Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-11-01

manner, fastidious in dress, will Of
ten choose as a wife a girl whose
pretty face has captured his fancy,
but who is uneducated, untaught,
loud of voice and bold of manner,
and who knows neither how to dress
or to conduct herself in society.
Her husband would like to polish
his rough diamond, but he attempts
to do SO at his peril. If he sug-
gests that she try to initiate the
quiet charm Of manner of some old
woman friend of his, she becomes
green-eyed with jealousy. If he finds
fault with her clothes and tells her
that real ladies do not wear flam-
boyant garments that Shrek at the
heholder, she goes into Mysteries
If he tries to get her to read and
study, she weeps that he is tired
Of her and no longer loves her.
And, after having proven by his
failures that no husband can i'm
prove his wife, he gives up the
hopeless task and settles down to
make the best of his bad bargain
or else repudiate it, according to
the type of man he is.
Certainly it is tragical that a
woman can not tell her husband
that he eats his soup audibly, or
that he has told the same old stories
over and over again until people
flee at his approach. For if she
could tell him she could have him
from being a laughing stock among
his acquaintance.
Certainly. it is a tragedy that a
to1I fn hot rITI1n
she paints herself up like a barn
door, and dyes her hair the color
of strawberry jam, she makes Of
herself a figure Of fun, and that she
bores people to death talking about
her children. For if she would lis
ten to him it would have her from
being ridiculed wherever she went.
But neither husband nor wife dare
offer a word of honest criticism for
fear Of bringing on a scene, and
being accused of nagSing.
Perhaps the reason that husbands
| and wives are so much more SEN
sitive to criticism from each other
than they are from any one else is
because their vanity cannot stand
the knowledge that they are not
perfect in the other ones eyes. Their
self-complacency cannot endure the
shock of finding out that the other
one thinks that they need any i'm
| proVement.
In the days of courtship the man
| has told the woman that she was
an angel, that she was as far above
other women as the stars are above
| the earth, and that she was the
most beautiful and gifted and mar
Vicious being ever created. The
woman marries him expecting to
listen to this paen of praise the
| balance of her life, and naturally
she doesn't enjoy the douche of cold
water she gets when her husband
| begins telling her of her faults
and suggests remodeling her char
! acter, her manners and her habits
Before marriage the woman has
put in many solid working hours
| llow towing before the man, anC
telling him how big and wise anG
strong and great he is, and he as
sumed her support for life in order
| to have ever at his side q compe
tent incense burner. Is it any won
der, then, that he is chagrined wher
he finds out that his wife considers
him a subject for reformation In
stead Of admiration.
All of us know that the world a
large has a keen eye for our weak
nesses and a dull one for our vir
tues, The thing we really MARI!
for is to secure for our own the ont
person who really admires us, ant
our vanity will not permit us tt
see that that person also sees oul
faults. That is why husbands anC
wives cannot offer each other help
full and constructive criticism
/ DOROTHY DIX.
Copyright, 1920