The sun., 1916-08-19
WHAT is THE STANDARD OF
PROPERTY IN LITERATURE

Considerable discussion has been
aroused by T. Everett Harre's novel.
Behold the Woman" rs to how far In
frank speaking an author may properly
40. His heroine Ii 4 scarlet woman"
Mary ~ Alexandria, and In relation 10
her John Luther Long. the author.
writes:
Il have been trying 10 ascertain why
the world has always been so tremen-
dously Interested in the scarlet Woman.
She stands IN history beside ascetic priests
and nun and Is more remembered than
they. one easily calls to mind the i'm
perial courtcsans OF each epoch'leo-
patra, Briseis, Du Barry, Is It because
the loss of that thing called for lack Of
Il name virtue Is the most tragic cir
cunstance in the world? because,
though God himself has said that her
scarlet sin shall he white AZ snow. wa
never say ~so--quite? Because here man
makes himself greater than God in his
unforgiveness' II is true. 1t Is the
, great tragedy"
The New York Aston Library has ex-
oluded Mr.. Harre's book from It's shelves.
but several well known ministers have
Endorsed 1t. The author was asked
what was his idea of the standard OF
propriety in literature.
81 made no attempt" he replied,
either to pander TO prurient curiosity
or tho prudlsh supersensibil.tles OF
splnsters. In Behold the Woman"
sincerely essayed to present an epoch
which was the most crucial in the his
tory of Christianity and a woman whose
concrete career represents In n sense
the Pilgrims Progress OF all woman
kinda woman who went through the
gamut Of human experience. IA sex ex-
plotted courtesan, "A mere creature Of
pleasure, who through "A real under
standing of Christ's message became a
soul redeemed. an emarclpated woman
realizing her place In life.
.Now the people who have criticised
my novel have hurped on the assertion
that /, IL not n book for ch!.'!ren or for
schoolgirls. Shall the standard of the
schoolgirl prevail in literature? Shall
we set up Little Women or Romeo and
Juliet: Shall We enshrine Louisa Al
colt AMI Eleanor II. Porter. or Flauberi
and Balzac? Florence NJ, Barclay. OF
Thackeray? Shall literary workers find
their approved model in the ~'rollyanna
books, or in the work OF such masters a
Anu,ole France? Shall novel!sts en-
deavor TO portray life and the vital prob
lens OF life. or give professionally glad
SOP to people who fear to be disturbed
IN poetry. shall poets find their model ir
the ferily inspired work OF Keats ant
Shelly, or In the tinkling s~choofbook YER
siacations of Longfellow and Johr
Grecnleaf whittier?
I'VE get down again to the old ques
ton as to whether the intellectual com
prehension Of 16 shall be the norm To-
civilization In art. or whether men anv
women of maturity shall be intellectual.
appealed TO. II all books that are no
written for children shall be condemned
certain defined standards must he fol
lowed. Then no child Of l6 should b
permitted to see 'parsifal.' No child o
l6 should be permitted IN a museum o
art. No child of 16 should be permitted
to view great statuary n painting
Certainly no child OF 10 should be al
/ lowed to read the Old Testament. Will
the future generation Is most important
the idea that the world should be turne'