Evening star., 1938-07-24

to be heaven-sent provision. For
some one has to marry those other
women. (Oh, these hard and unkind
wordsD
No, Mrs. Bucks picture Of q nation
OF repressed, wistful women longing
for and capable Of brilliant careers
outside their married life does not
seem altogether to be true. It hardly
seems true indeed Of the cases of the
relatively few women who would bs
capable Of a career outside their homes
"a career, mind you, and not the
mere holding Of little Job. For
these few women will carry In them
selves the cure for any emotional
disappointments which may befall
them, In the mere circumstance that,
by expecting fair treatment from men,
they will hardly love such men as
would deny them that fairness.
THEY may not find husband who
will be fair, OF course, but how
many Of their merely domestic sisters
marry their ideals either? Watch the
purchases that are made at any news.
stand for little while, and you will
get an enlightening answer to that
question. 1t is married women, young
and middle-aged alike, who buy the
greasy trash which is designed for
palates hungry for romance" Why
would they do so If their private lives
were full realizations of their hopes
and expectations? The answer, it
seems to the reviewer, is pretty obvious.
They are content with their husbands,
but they dream Of Mr.. Gary Cooper.
1t gets down to the fact that very
few people have everything in this
world. and that women must use some
selection. AS long as they put sex
first, and demand that a concomitant
of their sex life shall be economic
support it does seem that those who
get what they demand might pay the
price and stop boasting of their self. :
sacrifice.
There is one part Of Mrs Bucks
article, however. to which the reviewer
can give unqualified agreement, and
that is the part in which she criticizes
the graceless, silly social relationships
which exist in this country between
the sexes. 1T is strange fact" she
observes, not too grammatically, that
in new America, as in old India or
China, the real life of each sex is not
with each other. but away from each
other. Men and women in America
meet stiffly for social functions, drink
together in an earnest effort to feel
less inhibited, play the fool guardedly
and feel queer about it afterward :.
And they jog along in family life. OF
the delight of exploring each others
differing but equally important per-
sonalities and points of view. OF the
pleasure of mutual comprehension and
appreciation and companionship, there
is almost none, inside the home or
out. Tradition DEGREES that after
marriage real companionship between
persons of opposite sex must cease
except between husband and wife.
Tradition DEGREES that all companion
ship indeed between men and women
is tinged with sex. Such an idea as
interest in each other as persons,
aside from sex, is almost unknown"
4 ND that is certainly true. But
Mrs. Buck puts the blame for 1t
solely on the men, who, she says, are. !
fundamentally, afraid Of women and
want no relationship with them which
cannot be reduced to tradition. which
is also true. She does not cay. how
ever, what lies back Of this fear-the
jealous, fierce guardianship which
women themselves exert over the ira
dition. Try to convince any wife that
her husband might have q woman
friend without any menace to her
own place in his life. Try to make her
accept the idea that another woman
than herself might, without any emo
tional consequences, contribute some
thing to his existence which she can
not give. Well, just try it. You will
find that she would view the prospect
of downright. infidelity on her hus-
bands part with less of sense OF dis
may For infidelity is also tradi-
tional. Mistresses can be UNDER
stood. But woman friends-never.
So the reviewer is unable to accept
the idea of women as passive sub
jects of any social treatment-fair or,
unfair-as Mrs. Buck seems to see
them. 1t would appear instead that
they contribute about what they want
to contribute TO their situation and
that any reformer, endeavoring to
make matters better for them, will
have as much spade work to do among
them as among men. After all, mol
one exerts such an influence ON . man
child as his mother. If American
men are, as Mrs. Buck says land with
considerable justice) "adolescent" all
their lives in any emotional sense, may
not the early home influence have
something to do with it? There is, as
Sir Roger judicially remarked. a great
deal tn he said ~, h.ofb eidae