Evening star., 1935-10-11
THE modern woman happier
than her grandmother was? A
man thinks not. He says that

is THE modern woman happier
than her grandmother was? A
man thinks not. He says that
women were never so restless and
dissatisfied as they are today and he
draws an invidious comparison between
their nervous, harried, worried faces
and the calm placid countenances of
the women Of the past.
I think he's quite mistaken and that
what he diagnoses as grandma's ex-
preston of contentment was simply
the look of resigned despair Of those
who realize the futility Of beating
themselves up against the bars
through which they cannot break.
Life in these times is Individually
harder and less joyous for men than
it was in the past, but for women q
new heaven and new earth have
been made, and for the first time in
all history they are getting their share
of the fun of living.
Perhaps women themselves do not
realize how lucky they are to be living
today instead of yesterday and how
much better off they are than their
grandmothers were. Often when I
hear one complaining about phil
andering or cantankerous husband,
or about being tied down by children,
or about how tired she is of doing
housework feel like saying to her:
X
WELL, what of it? Do you sup
w pose grandpa's middle name was
always Joseph and that he never had
a rowing eye or chased petticoat? If
you do, you've guessed wrong. In
those days there were just as many
unfaithful husbands as there are now.
Just as many wives sat at home alone
with jealousy gnawing at their hearts
while their husbands stepped out with
flappers; just as many wives saw their
husbands in the clutches of gold
diggers and the money that should
have gone to paying the grocer wasted
in night clubs as there are today.
And husbands were just as grouchy
and fault finding and as hard to get
along with as they are now, but no
matter what sort of husband grandma
drew in the matrimonial lottery, she
had to stand him because he was her
meal ticket. She could not jam on
her hat and walk out on him, no mat
ter how he treated her, for she had
no place to 60, no way to support
herself. A woman couldn't divorce a
mean husband and have another try
at it, because even if she had left a
brute who beat and kicked her about,
q divorced woman was a disgraced
one.
And If a woman considers two or
three children a handicap now be-
cause 1t puts crimp in her liberty
and keeps her from going to as many
bridge parties and clubs and teas as
she would like to, what about grand
ma, who had a dozen children and
who, for twenty or more years never
knew what it was not to have q tod
dler clinging to her skirts and baby
in her arms and who was q wreck
of an old woman in her 30s from ex-
cessive child bearing?
Il II X
A ND there were no pre-school In
those days, nor cheap readymade
children's clothes, nor canned food to
help mother out. She had to shoulder
the whole job Of providing for and
taking care of her youngsters.
Look at the difference in the house
work now and in the old days! Grand
mother built her own fire to cook with.
She heated all the water for the
family baths in q kettle. She scrubbed
dirty clothes on q washboard. She did
hard manual slave labor to keep her
husband and children comfortable.
Granddaughter pushes button or
turns on her tap and, presto, elec-
tricity sends q thousand hands to do
her labor for her.
Ths woman Of today Is spsrle what