Evening star., 1933-11-12
BY MARGHERITA G. SARFATTL.
Author of the onicial Biography of Mussolip

~ talks about her If a man
wv quarrelS with another man
they become enraged at each
other and no illusions are
made to their being men; but if a man
becomes annoyed with his wife or his
female secretary he blames it all on
woman" In the abstract.
Why is this? Does woman" really
exist? Woman" thus tout court, rep
resents an artificial, theoretical, meta
physical creation, therefore unreal. It
is something approximating the "eco-
nomic man" created in the last CEN
tury by economists pour les besoins de
la, cause; f1eshless being without love
or ideals or imperfections, actuated
only by the spring of economic interest.
Ii is "penny-in- -the-slot" machine;
the person who puts his or her penny
in the slot knows positively that one
machine delivers piece of gum while
another gives a slab of chocolate.
But another, more ingenious manu-
facturer-perhaps with the soul of a
poet or speculative spirit which is
ABOUT the same thing, because specu-
latlon Is the lyric poetry of business
should invent another machine. People
would put six pence in the slot without
having any idea of what might appear
in return-perhaps cigarettes; one
lady'S garter, delightful inasmuch as it
induces dreams like a promise or a
souvenir (not two garters, because that
would be utilitarian, materialistic and
bourgeois; or else some candy and
often nothing at all The fascination
OF the unforeseen or Of speculation may
be compared to the fascination exerted
by woman.
More Logical Than Men.
We women are not illogical; on the
contrary, we are more logical than men.
but in different manner. We do not
care whether We turn to the right or the
left, provided We get there and get what
we want. Sometimes, however, we even
get what we want by going straight
ahead. But instinct usually admonishes
us that the circuitous and indirect
route is the shortest and the safest.
Men, however, do not appear to be of
this opinion; they go straight to the
right If they want to get to the right
God help themi Men are mistaken; it
sometimes happens in life that the turn
TO the right may be achieved by a short
cut to the left. Statesmen know this
full well. although they are not exactly
statesmen, but only diplomats; their ca
reer mas met with a professional defor-
nation, beginning with parliamentary
training, which has taught them that it
Is very clever to go to the right, while
in truth they are slyly going to the left.
This is simply camouf1age, an old, ex-
ploded trick which has been proved to
be useless. The strong statesman and
the clever woman both instinctively
turn to the left, because they know that
that is the road which sometimes leads
to the right. Therefore. the union of
woman plus statesman" when IL ma
terializes. is something formidable, as
proved by Semiramis, by Catherine de
Medici and Catherine of Russia, by Vic
toria and Elizabeth.
Queens Indecisions Planned.
The latter was once grossly insulted
from the courtyard of Hampton Court
by carter who did not know that the
Queen was overhearing him. He COM
planned that for the last fortnight he
had been called to carry the courts
luggage to London, and every morning
the departure was postponed He said:
''Oh. see-the Queen. after all, is only
woman, like my wife, who does not
| know her own mind" Elizabeth was