The Yale expositor., 1917-11-29
Little Problems
fcWarried Life
THE TYRANNY OF TOO TIGHT !
REIGN.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
By
WILLIAM GEORGE JORDAN
(Copyright)


the freest people that ever breathed
into hopeless slaves, numbly submits
sive and spiritless. or scheming rebels
with smile on their lips but hate in
their hearts as they dream their gold
en- dreams of secret revolt and a bold
break for liberty..There Is brand of
bossism in married life, of petty ty-
ranny In the home that duplicates in
miniature this dilemma of results. 1t
saps the ambition. courage and vitality
OF husbands and wives, and transforms
them into dull, crushed, colorless be-
ings, or If they do. not submit thus
meekly 1t trains them persistently IN
smiling Hypocrisy, trickery, deceit, ~
ing and plotting to cheat the tyranny
they do not dare openly to resent.
Have you ever met the husband, of
the timid, suppressed type, who al
ways answers his wife's call with Eyes,
my DEAR" mo. my dear,v or "just in a
moment, my dear" 1t is never the
sweet dear" that drops gently into a
sentence like a caress. His my dear"
with it's monotonous iteration of
photograph record seems continuous
phrase Of placating. 1t Is not affec-
ton, 1t Is just fear; 1t seems pleading
deprecatory gesture of the voice as IL
trying to dodge rebuke or a lecture
as one involuntarily wards off an at
tack with the appraised arm. You
somehow feel that you should take him
into a coy corner and sOothe him,
and tell him not to be afraid, that you
will protect him.
When you are alone with him he
may talk easily, cleverly and well; the
stream of his conversation runs
smooth and free like a mountain brook
but 1t suddenly trickles into irrelevant
commonplaces when his wife enters
the room, the whole atmosphere seems
changed, and you vaguely wonder who
shut off the water supply. You do not
like the surreptitious way he covers bis
lighted cigar with his hat; 1t seems too
much like child caught with its hand
in the sugar bowl. He can never tell
you definitely whether he can go out
tomorrow night; he will let you know
later and you feel that he has already
begun TO plan how he can secure his
wife's countersign to his pass. Even
when he is doing what is absolutely
right and harmless he becomes wonder
ously fertile in lying excuses, those
conversational capsules TO sweeten the
breath of suspicion. His ill-concealed
joy when his wife has to go out of
town for a day or two is not mere
confession; II Is q condensed biog-
raphy.
Sometimes IL Is the husband, In
domineering assertion of authority,
who plays the poor, petty role of do
nestle tyrant. He dictates, he de-
mands. he threatens, he forbids, he is
sues his orders as ultimatums In a
manner that would be unwarranted
even were he a pirate captain haran-
guing his crew. He forgets that mar
rage means partnership not proprie-
torship, freedom of both in the best
interests Of both, not slavery of either.
His assaults on her rights when he
crosses the dead line of intolerance
and despotically demands obedience
may not be received as submissively,
as uncomplainingly and as finally. as
he in his blind conceit believes.
He may secure an outward SEM
blance of submission but actually con-
temptuous rebellion. Brought to bay,
her bitter protest Of opposition may
make her dangerously ingenious in out
whiting him. When In a moment OF
pique at some act of her family he
dares to order her never to see them
or write them or hear from them, she
feels the cruel injustice of this cutting
of the ties of love and tenderness she
may resort to subterfuge, intrigue,
evasion and systematic deception and
defy him behind his back while she
seems sweetly and serenely resigned In
his presence. She may drift unknow-
ingly into a course Of action normally
repugnant as she surrenders to tide
Of conditions of constant despotic in
justice. Tyranny needs a hundred
watch dogs-trustful love. none.
When she finds a quarantine or
dered against some of her dearest and
best friends coming to the house, her
self-respect bushes at the plausible
lies she writes or speaks to prevent
their knowing the real reason. When
she fears to tell him of some misdeed
of one of the children because of the
cruel punishment his anger may pre-
scribe, he is slamming the door on her
confidence and giving a bonus of new
license to the little rebel In the nur-
sery. When she gives false statistics
as to the price of some simple article
she has bought. just to avoid scene"
he is giving her unwise postgraduate
courses in duplicity which may later
prove costly. He is worse than wrong
he is foolish.
He is paying a big price for his
tyranny when the song dies away on
her lips as she hears his key click In
the lock In the evening and she draws
long breath OF relief when he leaves