The evening world., 1911-01-19


inmost self.
Perhaps the most surprising feature
of this case Of double personality was
that Miss Mcleod" the writer OF
Gaelic tales and runes. had become
much more famous than the elder
brother OF her soul. william Sharp.
Was Two Personalities.
I'm Mr.. Sharp" his widow and
b~iographer continued. "ths masculine
and feminine selves were highly do
veloped and clearly divided. He would
pass vislbly from he masculine to the
feminine personality. But William
Sharp always remembered what Fiona
Mcleod had thought or written, and as
Fiona he did not forget his individu-
altty as William sharp" Psychologists.
after his death, considered him a re-
markable instance of dual personality,
and he was, except in he Jekyll-Hyde
sense. where one side of a mans nature
Is completely forgetful Of the other
side.
Sometimes I am tempted to be-
lieve l am half Q woman" Mr.. Sharp
once wrote to a friend. He had an
unusual understanding Of n sympathy
for women. -,
Mrs. Sharp, who came to New York
recently to supervise the publications, OF
her Memoir Of william Sharp" and
q new uniform edition OF the worka Of
Fiona Mcleod. smiled when l al led
her II the feminine side of her U.S.
bands personality was q sufrasete.
'It was william Sharp. not F1na
Mcleod. who took the most syn{pa-
thetic view Of the suffrage question.
and in other movements tending to fhe
removal Of the hsmperins prohybi-
lions which one sex places upon
another" she replied. Fiona Nc
Leod was the dreamy, subjective.
p~oetical side OF his nature and NOT 50
inclined to interest in reforms.
Two sides Of His Nature.
The first work Of Fiona Mcleod ap-
peared in 1896. and from that time I'LL
the end of his life there was a con-
tinual play Of the two forces within
him, the two sides OF his nature. the
reasoning mind and the spiritual mind
He would speak often of the momentsry
dazzle In the BRAIN which would pre-
cede his passing from one personality
to the other. I rave been beside him
when he has been In a trance and l
have felt the room throb with height
ened vibration. He compared the two
sides Of his nature to the torch and the
match. and tho comparison expresses as
we'll the interdependenoe Of M mascu-
line and feminine nature. The torch.
he wrote. says all is due 10 the match.
me match knows the Kane Is MOI hers.
Beyond both Is the wind. the spiritual
air. It comes at the union OF both, and
Is sometimes art, sometimes genius,
sometimes life, sometimes the spirit"
Then you think 1t takes man plus
woman or woman plus man to pro-
duce a great work Of art?"
IT think the masculine and feminine
elements must find expression In n
great work of art" Mrs. Sharp replied,
Blu II Is possible for the two ele-
ments to exist in the same nature.
~ think ths feminine element 10
dominant In your country. not only
rary taste. Your men, Z under
stand, have little time to read.
Your books, therefore. ere written :
Tor your women.
az knew this before Z pane to
America, and my observation since
MY arrival here has confirmed h
impression. In England msn-I
don't mean literary men. hut men
Of business-rsad books, and the
public taste there has not been
fsn.inizsd."
I'm what way has our taste been
feminized How does woman's domin-
ion show in our booksT" ! asked.
Won't Write About Us.
Those are very interesting and i'm
portant questions" replied Mrs. Sharp.
$50 much so that ! am not going to
answer them offhand.
~ do not believe In onhand i'm
presstons. Therefore Z shall not
write o book about America when
I return home. One has to live
among q people for years to be
able to crittoiss them.
america ave a more immediate roc
ognition to the work of Fiona Mcleod
than It received In England. but to-day.
taking into account the greater size If
your country, Mr.. Sharp Is Just az
much appreciated at home. l wish I
could give you a clearer impression OF
the psychological division DetWeen the
two personalities Wa have been discuss
ing. But surely We all have dual per-
sonallties to a less distinct degree. You
must have felt II yourself. You are
reading poetry or listening to beautiful
music and suddenly some one comes to
tell you the pipes have burst. How
quickly our subjective self subsidies
and your practical side asserts itself!'
And at that moment my practical self