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diff --git a/old/69125-0.txt b/old/69125-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8e3a29c..0000000 --- a/old/69125-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2605 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The higher education of women, by -Emily Davies - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The higher education of women - -Author: Emily Davies - -Release Date: October 9, 2022 [eBook #69125] - -Language: English - -Produced by: The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HIGHER EDUCATION OF -WOMEN *** - - - - [Illustration] - - - - - THE HIGHER EDUCATION - - OF WOMEN - - - - - ALEXANDER STRAHAN, PUBLISHER - - - LONDON, _148 Strand_ - NEW YORK, _178 Grand Street_ - - - - - THE HIGHER EDUCATION - - OF WOMEN - - - BY EMILY DAVIES - - - [Illustration] - - - ALEXANDER STRAHAN, PUBLISHER - LONDON AND NEW YORK - 1866 - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - - PAGE - - INTRODUCTORY, 7 - - - CHAPTER II. - - IDEALS, 16 - - - CHAPTER III. - - THINGS AS THEY ARE, 38 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THINGS AS THEY MIGHT BE, 72 - - - CHAPTER V. - - PROFESSIONAL AND DOMESTIC LIFE, 98 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS, 130 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - CONCLUSION, 164 - - - [Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -INTRODUCTORY. - - -In any inquiry of a practical nature, intended to lead to some -definite course of action, it is obviously necessary to start with a -tolerably clear idea of the end in view--the object for which it is -proposed to provide. In the case of education, definitions more or less -satisfactory have already so often been given, that it might seem -superfluous to go into the question again. As a matter of practice, -however, it is found that, when it is attempted to apply the received -definitions of the general objects of education to the case of women, -they are usually questioned or modified, if not altogether set aside. -When, for instance, Mr Maurice tells us that ‘the end of education -itself is, as it has always been considered, to form a nation of -living, orderly men,’ the definition will be accepted, with the tacit -reservation that it applies only to men, in the exclusive sense of -the word, and has nothing to do with the education of women. Again, -when Milton, in his treatise on Education, lays down that the end of -learning is ‘to repair the ruin of our first parents by regaining to -know God aright, and out of that knowledge to love Him, to imitate Him, -to be like Him,’ the language might be taken in a general sense; and -when he goes on to define a complete and generous education as ‘that -which fits a man to perform justly, skilfully, and magnanimously all -the offices, both private and public, of peace and war,’ the words -might still, perhaps, bear a common interpretation; but as soon as -he comes to describing in detail, ‘how all this may be done between -twelve and one-and-twenty,’ it becomes evident that he is thinking of -boys only. In the most recent writers, the tendency to regard general -theories of education as applying exclusively to that of men, is quite -as strongly marked. - -It seems, therefore, that in attempting to treat of female education, -it is necessary once more to ask what we are aiming at, and to obtain, -if possible, a clear understanding and agreement as to the end in view. -What ought the educators of girls to be trying to make of them? What is -the ideal towards which they ought to direct their efforts, the end to -be desired as the result of their labours? - -To these questions we shall probably receive one or other of two -answers. Many persons will reply, without hesitation, that the one -object to be aimed at, the ideal to be striven after, in the education -of women, is to make good wives and mothers. And the answer is a -reasonable one, so far as it goes, and with explanations. Clearly, -no education would be good which did not tend to make good wives and -mothers; and that which produces the best wives and mothers is likely -to be the best possible education. But, having made this admission, it -is necessary to point out that an education of which the aim is thus -limited, is likely to fail in that aim. That this is so will appear -when the definition is transferred to the education of men. It will be -admitted that a system of education which should produce bad husbands -and fathers would prove itself to be bad; and an education which -produces the best husbands and fathers is likely to be in all respects -the best; because the best man in any capacity must be the man who can -measure most accurately the proportion of all his duties and claims, -giving to each its due share of his time and energy. A man will not -be the better husband and father for neglecting his obligations as a -citizen, or as a man of business. Nor will a woman be the better wife -or mother through ignorance or disregard of other responsibilities. -There is, indeed, a view of male education which, having worldly -advancement for its ultimate object, regards it exclusively as a -means of acquiring professional dexterity; but such a conception -of the purposes of education--however legitimate, in a limited and -subordinate sense--when elevated into the position of the final goal, -must be looked upon rather as a lapse from a higher standard, than as -a principle deliberately maintained by any high-minded and thoughtful -person. In disinterested schemes of male education, it is usually -assumed, as a matter of course, that the great object is to make -the best of a man in every respect, leaving him to adapt himself to -specific relations, according to the state of life into which it shall -please God to call him. - -A similar idea seems to underlie the other, and more comprehensive -reply, which will probably be given to our inquiry, namely, that -the object of female education is to produce women of the best and -highest type, not limited by exclusive regard to any specific functions -hereafter to be discharged by them. This answer at once brings down -upon us the terrible question, What is the best and highest type of -woman? And as this question lies at the root of the whole matter, it -cannot be passed by. Many people, indeed, talk as if it was a matter -on which the world had long since made up its mind, and which might -be assumed to be already decided. But when we ask what it is that the -world has decided, it is difficult to obtain anything like a clear and -unanimous answer. The ideal differs not only among different races, and -in different ages, but most widely in our own country, and in modern -times. Unanimity is scarcely to be found in any class of writers or -thinkers, though on this point, of all others, some sort of agreement, -at least between parents and teachers, would seem to be most essential. -It may perhaps be of service, as a step towards a mutual understanding, -to examine, though necessarily in a very imperfect and cursory manner, -some of the most commonly received notions current on the subject. - - - [Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -IDEALS. - - -There is a theory afloat, extensively prevalent, and probably -influencing many persons who have never stated it definitely to -themselves, that the human ideal is composed of two elements, the -male and the female, each requiring the other as its complement; and -that the realisation of this ideal is to be found in no single human -being, man or woman, but in the union of individuals by marriage, or -by some sort of vague marriage of the whole race. The conception of -character which rests on the broad basis of a common humanity falls -into the background, and there is substituted for it a dual theory, -with distinctly different forms of male and female excellence. Persons -who take this view are naturally governed by it in their conceptions -of what women ought to be. Having framed a more or less definite idea -of the masculine character, in constructing the feminine helpmeet they -look out, if not for the directly opposite, for what they would call -the complementary qualities, and the conclusion quickly follows, that -whatever is manly must be unwomanly, and _vice versâ_. The advocates -of this view usually hold in connexion with it certain doctrines, such -as, that the man is intended for the world, woman for the home; man’s -strength is in the head, woman’s in the heart; the man’s function is -to protect, woman’s to soothe and comfort; men must work, and women -must weep: everywhere we are to have a sharply marked division, often -honestly mistaken for the highest and most real communion. Closely -connected with these separatist doctrines is the double moral code, -with its masculine and feminine virtues, and its separate law of duty -and honour for either sex. - -The general acceptance of the theory is not surprising. It gratifies -the logical instinct; and many persons, hastily taking for granted -that it is the only conception of the relations between men and women -which recognises real distinctions, assume it to be the only one which -satisfies the craving of the æsthetic sense for harmony and fitness. -Unfortunately it is not workable. We make the world even more puzzling -than it is by nature, when we shut our eyes to the facts of daily -life; and we know, as a fact, that women have a part in the world, -and that men are by no means ciphers in the home circle--we know that -a man who should be all head would be as monstrous an anomaly as a -woman all heart--that men require the protection of law, and women -are not so uniformly prosperous as to be independent of comfort and -consolation--men have no monopoly of working, nor women of weeping. The -sort of distinction it is attempted to establish, though not without -an element of truth when rightly understood, is for the most part -artificial, plausible in appearance, but breaking down under the test -of experience. When overstrained, and made the foundation of a divided -moral code, it is misleading in proportion to its attractiveness. - -Happily this theory, though deeply and widely and most subtilely -influential, is not completely dominant. People who go to church, -and who read their Bibles, are perpetually reminded of one type and -exemplar, one moral law. The theory of education of our English Church -recognises no distinction of sex. The baptized child is signed with -the sign of the cross, ‘in token that hereafter he--or she--shall not -be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to -fight under His banner, against sin, the world, and the devil; and to -continue Christ’s faithful soldier and servant to his--or her--life’s -end.’ The sponsors are charged to provide that the child be ‘virtuously -brought up to lead a godly and a Christian life, remembering always -that baptism doth represent unto us our profession, which is to follow -the example of our Saviour Christ, and to be made like unto Him.’ -The catechism in which the child is to be instructed, gives no hint -of separate standards of duty. The catechumens are required to give -an account of their duty towards God and towards their neighbour. -The latter supplies a statement of social obligations, in which, if -anywhere, we should surely find a distinction laid down between the -duties of men and those of women. But no such distinction appears. -In Confirmation, the children, having come to years of discretion, -ratify and confirm in their own persons what has gone before, still -without a hint of divergent duties. The same principle appears in the -formularies of the Scotch Church. The Shorter Catechism teaches that -‘God created man, male and female, after His own image, in knowledge, -righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures;’ and -that ‘man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever.’ - -Here all is clear and consistent. Thoroughly to carry out the Christian -theory would no doubt lead to some startling consequences; but the -theory itself is intelligible and workable. Can the same be said of -any other of the standards or tests by which educators might shape -their work? The only intelligible principle on which modern writers -show anything like unanimity, is that women are intended to supply, and -ought to be made, something which men want. What that may be, it is not -easy to discover. We are met at the outset by a difficulty as to the -nature of the want. We may want what we like, or we may want what will -do us good--and the two qualities are not always combined. Usually, -however, it is taken for granted that, in this case, men like what is -good for them; and it only remains, therefore, to be ascertained what -it is that they like. - -There is no lack of evidence. English literature is full of oracular -information on the subject. Mr Anthony Trollope says: ‘We like women -to be timid.’ Mr Helps complains that ‘women are not taught to be -courageous. Indeed, to some persons courage may seem as unnecessary -for women as Latin and Greek. Yet there are few things that would tend -to make women happier in themselves, and more acceptable to those with -whom they live, than courage.... So far from courage being unfeminine, -there is a peculiar grace and dignity in those beings who have little -active power of attack or defence, passing through danger with a moral -courage which is equal to that of the strongest.’ - -Abundance of applause has been bestowed upon Miss Nightingale and the -other ‘heroines of the Crimea,’ whose enterprise certainly required no -small share of masculine resolution. On the other hand, a writer on -the position of women confesses to ‘an admiration for the commonplace, -unambitious kind of old maid, who is content to do good in her own -neighbourhood, and among the few persons whom she really knows--who -takes a lively interest in the welfare of her nephews and nieces, and -who regales herself occasionally with tea and gossip.’ - -One writer tells us that there are things for which women are -exclusively fitted. ‘In the first place, women have the power of -pleasing. Accomplishments are cultivated as instrumental to the -successful exercise of this power, and therefore are not to be -rejected on the ground that they waste the time that might be given -to mathematics. The common sense of the world has long ago settled -that men are to be pleased, and women are to please. Accordingly women -acquire an agreeable expertness at the piano, and view the acquisition -as a solemn duty.’ Another, in answer to the question, what ought all -young ladies to learn, says, ‘Accomplishments are quite a secondary -matter. If men do not get tired of the songs, they soon get tired of -the singer, if she can do nothing but sing. What is really wanted in a -woman is, that she should be a permanently pleasant companion. So far -as education can give or enhance pleasantness, it does so by making the -view of life wide, the wit ready, the faculty of comprehension vivid.’ - -One authority, delightfully contented with things as they are, assures -us that, ‘humanly speaking, the best sort of British young lady is all -that a woman can be expected to be--civil, intelligent, enthusiastic, -decorous, and, as a rule, prettier than in any other country. We are -perfectly satisfied with what we have got.’ Another, less happily -constituted, asserts that ‘all good judges and good teachers lament -the present system of girls’ education. It is all cramming, and with -such very poor results. After all is over, girls know very little and -care about less. Most girls are decidedly stupid, and what good can -cramming of the most barren and repulsive kind do to stupid girls? We -should consider what we want women to be. That they should be trained -to be good and generous is by far the first thing.... The next thing is -that they should be well-mannered and healthy. The third requisite is, -that they should know how to express themselves--should have a right -standard in judging books and men, and public and private life.... -The fourth requisite is, that they should know how to bear rule in a -household.... These are all the essentials.’ - -Another view is, that a woman should be ‘a gentle tyrant, capricious -indeed, yet generous and kindhearted withal, varying in mood, now -clouded, now serene, though given less to tears than laughter, and -bright with gleams of hopeful sunshine like the spring. She should -be no dunce, no ignoramus, this enviable woman; she should not have -stopped in her education when the governess’s back was turned, nor hold -that to play Mr Chappell’s music creditably is the one aim and end of -all instruction; she should know enough to take her part in topics of -general conversation, to read the _Times_ with interest, and talk -about the leading article without a yawn; she should be fond enough of -learning to find that her leisure seldom hangs heavy on her hands; and -if (though it is almost too much to expect) she has sufficient patience -with the process of induction to be able to reason on any subject for -two minutes together without jumping to a conclusion either way, we -may well congratulate ourselves on having drawn the great prize in the -lottery of life.’ Mr Coventry Patmore seems to prefer that the gentle -tyranny and the capriciousness should be on the other side. - - ‘He who toils all day, - And comes home hungry, tired or cold, - And feels ’twould do him good to scold - His wife a little, let him trust - Her love, and boldly be unjust, - And not care till she cries! How prove - In any other way his love - Till soothed in mind by meat and rest? - If, after that, she’s well caress’d, - And told how good she is to bear - His humour, fortune makes it fair. - Women like men to be like men, - That is, at least, just now and then!’ - -The wife is here represented as rejoicing in her husband’s ill-temper, -as affording her an opportunity of dispelling it by soothing arts, -a practical illustration, it may be observed, of the complementary -theory, the woman’s patience actually demanding a man’s sulkiness to -practise upon. Contrast Mr Patmore’s ‘Jane’ with Mr Tennyson’s ‘Isabel.’ - - ‘Eyes not down-dropt nor over-bright, but fed - With the clear-pointed flame of chastity, - Clear, without heat, undying, tended by - Pure vestal thoughts in the translucent fane - Of her still spirit; locks not wide-dispread, - Madonna-wise on either side her head; - Sweet lips whereon perpetually did reign - The summer calm of golden charity, - Were fixed shadows of thy fixed mood, - Revered Isabel, the crown and head, - The stately flower of female fortitude, - Of perfect wifehood and pure lowlihead. - - ‘The intuitive decision of a bright - And thorough-edged intellect to part - Error from crime; a prudence to withhold; - The laws of marriage character’d in gold - Upon the blanched tablets of her heart; - A love still burning upward, giving light - To read those laws; an accent very low - In blandishment, but a most silver flow - Of subtle-paced counsel in distress, - Right to the heart and brain, though undescried, - Winning its way with extreme gentleness - Through all the outworks of suspicious pride; - A courage to endure and to obey; - A hate of gossip parlance, and of sway, - Crown’d Isabel, through all her placid life, - The queen of marriage, a most perfect wife.’ - -The self-defence which Shakespeare puts into the mouth of Queen -Katherine describes a different type:-- - - ‘Heaven witness - I have been to you a true and humble wife, - At all times to your will conformable; - Ever in fear to kindle your dislike, - Yea, subject to your countenance; glad or sorry, - As I saw it incline. When was the hour - I ever contradicted your desire, - Or made it not mine too? or which of your friends - Have I not strove to love, although I knew - He were mine enemy? what friend of mine - That had to him derived your anger, did I - Continue in my liking? nay, gave notice - He was from thence discharged?’ - -This picture of trembling devotion, of ‘distrust qualified by fear,’ -appears in a selection called ‘Beautiful Poetry,’ under the heading -‘A True Wife.’ But this kind of wife would be positively disliked by -some husbands. It has been said that ‘perhaps--such is masculine -nature--a wife with more knowledge, more fixity of thought, and more -general mental power than one’s-self might be “a blessing in disguise.” -But one who is goose enough to sympathise at random on subjects of -which she knows little or nothing, because it is “feminine” to do -so, is a nuisance _not_ in disguise.... For our own part, we would -just as soon have the sympathy of a chameleon as that of a woman who -lives completely in particulars, and is quite destitute of power to -appreciate a universal principle.’ - -These are but a few samples, culled almost at random from the mass of -contradictory evidence to be found in English literature. Conceive a -governess or schoolmistress, duly impressed with the obligation of -training her pupils to be accomplished pleasers of men, and trying to -fashion for them a model out of such materials! Must not the result be -simply blank despair? The same conclusion might be reached by a shorter -process. Men are supposed to marry the sort of women they like. But -looking upon the infinite variety of wives to be met with in society, -could any one generalise from them a model wife, who might serve as a -pattern to educators? Would any man wish for a wife so modelled? Might -it not be as well to abandon this distracting theory--to discard the -shifting standard of opinion, and to fall back upon the old doctrine -which teaches educators to seek in every human soul for that divine -image which it is their work to call out and to develope? - -The educational question depends, as we have seen, on the larger -question of women’s place in the social order. Are they to be regarded, -and to regard themselves, primarily as children of God, members of -Christ, and heirs of the kingdom of heaven, and, secondarily, as -wives, mothers, daughters, sisters? or are the family relationships -to overshadow the divine and the social, and to be made the basis -of a special moral code, applying to women only? According to the -first view, all human duties--everything that is lovely and of good -report--all moral virtues and all Christian graces are inculcated and -enforced by the highest sanctions. An ascetic contempt for wifely and -motherly and daughterly ties is no part of the Christian ideal. But the -view which teaches women to think of family claims as embracing their -whole duty--which bids them choose to serve man rather than God--sets -before them a standard of obligation which, in proportion as it is -exclusively adhered to, vitiates not their lives only, but those of the -men on whom their influence might be of a far different sort. That such -a theory is radically inconsistent with the divine order might easily -be shown. That its action on society is profoundly demoralising is a -lesson taught by mournful experience. - - - [Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THINGS AS THEY ARE. - - -Whether it is owing to the prevailing confusion of ideas as to -the objects of female education, or to whatever cause it may be -attributed, there can be little doubt that the thing itself is held -in slight esteem. No one indeed would go so far as to say that it is -not worth while to educate girls at all. _Some_ education is held to -be indispensable, but how much is an open question; and the general -indifference operates in the way of continually postponing it to other -claims, and, above all, in shortening the time allotted to systematic -instruction and discipline. Parents are ready to make sacrifices to -secure a tolerably good and complete education for their sons; they -do not consider it necessary to do the same for their daughters. Or -perhaps it would be putting it more fairly to say, that a very brief -and attenuated course of instruction, beginning late and ending early, -is believed to constitute a good and complete education for a woman. - -It is usually assumed that when a boy’s school education has once -begun, which it does at a very early age, it is to go on steadily -till he is a man. A boy who leaves school at sixteen or eighteen, -either enters upon some technical course of training for a business -or profession, or he passes on to the University, and from thence to -active work of some sort or other. In other words, he is _in statu -pupillari_ until general education and professional instruction are -superseded by the larger education supplied by the business of life. -In the education of girls no such regular order appears. A very usual -course seems to be for girls to spend their early years in a haphazard -kind of way, either at home, or in not very regular attendance at an -inferior school; after which they are sent for a year or two to a -school or college to finish. The heads of schools complain with one -voice that they are called upon to ‘finish’ what has never been begun, -and that to attempt to give anything like a sound education, in the -short time at their disposal, is perfectly hopeless. But, to take the -most favourable case,--that of a girl so well prepared that she is able -to make good use of the teaching provided in a first-rate school,--just -at the moment when she is making real, substantial progress, she is -taken away. At sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen, as the case may be, -her education comes to an abrupt pause. When she marries, it may be -said to begin again; but between leaving school and marriage there is -usually an interval of at least three or four years, if not a much -longer period. These years a youth spends, as has been before said, -in preparation for his future career. In the case of girls, no such -preparation seems to be considered necessary. - -Is this reasonable? Apart from immediate pecuniary necessity, is it -desirable that the regular education of women should be considered as -finished at the age of eighteen? If we are to take the almost universal -practice as an answer, it is a very decided affirmative. Even girls -whose parents must be fully aware that they will eventually have to -maintain themselves, seldom receive any adequate training for their -future work. Those whose fathers intend to provide for them, are still -less likely to be supposed to want any further education after they -leave school. - -So fixed and wide-spread a custom must have had, at some time or other, -even if it has not now, a meaning and a justification. And this may -perhaps be found in the fact that our mothers and our grandmothers were -accustomed to undergo at home, after leaving school, what was in fact -an apprenticeship to household management. It seems indeed at one time -to have been customary to apprentice girls of what we now call the -middle class, to trades,--as we find George Herbert urging his Country -Parson not to put his children ‘into vain trades and unbefitting the -reverence of their father’s calling, such as are taverns for men and -lacemaking for women,’--but even where there was no apprenticeship to -a specific business, the round of household labours would supply a -very considerable variety of useful occupation. An active part in these -labours would naturally devolve upon the daughters of the house, who -would thus be forming habits of industry and order invaluable in after -life. - -Probably a great many fathers, profoundly ignorant as they are of the -lives of women, cherish a vague imagination that the same kind of -thing is going on still. If Providence should at any time lead them -to spend a week in the society of their daughters, under ordinary -circumstances--not when illness has altered the usual current of -affairs--they would find that this is very far from being the case. -That great male public, which spends its days in chambers and offices -and shops, knows little of what is going on at home. Writers in -newspapers and magazines are fond of talking about the nursery, as if -every household contained a never-ending supply of young children, on -whom the grown-up daughters might be practising the art of bringing up. -Others have a great deal to say about the kitchen, assuming it to be -desirable that the ladies of the house should supersede, or at least -assist, the cook. In that case, where there is a mother with two or -three daughters, we should have four or five cooks. The undesirableness -of such a multiplication of artists need scarcely be pointed out.[1] -Needlework, again, occupies a much larger space in the imagination of -writers than it does in practical life. Except in families where there -are children, there is very little plain needlework to be done, and -what there is, many people make a point of giving out, on the ground -that it is better to pay a half-starved needlewoman for work done, than -to give her the money in the form of alms. - -Having mentioned needlework, cookery, and the care of children, we -seem to have come to an end of the household work in which ladies are -supposed to take part. If young women of eighteen and upwards are -learning anything in their daily life at home, it must be something -beside and beyond the acquirement of dexterity in ordinary domestic -arts. - -Many fathers, however, are no doubt aware that their daughters have -very little to do. But that seems to them anything but a hardship. -They wish they had a little less to do themselves, and can imagine all -sorts of interesting pursuits to which they would betake themselves if -only they had a little more leisure. Ladies, it may be said, have their -choice, and they must evidently prefer idleness, or they would find -something to do. If this means that half-educated young women do not -choose steady work when they have no inducement whatever to overcome -natural indolence, it is no doubt true. Women are not stronger-minded -than men, and a commonplace young woman can no more work steadily -without motive or discipline than a commonplace young man. It has been -remarked that ‘the active, voluntary part of man is very small, and if -it were not economised by a sleepy kind of habit, its results would be -null. We could not do every day out of our own heads all we have to do. -We should accomplish nothing; for all our energies would be frittered -away in minor attempts at petty improvement.’ The case of young women -could scarcely have been better stated. Every day they have to do out -of their own heads nearly all that they have to do. They accomplish -little; for their energies are frittered away in minor attempts at -petty improvement. - -How true this is, the friends and counsellors of girls could abundantly -testify. There is no point on which schoolmistresses are more unanimous -and more emphatic than on the difficulty of knowing what to do with -girls after leaving school. People who have not been brought into -intimate converse with young women have little idea of the extent to -which they suffer from perplexities of conscience. ‘The discontent -of the modern girl’ is not mere idle self-torture. Busy men and -women--and people with disciplined minds--can only, by a certain strain -of the imagination, conceive the situation. If they at all entered into -it, they could not have the heart to talk as they do. For the case of -the modern girl is peculiarly hard in this, that she has fallen upon an -age in which idleness is accounted disgraceful. The social atmosphere -rings with exhortations to act, act in the living present. Everywhere -we hear that true happiness is to be found in work--that there can be -no leisure without toil--that people who do nothing are unfruitful -fig-trees which cumber the ground. And in this atmosphere the modern -girl lives and breathes. She is not a stone, and she does not live -underground. She hears people talk--she listens to sermons--she reads -books. And in her reading she comes across such passages as the -following:-- - -‘It is a real pleasure to me to find that you are taking steadily -to a profession, without which I scarcely see how a man can live -honestly. That is, I use the term “profession” in rather a large sense, -not as simply denoting certain callings which a man follows for his -maintenance, but rather a definite field of duty, which the nobleman -has as much as the tailor, but which he has not, who having an income -large enough to keep him from starving, hangs about upon life, merely -following his own caprices and fancies; _quod factu pessimum est_.’[2] - -Or again:-- - -‘N’est-il pas vrai que la fadeur de la vie est à la fois le grand -malheur et le grand danger? Il y a une douzaine d’années, un orateur -s’écriait à la tribune: “La France s’ennuie.” Et moi je dis: L’humanité -s’ennuie, et son ennui ne date ni d’aujourd’hui ni d’hier, quoique -peut-être il n’ait jamais été plus visible qu’en ce moment. Sans la -poursuite d’un but idéal, toute vie devient inevitablement insipide, -même jusqu’au dégout. Or, comptez parmi vos connaissances les personnes -qui poursuivent un but élevé. Beaucoup vivent sans savoir pourquoi, -uniquement, je pense, parce que chaque matin ramène le soleil. Que -de femmes, si vous exceptez les mères qui se donnent à leur famille, -que de femmes, hélas, dont la vie se passe entière dans de futiles -occupations, ou dans des conversations plus futiles encore! Et l’on -s’étonne que, rongées d’ennui, elles recherchent avec frénésie toutes -les distractions imaginables! Elles accusent la monotonie de leur -existence d’être la cause de ce vague malaise; la vraie cause est -ailleurs, elle est dans la fadeur intolérable, non d’une vie dépourvue -d’événements et d’aventures, mais d’une vie dont on n’entrevoit pas -la raison ni le but. On se sent vivre sans qu’on y soit pour quelque -chose, et cette vie inconsciente, inutile, absurde, inspire un -mécontentement trop fondé.’[3] - -Such things the modern girl reads, and every word is confirmed by -her own experience. With the practical English mind, which she has -inherited from her father, she applies it all to herself. She seeks -for counsel, and she finds it. She is bidden to ‘look around her’--to -do the duty that lies nearest--to teach in the schools, or visit the -poor--to take up a pursuit--to lay down a course of study and stick -to it. She looks around her, and sees no particular call to active -exertion. The duties that lie in the way are swallowed up by an -energetic mother or elder sister; very possibly she has no vocation -for philanthropy--and the most devoted philanthropists are the most -urgent in warning off people who lack the vocation--or she lives in -a village where the children are better taught than she could teach -them, and the poor are already too much visited by the clergyman’s -family; she feels no sort of impulse to take up any particular pursuit, -or to follow out a course of study; and so long as she is quiet and -amiable, and does not get out of health, nobody wants her to do -anything. Her relations and friends--her world--are quite satisfied -that she should ‘hang about upon life, merely following her own’--or -their own--‘caprices and fancies.’ The advice given, so easy to offer, -so hard to follow, presupposes exactly what is wanting, a formed and -disciplined character, able to stand alone, and to follow steadily a -predetermined course, without fear of punishment, or hope of reward. -Ought we to wonder if, in the great majority of cases, girls let -themselves go drifting down the stream, despising themselves, but -listlessly yielding to what seems to be their fate? - -An appeal to natural guides is most often either summarily dismissed, -or received with reproachful astonishment. It is considered a just -cause for surprise and disappointment, that well brought up girls, -surrounded with all the comforts of home, should have a wish or a -thought extending beyond its precincts. And, perhaps, it is only -natural that parents should be slow to encourage their daughters in -aspirations after any duties and interests besides those of ministering -to their comfort and pleasure. In taking for granted that this is the -only object, other than that of marriage, for which women were created, -they are but adopting the received sentiment of society. No doubt, too, -they honestly believe that, in keeping their daughters to themselves -till they marry, they are doing the best thing for them, as well as -pleasing themselves. If the daughters take a different view, parents -think it is because they are young and inexperienced, and incompetent -to judge. The fact is, it is the parents who are inexperienced. -Their youth was different in a hundred ways from the youth of this -generation; and the experience of thirty years ago is far from being -infallible in dealing with the difficulties and perplexities of the -present. No doubt young people are ignorant, and want guidance. But -they should be helped and advised, not silenced. Parents take upon -themselves a heavy responsibility when they hastily crush the longing -after a larger and more purposeful life. - -That such an impulse is worthy of respect can scarcely be denied. -The existence of capacities is in itself an indication that they are -intended for some good purpose. Conscious power is not a burden, to -be borne with patience, but a gift, for the due use of which the -possessor rightly feels accountable. To have a soul which can be -satisfied with vanities is not eminently virtuous and Christian, but -the reverse. To be awake to responsibilities, sensitive in conscience, -quickly responsive to all kindling influences, is a sign that education -has, so far, done a good work. A flowing river is no doubt more -troublesome to manage than a tranquil pool; but pools, if let alone too -long, are apt to become noxious, as well as useless. The current may -require to be wisely directed; but that there should be a current of -being, wanting to set itself somewhere, is surely a cause for thankful -rejoicing. It is an unfortunate misunderstanding of the true state -of the case that makes parents sigh over what might well be their -happiness and pride: one more exemplification of the sluggishness -which hates nothing so bitterly as to be called upon to think--to -consider a new idea--perhaps to go farther, and take a step out of the -beaten track. It is much easier, no doubt, to say to a daughter who -comes to you with her original notions--‘My dear child, put it out of -your head directly; it cannot be thought of for a moment’--than it -would be to hear her patiently, to consider how far her crude ideas -are practicable, to help her, so far as may be, in carrying them out. -And one ought not to wonder that the easiest course is the one most -commonly chosen. How far it may, or may not, be the duty of daughters -to sacrifice their own wishes to the temporary pleasure of those to -whom they owe so much, is a separate question. It is at least well for -parents to know that, far more than they are at all aware of, it is -felt to be a sacrifice, and that they must accept it as such, if at -all.[4] - -The representation here given is, of course, not universally -applicable. It is quite possible that in some senses, and to some -persons, an apparently empty life may be easier, and even richer, than -one of toil. There are people to whom the Happy Valley kind of life is -by no means intolerable; and even earnest-minded and conscientious -girls, urged by a strong sense of the heinousness of discontent, often -manage to crush troublesome aspirations, and make themselves happy. -There is something undignified in being miserable, without a just and -intelligible cause to show for it; and many young women, capable of -higher things, accommodate themselves with a considerable degree of -cheerfulness to a narrow and unsatisfying round of existence. Nor is -it intended to represent ladies as habitually doing nothing. On the -contrary, they have many resources. Among them are various arts and -handicrafts, gardening, letter-writing, and much reading. Of these, -the last is perhaps the most popular and the most delusive. A girl -who is ‘very fond of reading’ is considered to be happily suited with -never-failing occupation, and no thought is taken as to what is to -come of her reading. On this subject, the observations of Miss Aikin, -herself an experienced reader, are worth considering. ‘Continual -reading,’ she says, ‘if desultory, and without a definite object, -favours indolence, unsettles opinions, and of course enfeebles the -mental and moral energies.’ And Mr Robertson of Brighton, speaking in -reference to girls, remarks that they ‘read too much, and think too -little. I will answer for it that there are few girls of eighteen who -have not read more books than I have.... That multifarious reading -weakens the mind more than doing nothing; for it becomes a necessity -at last, like smoking, and is an excuse for the mind to lie dormant, -whilst thought is poured in, and runs through, a clear stream, over -unproductive gravel, on which not even mosses grow. It is the idlest of -all idlenesses, and leaves more of impotency than any other.’ - -The same might be said of all merely _dilettante_ occupation. Its fault -is simply that it _is dilettante_--literally a pastime. It may as well -be done, if nothing else turns up, and that is all. And this drawback, -belonging to nearly all the ordinary work of young women, they are by -themselves unable to overcome. Of course, the case is partly in their -own hands, and those who are by nature abnormally energetic, will make -a career for themselves in spite of difficulties. Where the inward -impulse is irrepressible, it becomes a lantern to the feet, and a lamp -unto the path, making the way of duty plain and unmistakable. But for -the few whose course is thus illumined, there will be the many hovering -in uneasy doubt, their consciences and intellects just lively enough -to make them restless and unhappy, not sufficiently clear in their -minds as to right and wrong, either to be nerved for vigorous action, -or to accept contentedly the conventional duty of quiescence. There -must be something wrong in social regulations which make a demand for -exceptional wisdom and strength on the part of any particular class; -and that such a demand is made upon average young women is sufficiently -clear. What society says to them seems to be something to this effect. -Either you have force enough to win a place in the world, in the face -of heavy discouragement, or you have not. If you have, the discipline -of the struggle is good for you; if you have not, you are not worth -troubling about. Is not this a hard thing to say to commonplace -girls, not professing to be better or stronger than their neighbours? -Why should their task be made, by social and domestic arrangements, -peculiarly and needlessly difficult? And why should it be taken for -granted that, if they fail, they must be extraordinarily silly or -self-indulgent? More than any other class, at the same age, they are -exempted from direction and control--liberally gifted with the kind -of freedom enjoyed by the denizens of a village pound. Within their -prescribed sphere, they may wander at will, and if they ‘there small -scope for action see,’ it is explained to them that they must not ‘for -this give room to discontent;’ nor let their time ‘be spent in idly -dreaming’ how they might be - - ‘More free - From outward hindrance or impediment. - For presently this hindrance thou shalt find - That without which all goodness were a task - So slight, that virtue never could grow strong.’ - -In reply to such admonitions they are tempted to inquire what task, -other than that of dreaming, is set before them--what virtue, always -excepting that one virtue of passive submission, has any chance of -growing strong under such conditions. The ‘slow,’ who sink into dull -inertia, and the ‘fast,’ who get rid of their superfluous energy -in silly extravagances, have alike the excuse, that at the moment -when they need the support of a routine explained and justified by a -reasonable purpose, discipline and stimulus are at once withdrawn, -leaving in their place no external support beyond the trivial demands -and restraints of conventional society. - -It may seem that an exaggerated importance is here attached to the -interval between school and marriage; and if the considerations -brought forward had reference to this period only, the charge would be -just. But rightly to estimate the value of these years, we must bear in -mind that they are the spring-time of life--the season of blossom, on -which the fruit of the future depends. It is then that an impress is -given to character which lasts through life. Opportunities then thrown -away or misused can scarcely be recovered in later years. And it has -seemed necessary to dwell upon the existing tenour of young women’s -lives, because, in dealing with the question of extending the duration -of female education, we must be largely influenced by our conception of -the alternative involved in leaving things as they are. It has been -said that the end of education is ‘to form a nation of living, orderly -men.’ If it has been shown that the course now pursued tends to make a -large part of the nation inanimate and disorderly, a case would seem to -be established for urging efforts at improvement. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] As this pursuit is sometimes recommended with apparent seriousness, -it may be as well to point out to the uninitiated, that if mistresses -are to do the cooking, masters must dine alone. Dinners cannot be -cooked an hour beforehand, and left to serve themselves up. In this, -as in other arts, the finishing touches are among the most important. -This does not mean, of course, that a mistress may not give directions -and occasional help, or that it may not be a very good thing for girls -to lend a hand, now and then, by way of learning to cook. That is a -different thing from regularly spending a considerable part of their -daily lives in the kitchen. - -[2] Letter to Dr Greenhill, an old pupil, in ‘Life of Dr Arnold,’ p. -392. - -[3] Sermons par T. Colani.--_Deuxième Recueil_, p. 293. - -[4] ‘M. de Parthenau would have been surprised had any one suggested -that this peaceful life was less to the taste of his children than -himself. Like so many excellent fathers, he sincerely believed that -because it suited him, it must suit them. He had forgotten his own -stormy youth, to find himself happy by his fireside, and it never -occurred to him to ask, “Is my daughter happy?” So much the better, -since he could have done nothing; and Thérèse was the last person to -make him suspect that she was not perfectly satisfied. Yet, whoever had -seen her, would have thought her destined for a wider sphere than that -of the narrow world where she strove to be content. It had not always -been so. Now, however, she stifled all the aspirations, the radiant -visions which once haunted her, under the crowd of occupations which -she found for herself. She silenced the cry of her intellect, and yet -heard it always; perhaps because she shunned as snares the natural -outlets which presented themselves, refusing each rare opportunity of -leaving home, lest she should return discontented; and putting away -books and pencils, that she might have no interests but those of her -father and her poor dependents. It was an honest, mistaken effort -to do right; and the confessor, who stood to her in the place of a -conscience, approved it--nay, urged it on her. It was strange, this -mute, ceaseless conflict, known only in its full extent to herself, and -hidden under so monotonous and peaceful a life!’