Omaha daily bee., 1912-01-19

society, who calmly told me that she
had broken her engagement 10 the young
man 10 whom she was engaged 10 be
married. sha gave as a reason for
doing this that she had been TO SEQ one
Of her girl friends. who had been mar.
ried n couple OF years, and who looked
faded and weary, and whom she found
wrestling with a crying baby, no SER
wants, and husband who was cross
because there was no dinner, 'of course,
rnti Rwfuily fond OF Jack" the Elrl went
on. but took one Look at Lulu. and one
I myself, and came home and wrote
acR that matrimony was too strenuous
for me-"
The third day I heard somebody ask
a working girl II she ever Intended 10
marry. TO which she replied, with en-
phasls. Never. Catch me giving up my
pocketbook and latch key for any maH
that lives"
These three groups OF women may not
represent their sex as a whole, but they
do undoubtedly represent the three types
OF women OF today--ths intellectual. the
gay and frivolous, and the working
woman. and the thing that struck me
so forcibly was that all OF them dis
played an absolute lack OF sentiment,
The college bred woman did not want
10 marry because II would interfere with
her career. The society girl did not want
TO marry because she would lose her
beauty and have TO worry about SER
wants. The business woman did not want
to marry because she would have to
give up her liberty and her salary.
All three travelled by different roads,
but they reached the same goal To
them matrimony vas . life sentence. and
home prison. and II was plain that II
love ever came into their lives. Il would
he in the nature OF a surprise party. 1t
was nothing that they counted on. They
we're not on the lookout for the Fairy
Prince. They were lodging him.~
OF course. this may be rather an ex-
treine Illustration OF the modern dis
lIlusioned young woman, but nothing Is
more obvious than that women are
growing less sentimental all of the time,
and II begins 10 look as II the woman
who lives only in her emotions, and who
views the facts Of life only through
halo of romance, will soon be as extinct
as the dodo.
A thousand little proofs OF the de-
cadence OF sentiment in women force
themselves on ones attention. Take
novels. for instance. which are written
mostly by women. and for women, and
which fairly reflect womon's point OF
view at every period. Compare the Be-
lindas, and ESallnRs. and Amelias, who
simply exnded sentiment at every pore,
with the strenuous heroine Of the modern
novel; II Is the difference between Miss
and Richard Harding Davis.
Even the broken-hearted heroine, and
the heroine who suffered and was strong.
have gone out OF fashion because women
are no longer sympathetic with that state
OF mind. What interests women In fic-
ton Is a heroine who sees things fairly
and squarsly. and perhaps unconyention-
ally. and who grapples with problems Of
real life. She must be involved In a love
story. OF course. but the love story Is q
side issue. not the whole thing.
The theater. which is also largely sup
ported by women. shows the same iRdif-
ference TO sentiment. The most suooess-
ful plays Of late years have been the
problem plays Of action. and not those
that depended on sentiment. Women
are the most enthusiastic shawltss and
Ibsenites. whose appeal Is always TO the
Intellect and not to the heart.
TITO other straws that show which way
q womsn's mind moves are the facts that
women have ceased 10 Ewoon. and almost
cease TO weep. The woman Of the past
was so sentimental that she could be
touched TO tears by anything. Sho wept
for joy. and she wept for sorrow. just
as sire sv0oncd away when anything I'M
expected happened.
This was estssiissi interesting. but
woman now who couldn't control herself
would be- considered the victim o. hyss
terra. and would hustle Off to the nsaryst
nerve Specialist ~ get herself treated.
because she would know that she vas an
object Of deTisn3a to other women.