premise: Of late we had been growing a little discouraged .<br>Aunt Susanna had recently read a magazine article which stated that the higher education of women was ruining our country and that a woman who was a B.A. could n't , in the very nature of things , ever be a housewifely , cookly creature .<br>Consequently , Margaret 's chances looked a little foggy ; but we had n't quite given up hope .<br>A very little thing might sway Aunt Susanna one way or the other , so that we walked very softly and tried to mingle serpents ' wisdom and doves ' harmlessness in practical portions .
hypothesis: Women are oppressed in society.
reason: The tone of the text just amplifies the fact that women are expected to be creatures of servitude. This is kind of an abstract concept that i'm sure the system is incapable of digesting properly.