--_Sydonie’s Dowry_, p. -24. - -May not something like a counterpart of this mute, ceaseless conflict -be hidden under many a monotonous and peaceful English life? - - - [Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THINGS AS THEY MIGHT BE. - - -Supposing so much to be granted, it will be asked, What can be done? -Clearly, girls cannot be kept at school indefinitely till they marry. -When they leave school, say at eighteen, what are they to do next? -The answer must chiefly depend on circumstances. Where the resources -of the parents are such that there is a reasonable certainty of an -abundant provision for the future, an education corresponding with that -given by the universities to young men--in other words, ‘the education -of a lady,’ considered irrespectively of any specific uses to which -it may afterwards be turned--would appear to be the desideratum. And -clearly ‘the education of a lady’ ought to mean the highest and the -finest culture of the time. The accurate habits of thought and the -intellectual polish by which the scholar is distinguished, ought to -be no less carefully sought in the training of women than in that -of men. This would be true, even if only for the sake of the charm -which high culture gives to social intercourse, a charm attainable -in no other way. But apart from this consideration, the duties of -women of the higher class are such as to demand varied knowledge -as well as a disciplined mind and character. Difficult cases in -social ethics frequently arise, on which women are obliged to act -and to guide the action of others. However incompetent they may be, -they cannot escape the responsibility of judging and deciding. And -though natural sagacity and the happy impulses of which we hear so -much often come to their aid, prejudice and mistaken impulses ought -also to be taken into the account as disturbing elements of a very -misleading kind. In dealing with social difficulties, the value of a -cultivated judgment, able to unravel entangled evidence, and to give -due weight to a great variety of conflicting considerations, would -seem to be obvious enough. It would be well worth while to exchange -the wonderful unconscious instinct, by which women are supposed to -leap to right conclusions, no one knows how, for the conscious power -of looking steadily and comprehensively at the whole facts of a case, -and thereupon shaping a course of action, with a clear conception of -its probable issues. Of course, a merely literary education will not -give this power. Knowledge of the world and of human nature, only to be -gained by observation and experience, go farther than mere knowledge -of books. But the habit of impartiality and deliberation--of surveying -a wide field of thought--and of penetrating, so far as human eye can -see, into the heart of things--which is promoted by genuine study even -of books alone--tends to produce an attitude of mind favourable for -the consideration of complicated questions of any sort. A comparison -between the judgment of a scholar and that of an uneducated man on -matters requiring delicate discrimination and grasp of thought, shows -the degree in which the intellect may be fitted by training for tasks -of this nature. A large and liberal culture is probably also the best -corrective of the tendency to take petty views of things, and on this -account is especially to be desired for women on whom it devolves to -give the tone to ‘society.’ - -How far it may be desirable or justifiable for women to take part -in political affairs is a vexed question, into which it is the less -necessary here to enter, inasmuch as it is evident that the same -kind of intellectual training which forms the groundwork of the -education of a statesman is needed for other purposes. Women who think -at all can scarcely help thinking about the condition of the poor, -and to arrive at sound conclusions on so vast a subject involves an -acquaintance more or less complete with almost every consideration -which comes within the range of the politician. Unpaid work, such as -the management of hospitals, workhouses, prisons and reformatories, -and charitable societies, naturally devolves upon the leisurely -classes, and offers a field in which cultivated women may fitly labour. -And the moment they enter upon such work, or attempt in any way to -alleviate the sufferings of the poor, they find that a strong, clear -head is as necessary as a warm heart. The problem how to deal with -pauperism--the very same difficulty which has hitherto baffled the -wisest of our statesmen--meets them at the threshold of their works. -The encouragement or discouragement of the pauper spirit depends -in a great degree on the discretion of district visitors and other -charitable agents; and the women who act as the almoners of the rich -and the advisers of the poor need for their difficult task something -more than mere gushing benevolence. Or to take national education. ‘My -Lords’ make codes, revise and re-revise them, and Members of Parliament -exhaust themselves in debates upon them; but a large share of their -practical working devolves upon the wives and daughters of the clergy, -and other ladies. Similarly of sanitary reform, which now attracts much -attention. Sanitary laws and regulations have been enacted, and no -doubt with good effect, but boards of health and inspectors can do but -little without the intelligent co-operation of the women, on whom it -depends to enforce personal and household hygiene in every family. Many -other social questions might be mentioned on which women are required -to know and to act. It would, in fact, be difficult to point out any -measure of domestic policy which has been brought before Parliament -during the last few years, on which it is not as directly important -that right opinions should be formed by women as by men. - -The higher education already spoken of would serve as a preparation -for literary work, and as a groundwork for more definite technical -instruction in every department of art. And, lastly, an extended course -of study is, above all things, necessary for those who are to undertake -the office of teaching others. The incompleteness of the education -of schoolmistresses and governesses is a drawback which no amount of -intelligence and goodwill can enable them entirely to overcome. It -is obvious that for those who have to impart knowledge the primary -requisite is to possess it; and it is one of the great difficulties -of female teachers that they are called upon to instruct others, -while very inadequately instructed themselves. The more earnest and -conscientious devote their leisure hours to continued study, and, no -doubt, much may be done in this way; but it is at the cost of overwork, -often involving the sacrifice of health, to say nothing of the -disadvantages of working alone, without a teacher, often without good -books, and without the wholesome stimulus of companionship. - -These considerations lead up to the more distinctly professional side -of the question, that which relates to the pursuit of any particular -calling as a means of maintenance. Every one knows that there are -women, some even of the upper class, who must earn their own living; -and this being admitted, it will scarcely be disputed that they ought -to be put into the best way of doing it. The thing to find out seems to -be what professions are there, taking the word as including business of -all sorts, to which they might betake themselves with a fair prospect -of success? Perhaps we may gain some light by looking into history, and -seeing what went on in earlier times, before the advance of science, -with its infinite subdivisions of labour, had made it almost impossible -to carry on any profitable pursuit within the precincts of home. - -Confining ourselves, for the sake of brevity, to English history, we -find among the ordinary avocations of women Medicine and Surgery, -including the compounding and dispensing of drugs; the service of the -afflicted and distressed in mind, body, or estate; farming; marketing; -and a variety of domestic manufactures, too numerous to recite in -detail. - -Would the same pursuits, under regulations adapted to altered -conditions, be proper for women now? Among those which have been -mentioned, that of Medicine appears peculiarly desirable, as affording -scope for the exercise of the highest gifts, in a field in which -women’s close acquaintance with the details of domestic life would -be a valuable adjunct. The medical profession is now accessible to -any competent woman who is able to defray the cost of instruction. -The licence of the Court of Apothecaries, which constitutes a legal -qualification for general practice, is given on passing the required -examinations. There is no difficulty in the way of apprenticeship, and -lectures and hospital practice are attainable, though at a higher cost -to individual students, than would be incurred if the expense were -divided among several. The objection often urged against the practice -of medicine by women, that they have no confidence in each other, and -that a medical woman would therefore find herself without patients, -can only be conclusively answered by facts. _À priori_, there is some -reason to believe, that, always assuming the education to be equally -thorough and equally well attested, the services of a lady will be -preferred; but till women have full opportunity of choice, it is -impossible to say positively what they will choose. The experience of a -few years will decide. In the meantime, Miss Garrett’s very remarkable -success is at least encouraging to other aspirants in the same field. - -Closely allied to the practice of medicine are the functions of -educated women in ministering to the poor, the insane, and the -criminal. These services, so far as they are paid, are now chiefly -carried on in workhouses, hospitals, reformatories, and penitentiaries. -The superintendence of nurses and the offices of matron and -schoolmistress are in the hands of women, and there seems room for -further development in this direction. It may be a question for -consideration whether in some cases it might not be desirable to -substitute the services of an educated Christian lady for those of the -chaplain. The duties of a workhouse chaplain are thus defined by the -Poor-Law Board:-- - - -‘ART. 211. _Duties of the Chaplain._ - - ‘The following shall be the duties of the chaplain:-- - - ‘No. 1. To read prayers, and preach a sermon to the paupers and - other inmates of the workhouse on every Sunday, and on Good Friday - and Christmas-day, unless the guardians, with the consent of the - commissioners, may otherwise direct. - - ‘No. 2. To examine the children, and to catechise such as belong to - the Church of England, at least once in every month, and to make a - record of the same, and state the dates of his attendance, the general - progress and condition of the children, and the moral and religious - state of the inmates generally, in a book to be kept for that purpose, - to be laid before the guardians at their next ordinary meeting, and to - be termed “The Chaplain’s Report.” - - ‘No. 3. To visit the sick paupers, and to administer religious - consolation to them in the workhouse, at such periods as the guardians - may appoint, and when applied to for that purpose by the master or - matron.’ - -The work laid out under the two last clauses might certainly be done -as well, in some respects perhaps better, by a duly qualified lady; -and on the face of it, there seems to be no particular reason why -paupers should not attend their parish church and be visited by the -clergyman like other parishioners. The desirableness of workhouse -visiting by ladies has been much discussed, and is now beginning to -be acknowledged. The presence of a lady in an official capacity might -be still more valuable, both as being permanent and as waiving the -difficulties which are so apt to come in the way of philanthropic -interference in state institutions. A lady appointed expressly by -the guardians themselves could scarcely provoke jealousy, and her -representations, based on thorough knowledge of the matter in hand, and -modified by sympathy with the difficulties and scruples of authorities, -as well as with the claims of the suffering, would be comparatively -exempt from the charge of officiousness. That she would naturally -gather round her such helpers as she might need in an unofficial -capacity is an obvious advantage. The same observations would seem to -be applicable to hospitals and prisons, and all public institutions -where women are employed in a subordinate capacity. That the presence -and the active influence of a lady, by whatever name she might be -called, would be a valuable element, wherever the sick in mind or body -are congregated together, is generally admitted, though the theory has -not in England been acted upon to any considerable extent. - -Next in our enumeration comes the business of farming. The social -prejudice against useful occupations of any sort, as distinguished -from those which are supposed to be ornamental, has here been actively -at work. The superintendence of farming operations is still, however, -largely shared by women, especially in the north of England. In -commercial dealings there is a good deal of work to be done which could -not, at any rate in our present very imperfect state of civilisation, -be properly undertaken by women. There are, however, branches of -mercantile and quasi-mercantile business, including that profession -of modern growth which has been called ‘management,’--in which wise -arrangements, carefully made, are all that is required to make them -suitable. In almost every kind of business, wholesale and retail, the -book-keeping and the correspondence might be very fitly carried on by -competent women. - -With regard to the manufactures which now form so vast a portion of our -national industry, a great revolution has taken place, and it is here, -above all, that a re-adjustment of social and domestic arrangements, -involving some innovation on conventional ideas and usages, seems to -be imperatively needed. Down to a comparatively recent period, every -household was a workshop. It is within the present generation that -the sewing-machine has laid hold of the last remaining implement of -domestic manufacture. The home is no longer a manufactory. Spinning, -weaving, knitting, sewing, all are gone, or going. What has become -of the busy hands and brains? The hands are gone into factories, the -brains are idle. We cannot call back the hands, and again set them to -work in the domestic manufactory. Might it not be possible to bring -them again under womanly influence, and at the same time find fit -work for the brains, by introducing women of the employing class into -factories? Might we not restore the old order of things, under which -the payers of wages and the receivers of wages worked together, to -the mutual advantage of both--by replacing women in the position of -directors and overlookers of female labour? It is vain to say that a -factory is not a fit place for a lady. If it is not, it ought to be -made so. If the moral atmosphere of a workshop is necessarily debasing, -no human being ought to be exposed to its influence. But is it -_necessarily_ debasing? Are machines in themselves demoralising? What -is the moral difference between a spinning-jenny and a distaff? Are -knitting-needles refined, and knitting-machines coarse? Is there any -reason, in the nature of things, why the moral tone of a factory should -be less pure and elevating than that of the home? Is it not rather -that we want, in our modern workshops, the influence conveyed by -daily intercourse between women to whom wealth has given the means of -culture and refinement, and the labourers whom poverty obliges to work -with their hands, but who need not therefore part with any essential -feminine attribute? If, in all the works where women are employed in -the inferior departments, the daughters of the masters were instructed -in the business, made so thoroughly conversant with it as to be able to -take a real part in its direction, two advantages would be gained. The -higher class of workers would acquire larger sympathies, more living -interests, increased aptitude for affairs, and an exhilarating sense -of usefulness--of having a place in the world from which they would -be missed if they were withdrawn from it. The lower class would, on -their part, be elevated by the contact with a genuine refinement, not -too ‘fine’ to be useful. They would see that a lady is a lady, not in -virtue of her costly dress and luxurious habits, but in the gentleness, -the truthfulness, and the sensitive sympathy, which are among the most -precious fruits of high culture. And it can scarcely be doubted that -such an example, such an ideal, brought within the immediate and daily -contemplation of women and girls of the labouring class, would be more -effectual in rectifying their standard of morals and refinement than -any philanthropic agency, however well-intentioned and judicious, -which could be brought to bear from without. In some cases there might -be difficulties in the way of teaching women the practical parts of a -manufacture, but there can be few businesses in which some place might -not be found for them. Even where female labourers are not employed in -the lower departments--though there the case is the strongest--women -might often take part in the direction, with great advantage to -themselves, and at least without injury to any one else. - -It appears, then, that a transference of the scene of action, and an -accommodation of old principles and practices to new circumstances, is -the task of the present generation, and the true answer to the appeal -of women for something to do. The change proposed, so far from being -a departure from the old ways, is, in fact, a recurrence to them. The -advocates of things as they are, are the innovators. Those who sigh -after things as they might be, are the old-fashioned people, eager to -retain, with only such modifications as advancing civilisation has made -indispensable, all that is best in things as they were. - - - [Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -PROFESSIONAL AND DOMESTIC LIFE. - - -An obvious rejoinder to the foregoing suggestions will at once present -itself. It will be said that professions and business may be all very -well--may indeed be best--for single women, but that sooner or later -the great majority marry, and any plan of life which fails to recognise -this contingency is unpractical and absurd. This is most true. We have -to deal with facts; and it is a most important, though not the sole -question, How would a higher education and professional training act -upon family life? Home duties fall to the lot of almost every woman, -and nothing which tends to incapacitate for the performance of them -ought to be encouraged. Let us ask, then, what are the home duties -of women as such, and what are the qualifications required for their -discharge? And here we must remember that the claims involved in the -conjugal and parental and filial relations are not special to women. -They are not, indeed, to be disregarded in considering the bearing of a -scheme of education; but in the discussion of the home duties of women -_as such_, it is convenient to treat separately those which are not -shared by men. - -If we bring before our mind’s eye the picture of an English home, -we see that the household work is divided between the mistress and -the servants. Where there are grown-up daughters, they sometimes -help the mistress in her work, or the servants in theirs, but they -have no distinct functions of their own. It appears, then, that in -an inquiry relating to the upper and middle classes, the only home -duties special to women which can come under review, are those of the -mistress of the household. What are her functions? Those of government -and administration. All housekeepers will agree that this is the work -they have to do, though they may not be accustomed to call it by these -names. The inexperienced mistress complains, not that she does not know -how to cook, or to sew, or to keep the furniture in order--these arts, -if she wants them, can be quickly acquired; her perplexity is how to -manage the servants. To draw the line between necessary subordination -and vexatious interference--to apportion to each a fair share of work, -and to see that the work is done--to be liberal and considerate without -over-indulgence,--these are duties requiring judgment, moderation, -method, decision, often no small share of moral courage; in other -words, precisely the same qualities which are wanted in governing -bodies of workpeople. In administration also, it is obvious that, -though on a different scale, the same sagacity, prudence, and foresight -which would make a woman successful in business, would conduce to the -economical management of domestic concerns. - -The head of a household wants an ideal to work up to, and the governing -and administrative power which will enable her to carry out her idea. -Here, as elsewhere, motive is the primary requisite. A woman to whom -huggermugger is intolerable will find means of escaping from it--if -necessary, by the labour of her own hands--more often, perhaps, by -the skilful direction of the labour of others. But one who has no -inner sense of the beauty of order, to whom the rhythmic flow of a -well-governed household is an unmeaning conception, or who lacks the -gift of mastery over details, may be cooking and sewing and looking -after things from morning till night; she may be anxiously obedient -to conventional regulations, rigid in the observance of ceremonies -unmeaning in themselves or unsuited to her position; with all her -striving, she will never realise the vision of an ideal English home. - -It appears, then, that first, imagination, combined with a certain -sensitiveness of refinement, and secondly, the faculty of government -and administration, are the qualifications chiefly necessary for -the performance of home duties. No education can be relied upon as -infallibly securing these rare gifts; but it may be assumed that -extensive reading of the best books tends to cultivate imagination and -refinement, and that a life of active exertion tends to bring out the -qualities which go to make up the governing and administrative faculty; -and if so, a liberal education and the pursuit of a profession are -perhaps, on the whole, the best training that the conditions of modern -society can supply for the special functions of the mistress of a -household. - -It will, however, be pointed out by practical people, that even -supposing the training to be good as regards domestic life, parents -will not throw away their money on a costly preparation for a -profession which is most likely to be abandoned in a few years; -and