Evening star., 1939-01-02

yOuIlS WOIldu IlOW eXlSCS, Jnat Ine
wife who treated her husband as
his mother treated him has passed
out along with the dodo and the
phoenix and the other mytholog-
ical birds. Certainly the modern
girl does not contemplate marriage
based on the slave and master pat
tern. She believes in a $3.50 part
nership and expects her husband
to upper her up in the back as often
as she puts buttons in his shirt,
and to make as much effort to make
her happy as she does to keep him
glad he married her.
Not many men and women are as
honest as my correspondent in ad-
hitting that what they want in
marriage is not adult companion
ship, but somebody to baby them.
Yet such is the case. Oftener than
not when disgruntled husbands and
wives talk about the disappointment
and disillusion of marriage and not
being understood" it simply means
that the women and men to whom
they are married do not treat them
the way their mothers treated them.
Mother has always waited OH
them, hand and foot. Mother has
eaten the neck of the chicken so
they might have the white meat.
Mother has gone shabby so they
might be dressed like Solomon in
all his glory. Mother has stayed
at home so they might have the
car to take out their dates. Mother
has never even expected to be treat
ed with politeness or consideration.
Mother has always been ready with
an alibi for Janey's temper and
Susie's selfishness and Tommy's
rudeneSs.
So when Janey and Susie and
Tommy get married and find that
their husbands and wives expect
them to act like grown-ups instead
of spoiled children, they simply can't
take it. Mother always called
Janey's temper nerves" When
Janey stormed and shrieked like .
virago when everything didn't 60 her
way, mother always said that the
poor, dear child was 50 high-strung
that she couldn't bear disappoint-
ments as people of coarser fiber
could. And mother gumshoed around
all of Janey's antipathies and tried
to keep everything pleasant so she
wouldn't be irritated.
But when Janey married her hus-
band used no such f1nesse in dealing
with her. He called her temper by
its middle name and when she ragged
back told her what he thought of .
woman who didn't have strength Of
character enough to use decent self
control, so Janey walled and beat
upon her breast and cried out that
her husband didn't understand"
her because he didn't treat her like
mother treated her.
Mother always catered to Susie'S
selflshness by giving her the best Of
everything and saving her from
every hardship because Susie was so
sensitive she couldn't bear anything
but silk on her skin. Susie was so
delicate that she couldn't do any
housework-although she could walk
miles on a golf course-was the rea-
son that Susie threw up her hands
and quit and went back to mother
when she found out that marriage
meant work and worry, sacrifice and
pulling her weight in the boat.
Mother let Tommy talk back to
her from the time he could speak
and call her . fool and say any other
kind of insulting thing he put his
tongue to. But she didn't mind it.
She said the poor dear didn't mean
1t. Tommy grew up and got mar
ried, and because he was used to
kicking his mother around and say
ing vile things to her, he cursed and
swore at his wife and never both
cred to even be polite to her. But
the wife didn't treat him the way
mother did. She sued him for di-
vorce and alimony.
30 1t 10 pathetically true that .
great deal Of the unhappiness In
marriage Is due to both men and
women not being willing to face the
duties and responsibilities Of matri-
mony, but wanting their mates to
spoil them and treat them the way
that mother did