Omaha daily bee., 1921-08-14
Love Stories of
Today End in
Tragedy
By BEATRICE FAIRFAX.

BY BEATRICE FAIRFAX.
Today's love story doesn't end:
"And so they were married and
lived happy ever after
Marriage begins the story-a-la-
1921. And two many of the stories
that begin with romance, love.
courtship, marriage-end sordidly
or tragically or in boredom-or the
divorce courts.
No one can turn on his feelings
as if they were controlled by
shiny silver spicket.
There are things which compel
human emotions-likewise things
which repel them. Marriage is not
a de luxe, simple, anybody-can-work-
II job. It's one of the hardest propo-
sitions in the game of living.
To feed romance there's mystery
the unknown--the chase. But mar
riage tears down most of the wells
of mystery and does away with the
need of pursuit And so most mar
rieds' sit back in cushioned case,
fold their hands over expanding
figures, take to slippers and mental
slouchiness and then wonder why
the charm of courtship days seems
gone forever.
Quite while ago the "lady
vamp" came sailing along mscuine
horizons. She was ready to take the
place of any lazy, off-the-job wife
who was permitting worthwhile
man to get restive and to feel an
interest in the idea of green fields
and pastures new. And now we have
the consolatory gentleman who's
ready to put little romance into
the humdrum existence of the bored
wife whose husband insists on being
a provider and not stimulant.
Some marriages 60 on the rocks
because of cruelty or incompat-
ability. But great many more are
shipwrecked because there's no one
around with enough common sense
to realize that there never was a ship
yet that could be trusted to sail
without steering.
Laziness, selfishness and stupid.
ity ought to be given as the cause
of large percentage of our di-
vorces.
Marriage is contract, business
partnership and an affair of the
emotions all in one. But if either
partner shirks and loses interest, how
long would the other permit reg
ular business contract to stand? And
how long would any business partner
permit the other to demand an ac-
count of all his time, to insist OH
knowing with whom he had lunch
and to claim that he'd been abused
if his partner happened to play bill
lizards with another chap in the
same line of trade?
Husbands and wives don't own
each other. No one can possess"
the soul of another. We're all free
and instinctively we claim our right
to be individuals. That's all right
and fine enough as long as our free
dom isn't based on stealing from
any one else's store OF freedom or
crowding other folks so we may
swing our own arms.
The love triangle wouldn't hap
pen along so often in our history if
the love-duet were played with any
sense of harmony.
The things which attracted be-
fore marriage are likely to prove in
teresting after marriage. Neatness,
animation, interest, friendly respon-
sivencss to mood, sense OF part
nership, an eager desire to please,
understanding, loyalty, unquestiol-
ing faith-all these are just as i'm
portant as love and kisses. Emotion
may not stand up under rival
emotion that is newer, fresher, more
stimulating and made alluring by a
sense of uncertainty and the charm
of the forbidden. But loyalty and
faith and deepening sense of graft
tude will. -..
Marriage is business-the most
important business in the world
Home, family, life itself are based
on the marriage system. Why not
bring more efficiency to bear on the
subject? =