The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1942-09-04

chances with husbands younger
than themselves are just as good as
with an older mate.
There is this to be said for mar
riages of older women and younger
men - when they are happy they
seem to be unusually happy But
they do not. by any means. always
prove successful. The greatest
stumbling block to the success of
such a marriage is jealousy, but
then jealousy wrecks many mar
riage. The point Is. that woman
Older than her husband nearly al
ways suffers from an inferiority
complex Knowing that she is older.
she is representative and inclined
to read into his smallest acts of
courtesy to younger woman
something that may not be there
at all. When there Is difference
Of five or ten years, there is bound
to be an unpleasant reaction at
times.
Attitudes Toward Age
- There is a type Of person who
seems entirely oblivious of age, a
type who has friends who are much
older. as we'll as others that are not
much younger There is another
and more usual type, who seems
very conscious of age and who in
variably makes friends among con-
temporaries or h ose who are
younger Sometimes this is a mat
ter of policy. In some Offices. there
Is a marked effort made by the
older members of the staff to keep
friendly with the younger ones.
This is done deliberately and on the
theory that the younger ones are
tomorrow's bosses. and therefore
are worth catering to.
Outside of office politics or diplo-
macy. there is the type of man at
tracted by girls who are older than
he. Most young men pass through
this phase. eventually finding COM
panionship with someone of their
own age. If not younger.
Personally, cannot see that the
number of ones birthdays matters
much when everything else is as it
should be between two people in
love. Mind you. ! don't say that II
doesn't make any difference at all.
The woman in the case cannot af-
ford to give way to jealousy. She
must make up in other ways for
being older than her husband. He
may not exact it Of her, but If she
is a sensible person. she will exact
it of herself. and when her husband
realizes that. he has to be more
considerable than under more usual
circumstances. Then the marriage
may turn out to be more successful
than is usual with most marriages.
Exceptional Cases
In other words. in order to make
a success Of marriage in which
the woman is the mans senior by
five years or more. the contracting
parties have to be exceptional.
They must be mentally harmonious
and have mutual interests to Off
set any tendency on the wOman's
part { ward SupersenSitivencSS.
The average marriage should be
contracted between a man who Is
slightly older than the girl. June
December marriages are definitely
TlSk. L icy are uoudiiS Va VIC
convenience" type.
Sometimes an old man will be
willing to risk taking a young wife
even though he knows she does not
love him. because her youth and
his gratified vanity compensate for
her lack Of response. Sometimes
the mans wealth. social position or
fame seem to compensate the girl
for the lack Of romance. But both
are risking more than one ordinar-
lily risks in marriage and. often. one
or both live to realize that they
have paid too great a price for
whatever 1t was they gained by the
union.
One may ieer at conventions but.
after all, they are founded on COM
mon sense. 1t isn't just chance that
has made 1t customary to marry
within certain arc limits