CHANGED To become so mucf
better known And there is fch one very hss beer beer
nent fact TO insist on-one WIlch mas 49,, De.t
nvvnnrrlooked Mary Wollstonecratts 3 siea ca
Uork on Woman has the right 10 ,ndin. irs Hu
premacy, D.." g. ,eform But wheI
OF d new NJ turn on this champion
SUN ~ roforn with the criticism that she WA
~ . narrow minded single sex & ianauo o cr,,,c
S,s vrill lei that pass. Wnat tHe cltIiHi I.rnti
Meinmk we is the fact that before Mary Won
stonecraft had pleaded $lrit1eb f1r ,he vndicatiol
OF OF the rights of Mqnf5 f6e man%S @a4r6@ ei eias
whoiS. ~ rimlind Burke was a passion
ae ASSERTION Of the rights odns od 5ef the ysSt petit
yoIil! ~ the few This answer 10 b"f n