The New York herald., 1922-09-03
Continued from Preceding Page.

~esh-Ato q 6Oou JOb Va III
the answer of the book is rather
a Scotch verdict. Doubtless ii is
100 soon, anyhow, to be safe in
dogmadzing about It; the process
OF adjustment to new conditions
must be a slow one. and, as in any
such adjustment, II may often prove
painful to the individuals at first
concerned. One Of the four women
Oh the book is obviously making a
sorry mess of it; another runs into
dangers and has a hard time but
gets out alive though somewhat
battered; third is peacefully, hap
PLY, and entirely selfishly at home
in the new element, willie the
fourth evades the issue. Some years
ago, long before women took to
voting and to running party CON
yentions, an irreverent poet burst
into Don Marquis's Column" with
this lyric:
A vaguely ambitious young hen
Tried to crow like a cock, now and
then;
But her husband would shout
"Oh, my dear. cut 1t out!
For you. really can't crow like us
men"
This book. however. seems to
show that some modern women
have learned how to crow very
nicely, with full political efficiency,
but that it is. after all, a good deal
of a strain on their voices-not en-
urely a happy result. 1t appears
that there are losses as well as
gains in emancipation" For one
thing, the husbands in the case (at
least two Of them) are sufferers
In the process, and one of them is
vehemently, eloquenuy unhappy
about IL. On the whole the young
woman who lodges the notion of a
career" and runs off, quite simply,
with her wild Irish poet-lover has
the best of the whole argument.
1t is fourfold plot. very skilfuny
put together; an admirable piece OF
work from the standpoint of artistry.
Helen Flandron. beautiful, charming
and intelligent, is happily married to
a prosperous, rather commonplace
man, whom she loves. She has two
children, assured social position and
good health. But when she contem-
plates the spectacular career of Mar
garet Duffield, college mate. who is
unmarried but becoming nationally
women" Helen becomes envious
She feels that home life, society, her
husband and her children are not
enough. She, too, is capable of be-
coming "spellbinder" and of doing
great things for the cause of wom-
en-" She explains that her children
are well cared for-by nurses. Paren-
thetically, one would always like to
make the actual acquaintance of such
children before stamping an o. X.
upon a report of their mental, psy-
chic and even physical welfare. And
Helen has no notion of neglecting
her husband, Gage Flandron. when
she is enticed into the political arena
by Margaret. But Gage does not like
1t. He protests and acquires
CROUCH" which. with other compli-
cations, leads to much trouble. The
20 hnnlr for tho
details of the plot. II must suffice to
add that Helen is finally cured. at
least partially, but she suffers in the
lesson.
Margaret, the professional suffra-
gist, is a case of repressed instincts,
cultivating herself and her powers to
the point of becoming almost a mon
strosity. But she is real enough. She
is afraid to let herself go; afraid, in
short, of life as a whole. She drives
an estimable middle aged gentleman
to suicide, and one wonders whether
she is really doing anything except
troublemaking. II Is all quite vague
as to what the cause of women"
really is.
Another type is Mrs Thorstad.
who takes to politics like duck to
water; thin souled, dry and utterly
selfish woman. Her daughter, Freda,
by contrast. is "emancipated" enough
TO have her own way, but it is the
old fashioned way of human love and