Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-12-25
The Imaginary y

flancee'S afLoctlOn IOr MIN because Sne IL E
always extolling the charms of certain
movie he:o, and he wants to know If think 4
that the girl can really love him while she 4
raves about the soulful! eyes and Greek pro- Z
file of the gentleman on the screen, and
signs to be made love to as men do it in
novels and on the stage. and never do in
real life.
Pooh. Nonsense. AS long as a man hash
anything to be jealous of except film, he's
in luck. There is no danger OF that break
ing up his happy home if only he has senstS
enough to realize that the girls admiration
for this stage hero, whom she has never
seen in the flesh and probably never will
is just a little romantic meringue on tires
lemon pie of life She enjoys just bite of
it now and then, but she doesn't want 1t for
a steady diet and she no more desires real
ly to marry the man than she would to
live on pastry. It's roast beef, and potatoes,
and good, steady teller with snub rose
and no roll to his eyes that woman \ snts
for regular consumption.
AS matter of fact, every husband and
wife in the world has one If these ia.agi-
nary rivals Generally it is a hero in a ook,
Sometimes it is an actor or an actress 4
Generally it is no one particular person. It
is just the man woman we didn't marry,
and who is so different from the one we
did marry.
With the man, the woman he did not
marry is always young and beautiful. When
he looks across the table at the woman he
did marry and perceives her fat, and griz-
zle haired, with sagging cheeks and triple
chins, he thinks how different she is from
that Other One who would have the glory
of eternal youth and beauty about her. #
And the woman he did not marry would
have been some sort of miracle worker who
would never have bothered him about mon
ey. She would have presided over house
that was always spick and span, in which
there were perfect meals, and plenty on
heat, and light, and well trained servants,
but there would have been no bills to both
er him, and no deadly, 'Will you leave me
some money for the childrens shoes, and
the laundress, and to pay my milliner?" shot
across the breakfast table to ruin his day
for him.
And the woman he didn't marry would
have been a sweetly reasonable creature who
would always greet him with a glad, sweet
smile when he came home at three D. M,
and told him how glad she was that he took
little diversion with the boys And she
would know that because man is married
doesn't afflict him with any kind of astig-
matism that prevents him from taking note
of pretty face or a trim ankle, that hap
pened to drift across his vision. She would
mot befa woman with mania about hav-
kpg aArk@ show up on time of an evening,
NOR wUulW she be flied with deep, dark sus-
picions ofWyery girl who is half her age and
the wife of his bosom.
A beautiful and lissome young creature
who is never sick, who las no nerves OF
temper who was born with a permanent
wave in her hair, with Paris clothes grow
ing on her back like feathers on a peacock
and who can live on air, that is a mans
mental picture of the woman he didn't mar
ry, and that is the deadly rival with whom
/ he is always comparing his wife in his
thoughts.
OF course he knows that no such person
exists, but all the same, she is kind of con-
ISOLATION to turn to when the real wife calls
him to book, and grows hard to live with.
The man a woman didn't marry Is the
perfect lover. He would have wooed and
won her in romantic situations, and talked
sentiment to her in poetic language ands
popped the question to her in a frenzieC&
outburst OF passion which thrilled her to rel
member to the last day of her life. He woul
never have said, Gee, Mary, but an
| strong for you. What do you say to our ge
ting tied up in double harness?" as did tE
man she married.
And the man she didn't marry wou
never have wearied of talking sentiment
her. He would have continued to Kiss n
for forty years with an ardor that new
abated. He would have told her that
grew more beautiful year by year, and
would have sung paeans of praise in hon
of her housekeeping.
He would never have had to be remind
to come back and give her bacon -afld-ee|
peck on the cheek when he started to wo
IN the morning. He would never have
minded her that she was taking on weigI
and growing old. He would never, never ha
demanded to know why she couldn't learn
MAKE PIE like mothers, as does the una
preclatlVe man to whom she is married
The man she didn't marry would ha
known that she was all SOUL that she w
somehow different from other women, a.
tnat the reason she never could keep
putcher's bill within reason, or have mea
on time was because she was genius w
nad thrown away a great career by makiI
tne mistake Of getting married instead
eleVatlng the stage, or writing a masterpieo
ana ne would have understood that VIII
Sne got angry and was ashamed of il afte
wards that 1T wasn't really temper but i'm
because she was temperamental and me
strung, and he would have sympathized wi
her instead of telling her not to act like
fool. as does the man 80 whom she il ma
ried.
And the man she didn't marry would hav
Deen able to make money with one hand an
romantic love with the other so TO sneak
IN real life woman generally has to choosl
between the man who can give her Iimou
SINE ana the one who can entertain her IN
the man woman didn't marry isn't tie]y
down to an office He can take his wife To
afternoon teas, and play golf with her of
mornings, and he is equally strong on noe
try, and the stock market
woman knows that, in reality there
isn't any man like the one he didn't marry
put she gets lot of fun in thinking about
MIN, and dreaming about what might have