New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-09-02
A Self Supporting Woman's
Struggle with Life.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A WOMAN
IIONE limo, PIP. 81, d. Appleton &

Co.
This book, the publishers assure u.s. Is
not fiction. but what 1t claims TO be. the
true story Of working woman's life In
New York. A subjective autobiography
first Of all, II owes It's wider significance
10 the fact that IL is representative as
we'll Of a large end growing class OF
wonen-that II Is even more or a soclal
than of a human document. And 1t Ia
timely. In fact, 1t was due to come az
about this period in the evolution or the
woman question" for II is now fully
thirty years since the sex transferred
us labor, its services TO society, from
the homo to the open marts Of the
world, partly from choice and deter
mination, but partly also from necessit!
created by the increasing pressure Oh
social and economic changes. during
that period woman has confronted life IN
the raw. direct and not at one remove
as hsretofore: she has wrestled with,
vanquished, been conquered by, and has
puzzled over conditions which man mas
faced for hundreds Of years stoically Or
chserfulIy, and which he long ago
learned to accept as the rules OF the
strusele for existence. The first gen.
GRAFTON of modern women workers is
facing old age. The time has come ior
them to cast up accounts. to take STOCK
of what has been gained and what mas
been lost. to consider the weak points OF
their sex's new place In the social BODY
and out of the fund Of their experience,
10 devise remedies therefor, IL remedies
there be- The anonymous author of this
book did not spend lifetime in gaining
her experiences and formulating her de-
auctions and congratulations, but she
entered the struggle when already 1t had
been waged for some time. She was
plunged into the midst of 1t, wherefore
the fewer years of her own battle have
suffced TO MAKE her an authority emil
nently we'll worth hearing.
With the harshness Of the rules OF the
material struggle itself she has no quar-
rel. That she accepted 'manfully'-r
the traditional term be permissible In
this case. She knew poverty at first
then won that modest measure OF sue
cess which is the share Of the great ma
tority in life--a chance to earn roof TO
shelter her, clothes to cover her and food
10 nourish her, to gain by her own labor
the necessaries of existence and a few,
very few. of it's simplest, least costly
comforts she was not called upon to
meet and solve the ultimate problems of
the self-supporting single woman old
age and the loss of earning power, and
in this regard the book leaves room FOR
another and even more serious social
document But 1t goes far enough, in
deed.
This woman's complaint is Of the social
isolation and, above all else, Of the
emotional starvation of the single
woman worker who comes TO this city of
many millions to seek livelihood. And
here the subjective autobiographer enters
10 qualify the social document. She her
self is aware of her temperamental han
dicap; she indicates, though uncertainty,
the limitations of her social gifts In
untoward environments. She responded
readily and tactfully, gracefully also, to
occasional social opportunities, but was
apparently unable TO create them her
self. Still, what she has to say on the
other side of this subject is undoubtedly
true. she lived in boarding houses;
cheap ones at first, whose inmates were
unnteresting intellectually and socially
unattractive: then in pensions Of bet
ter grade, but there other obstacles con-
fronted her. Socially, she found the
churches, those centres Of human inter-
course in smaller places, chill and unre-
sponsive in New York. On the other
hand, she indicates that she went but
rarely. that she did not 'persevere; and
she stopped going altogether after she
had listened to a sermon denouncing our
women for Sinking the very duties
which she herself longed to perform with
all her heart if only she could find the
opportunity.
Arriving in New York almost penni-
less. only just beyond her teens, she was
forced to accept the first work that was
offered her. She was fortunate in one
way. unfortunate in another. If she was
not forced to enter into competition with
men, her secretaryship to a philan
thropic association brought her into
daily contact with women whose position
was tho same as hers in essence. but a
thousandfold worse in degree. The con-
slant association depressed her. Eff
cient, practical philanthropy failed to
fill the void in her heart-failed even to
lull to sleep the feeling of hopeless lone
Illness. the healthy, natural desire Of
normal woman for happiness all her
own, for husband. children and home:
IL IL Just this craving. as | experienced
Il myself and observed II I'm the many,
many unmarried women ! knew well dur
Ing the years lived alone I'm the city OF
depleted the fate OF her who turns aside
from the narrow path Of single combat
.'Tbe Easiest Way" But what of the
other woman, who with a nature per
haps as luxury loving, with temptations
quite as plentiful, with longlngs for affec-
fjon grown more intense because unsatis-
fed single handed fights 10 the last
ditch? There are thousands OF such women
in New York who. for all the social OPP
Tortunities they have, might as well be
stranded on a desert island. Country
born and bred, of high ideals, robust
health and trained intelligence, they are
realizing not at all the loneliness that
awaits them there or course, for many
women romance does bud in city streets
as well as country byways. But
there are many, many other women for
whom the moment never comes. | know,
for I have seen them and they have told
me. I have seen them, too, and they have
MOI told me But by the fevered, unhOpe-
f,tI "a 1 knew.