again, that the contingency of marriage is likely to act as a -discouragement to girls, making them so languid in endeavour, that they -would have small chance of success in a professional career. - -To the last objection experience would not lead us to attach -much weight. But supposing that, either through want of energy -or perseverance, or from any other deficiency, women should take -a low place in the professional ranks, what then? The object of -their education would have been, not to set them on a pinnacle of -distinction, but to make them useful labourers; and if this end were -attained, society, at any rate, would have no reason to complain. - -It is true, however, that fathers are likely to hesitate in spending -money on what may seem a doubtful speculation as regards pecuniary -returns. And if marriage necessarily involves the complete abandonment -of a profession, the chances are somewhat against professional -education as an investment of capital, though perhaps less so than -would at first sight appear. Of course much depends on the amount of -money which it is necessary to expend. To take the medical profession, -as being, among those which women are likely to enter, the one in -which the cost of training is probably the highest--it is a liberal -computation to allow £500 as covering the cost of instruction over -and above the personal expenses, which would be going on all the -same whether a girl were being educated or not. Such a sum would, in -three or four years of successful practice, be recovered, and any -further earnings would be clear gain. No doubt, in cases of very early -marriage, a part or even the whole of the sum expended would be sunk; -and the result of giving women professions would probably be, on the -whole, to encourage comparatively early marriage, partly by bringing -persons of congenial tastes into mutual intercourse, and partly by -rendering marriages possible which would otherwise be flagrantly -imprudent. But supposing that a woman married a rich man before she -had begun to practise, the loss of the sum mentioned could easily be -spared. If she married a poor man, or a man dependent on an uncertain -income, the sacrifice might be regarded in the light of a sum paid for -insurance--the provision of a resource in case of widowhood or other -misfortune, which it is well to have in reserve, though it may be still -better never to want it. - -In the meantime, however, does marriage necessarily involve giving up -a profession? On the face of it, judging by existing facts, one would -incline to the contrary view. Some of the highest names in literature -and art are those of married women; many schoolmistresses are married; -clergymen’s wives notoriously undertake a large share of extra-domestic -work; and there is no evidence that in any of these cases the husbands -are neglected, or the children worse brought up than other people’s. It -seems to be forgotten that women have always been married. Marriage is -not a modern discovery, offering a hitherto untrodden field of action -for feminine energy. The novelty is, that, as has been said already, -the old field has been invaded and taken possession of by machinery. -The married ladies of former days, instead of sitting in drawing-rooms, -eating the bread of idleness, got through a vast amount of household -business, which their successors cannot possibly do, simply because -it is not there to be done. An educated woman, of active, methodical -habits, blessed with good servants, as good mistresses generally are, -finds an hour a day amply sufficient for her housekeeping. Nothing -is gained by spreading it out over a longer time.[5] Allowing a fair -margin for what are technically called ‘social’ claims, there remains -a surplus, of course varying very considerably in extent, according -to circumstances. The question then arises, whether a married woman, -having time and energy to spare, may or may not legitimately spend it, -if she likes, either in definitely professional work, or in the unpaid -public services, which, when seriously undertaken, constitute something -nearly equivalent to a profession. Inasmuch as the adoption of such a -course would most probably effect some change in the aspect of family -life, it is reasonable to ask whether such change is likely to be for -good or for evil; and any objections which may suggest themselves ought -to be respectfully considered. - -One of the most obvious is the fear that a profession might prove a -snare, leading to the neglect of humbler and more irksome duties. -And it is right to admit frankly that the apprehension may not be -altogether groundless. M. Simon, indeed, asserts, with the happy -confidence we are all so apt to display on matters of which we have -had no experience, that household drudgery, ‘though very laborious, is -agreeable to women;’ and Sydney Smith has made merry over the notion -that a mother would desert an infant for a quadratic equation. And of -course, put in that extreme way, the idea is ridiculous. But looking -at the case broadly--putting on one side the little fretting cares and -worries of domestic life, and on the other the larger and more genial -interests of professional work, it may be confessed that a temptation -might very possibly arise to shirk the less engaging task. But it does -not follow that because a temptation exists, it must be irresistible. -To construct a plan of life absolutely free from temptation is a -simple impossibility, even supposing it to be desirable. Every career -has its snares, and a life of narrow interests and responsibilities -is no exception to the rule. The true safeguard seems to consist, -not in restraints and limitations, but in a vivid sense of all that -is involved in the closer relationships, and in a steadfast habit -of submission to duty. In the present case it may be noted that, -however fascinating the temptation may be, it is at any rate open and -well understood. It is not a pitfall, which any one could walk into -unawares through ignorance of its existence. The paramount importance -of home duties is enforced by all the sanctions of an overwhelming -public opinion. Any neglect is liable to be punished, not only by the -immediate discomfort arising from it, but by universal disapproval. -An offence against which the warnings are so trumpet-tongued, and of -which the consequences are so thoroughly disagreeable, can scarcely be -very dangerously attractive. - -If it is admitted that professional women are likely, or at least as -likely as others, to be both able and diligent in the discharge of -family obligations, another objection may be raised, founded on the -apprehension that a similarity of pursuits would produce an unpleasant -similarity between men and women. One of the most plausible arguments -in behalf of dissimilar education is that which rests on the general -desirableness of variety. We do not want to be all alike. The course -of civilisation tends, it is said, already too strongly towards -uniformity. - - ‘For “ground in yonder social mill, - We rub each other’s angles down, - And lose,” he said, “in form and gloss - The picturesque of man and man.”’ - -And if it could be shown that the isolation of the sexes produces -variety of the best kind, and to the greatest possible extent, it would -no doubt be a strong argument in its favour. But it is questionable -whether this is the best means of obtaining variety. As there can be -no unanimity on matters of which one party is ignorant, so also, in -the same sense, there can be no diversity. We do not obtain two views -of a subject by incapacitating one of the parties from taking any view -at all. If the differences between men and women are such that they -are predisposed to treat whatever comes before them in a somewhat -different manner, we shall get greater variety by presenting to both -the most important subjects of thought, than by sorting out subjects -into classes and submitting each to a kind of class treatment. And so -also as to methods of training. It seems likely that a more healthily -diversified type of character will be obtained by cultivating the -common human element, and leaving individual differences free to -develop themselves, than by dividing mankind into two great sections -and forcing each into a mould. You may indeed obtain diversity by -mutilation or distortion. You may make a girl unlike a boy by shutting -her up, giving her insufficient air and exercise, and teaching her that -grace and refinement are synonymous with affectation and feebleness. -You may make a boy unlike a girl by teaching him to care for nothing -but out-of-door sports, and by making him believe that he is showing -spirit when he is rude and selfish. But this is not the kind of variety -that any one seriously wishes to cultivate. - -It may here perhaps be argued on the other hand, that to give wives -professions would tend to separate them from their husbands by throwing -them into a society of their own, and leading them to set up a distinct -set of independent interests,--that whereas a wife now throws herself -into her husband’s concerns, losing sight of herself in her sympathy -with him, she would, if she had a pursuit of her own, be led astray -by ambition, occupied with her own aims, absorbed in a current of -life apart from his. Here again it may be admitted that the danger -might, in very rare cases, possibly exist. But, on the whole, the risk -seems to be much more than counterbalanced by a very strong tendency -in an exactly opposite direction. In many cases, the profession of -both would be the same, judging by present experience. Artists marry -artists, clergymen’s daughters marry clergymen, literary women often, -though not always, marry literary men, medical women would probably -marry medical men, and so on. It is likely that a man who chose to -marry a professional woman at all would marry in his own profession. -But supposing it were otherwise, a woman who had work similar, though -not in all respects identical with that of her husband, would be more -able than one whose occupation was of an entirely alien character, -to sympathise with him in his difficulties and in his successes. She -would understand them and enter into them with a first-hand kind of -interest, fuller and more intelligent, if not more genuine, than a -merely reflected interest could be. On the other hand, it would be at -least as easy for a husband to enter into interests somewhat akin to -his own, as into the small domestic worries which fill so large a space -in the thoughts and imaginations of women who have nothing else to -occupy them. There are many wives who really have very little to talk -to their husbands about, except the virtues or the crimes of servants, -and the little gossip of the neighbourhood. If their husbands will not -listen to what they have to say on these subjects, they are obliged to -take refuge in silence. - -The enormous loss to general culture entailed by the solitude of -the male intellect is very little thought of. Yet it would seem -obvious enough that children brought up in a home where the everyday -conversation is of a somewhat thoughtful and literary cast, have an -immense start as compared with those who learn nothing unconsciously, -and are obliged to gather all their knowledge laboriously from books. -Social and domestic intercourse is an educational instrument largely -used in cultivated circles. In the great mass of English society it -is scarcely used at all, for this obvious reason, that education is in -great part onesided, and the easy interchange of thought is therefore -impossible. A slight infusion of an intellectual element would go far -to expel the gossip and the microscopic criticism of one’s neighbours, -which forms so large and so degrading a part in the domestic talk -of the middle classes. The mental effort need not be a severe one. -Talk may be very small, and yet have a certain dignity, if it touches -even but lightly on elevating subjects. It is the effort to draw up -conversation from empty wells that wearies the spirit, and drives even -goodnatured people into scandal and slander. Contrast the forced -and insipid small talk of ordinary society, resorted to by way of -recreation, but in the last degree unrefreshing in its nature, with the -spontaneous overflowings of a cultivated mind. - - ‘She spake such good thoughts natural, as if she always thought them-- - She had sympathies so rapid, open, free as bird on branch, - Just as ready to fly east as west, whichever way besought them, - In the birchen wood a chirrup, or a cock-crow in the grange. - In her utmost lightness there is truth--and often she speaks lightly, - Has a grace in being gay, which even mournful souls approve; - For the root of some grave earnest thought is under-struck so rightly, - As to justify the foliage and the waving flowers above.’ - -It is in fact as a means of bringing men and women together, and -bridging over the intellectual gulf between them, that a more liberal -education and a larger scope for women are chiefly to be desired. It -has been pointed out by a well-known essayist, that ‘the purpose of -education is not always to foster natural gifts, but sometimes to bring -out faculties that might otherwise remain dormant; and especially so -far as to make the persons educated cognisant of excellence in those -faculties in others.’ And even supposing it could be proved that -the separate systems are eminently successful in developing certain -peculiarly masculine or feminine gifts, the result would be dearly -purchased by the sacrifice of mutual understanding and appreciation. - -Oddly enough, it is often assumed that the only way of getting -husbands and wives to agree is to keep them well apart. Common ground, -it is taken for granted, must of course be a battle ground. If the -theory of the peculiarly receptive character of the female intellect -has any truth in it, it might be expected to be rather the other way, -and that wives would, as a rule, be only too ready to adopt their -husbands’ opinions. In any case, contact has an undoubted tendency -to produce unanimity, and the chances are therefore in favour of -agreement. And that there should be intelligent agreement, a community -of thought and feeling, on all matters of importance, is surely the -first necessity for the healthy and harmonious development of family -life. M. Simon has drawn a vivid picture of the influence on children -of discordance between fathers and mothers, even when there is nothing -like an open rupture. - -‘Cette femme qu’une religieuse a formée et cet homme nourri des -doctrines de tolérance, peut-être d’indifférence, mariés ensemble, -sont un vivant anachronisme. La femme est du dix-septième siècle -et l’homme de la fin du dix-huitième. Admettons qu’ils vivent en -bonne intelligence, elle le croyant damné, lui la jugeant fanatique. -Qu’arrivera-t-il, quand à leur tour, ils enseigneront? Et ils -enseigneront; être père, être mère, c’est enseigner. La mère répétera -sa doctrine, puisée au couvent; le père, par prudence, se taira. Se -taira-t-il? Si même il prend cela sur lui, son silence sera commenté -par ses actes. Et que pensera l’enfant de cette contradiction, -aussitôt qu’il pensera? Il condamnera l’un ou l’autre, peut-être -l’un et l’autre. Plus il aura l’esprit puissant, plus vite il perdra -respect.... Il semble à des esprits sans portée que l’indifférence et -la foi vivront bien ensemble, parce que l’une exige et l’autre céde; -mais céder à une croyance sans l’accepter, c’est ne pas être. La paix -entre deux âmes est possible quand elle est fondée sur l’identité de -foi; elle est encore possible quand elle est fondée sur le respect -réciproque d’une foi diverse et sincère; mais appeler paix cette -absence de lutte qui naît de l’indifférence, c’est confondre la paix -avec la défaite et la vie avec le néant.’ - -The author of ‘Vincenzo’ has given in that remarkable story a view too -painfully lifelike to be disbelieved, of the conjugal misery resulting -from a profound dissonance between a husband and wife on religious and -political questions, and asserts that the wreck of domestic happiness -so graphically pictured represents a reality far from uncommon. ‘Would -to God,’ he exclaims, ‘that the case were an isolated one! But no; -there is scarcely any corner in Italy, scarcely any corner in Europe, -that does not exhibit plenty of such and worse.’ Such a state of things -could scarcely exist in England. The counteracting influences are too -many and too strong. But it cannot be said that we are exempt from -danger. In how many English families wives and sisters are clinging -blindly to traditional beliefs and observances, from which husbands and -brothers are turning away with indifference or dislike. How natural -the transition from the theory which assigns ‘to the one the supremacy -of the head, to the other that of the heart’--to that further division -which attributes to the one Reason, to the other Faith. Heartless -Rationalism and imbecile credulity! Is it in the union of these feeble -and jarring tones that we shall find the full chord of family harmony? -Ought we not rather to turn with suspicion from these artificial -attempts to apportion attributes and duties? May we not welcome, as -at least a step in the right direction, a change in our conventional -habits, which may extend, though in ever so small a degree, the region -of common thoughts and aims, common hopes and disappointments, common -joys and common sorrows? - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[5] On the occasion of a recent vacancy in the secretaryship of a -benevolent society several of the candidates were married women. One -gave, as her reasons for applying, ‘loneliness and want of employment.’ -In another case, the application was made by a husband on behalf of his -wife. - - - [Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS. - - -If it be admitted that the law of human duty is the same for both -sexes, and if the specific functions belonging to each demand -substantially the same qualities for their performance, it appears to -follow that the education required is likely to be, in its broader and -more essential features, the same. What that education ought to be -has lately been much discussed, but at present without much sign of -approaching unanimity. That there should be great difference of opinion -is natural, inasmuch as almost every one is inclined to recommend for -universal adoption just what he happens to like best himself; while, on -the other hand, a few people of a different turn of mind are disposed -to undervalue what they possess themselves, and to give extra credit to -subjects or methods, the insufficiency of which has not been brought -home to them by personal experience. In the education of girls the -selection of subjects seems to be directed by no principle whatever. -Strong protests are raised against assimilating it to that of boys; -but very little is said as to the particulars in which it ought to -differ. The present distribution is, indeed, somewhat whimsical. -Inasmuch as young men go into offices where they have to conduct -foreign correspondence, and, as they travel about all over the world, -they are taught the dead languages. As woman’s place is the domestic -hearth, and as middle class women rarely see a foreigner, they are -taught modern languages with a special view to facility in speaking. -As men are supposed to work with their heads all day, and have nothing -in the world to do when they are indisposed for reading but to smoke -or to go to sleep, they are taught neither music nor drawing. As women -have always the resource of needlework, they learn music and drawing -besides. As women are not expected to take part in political affairs, -they are taught history. As men do, boys learn mathematics instead. -In physical science, astronomy and botany are considered the ladies’ -department. Chemistry and mechanics being the branches most directly -applicable to domestic uses, are reserved for boys. - -These distinctions ought rather, however, to be spoken of as a thing of -the past. The educators of boys and girls respectively are learning and -borrowing from each other.[6] An approximation is already in progress, -in which the encroachment, if it be an encroachment, is chiefly from -the side of boys; for while Latin and mathematics are slowly making -their way into girls’ schools, we find that in the University local -examinations, music, drawing, and modern languages have from the -beginning been recognised as desirable for boys. It is, like most -other things, very much a question of degree. The system of mutual -isolation has never been thoroughly carried out. Even those who hold -most strongly that classics and mathematics are proper for boys, and -modern languages and the fine arts for girls, leave as common ground -the wide field of English literature, in itself almost an education. -To a large extent men and women read the same books, magazines, and -newspapers; and though in the highest class of literature, written -by scholars for scholars, and, therefore, full of classical and -scientific allusions, there is much that women only half understand, -the deficiency under which they labour is shared by many male readers. - -Probably, after all, it matters less what is nominally taught, than -that, whatever it is, it should be taught in the best way. Any subject -may be made flat and unprofitable if unintelligently taught; and, on -the other hand, there is scarcely anything which may not be made an -instrument of intellectual discipline, if wisely used. Then, again, all -branches of knowledge are so closely connected and mutually dependent, -that it is scarcely possible to learn anything which will not be -found more or less useful hereafter in learning something else. Even -the much despised and denounced ‘smattering of many things,’ has its -merits in this way, as well as in giving a certain breadth of vision, -by opening vistas into innumerable fields of knowledge, never to be -explored by any single human being. The degree in which the study of -certain subjects cultivates certain faculties is a matter on which we -are far from agreeing. Nor is it decided--in fact we have scarcely -begun to discuss--what faculties most need cultivation. In the middle -classes the imagination seems to be the one in which the deficiency -is most marked. Every now and then some one recommends mathematics -for girls as a curb to the imagination. It might be as well first -to ascertain whether the imaginations of commonplace girls want to -be curbed; whether, on the contrary, they do not want rather to be -awakened and set to work, with something to work upon. The business of -the imagination is not merely to build castles in the air, though that -is, no doubt, a useful and commendable exercise; it has other and most -important duties to perform. For, manifestly, an unimaginative person -is destitute of one of the main elements of sympathy. Probably, if the -truth were known, it would be found that injustice and unkindness are -comparatively seldom caused by harshness of disposition. They are the -result of an incapacity for imagining ourselves to be somebody else. -Any one who has tried it must be aware of the enormous difficulty -of conceiving the state of mind of a pauper or a thief. The same -difficulty is experienced in a degree by any one in easy circumstances -in realising the condition and looking from the point of view of a very -poor, or comparatively poor person. It is probably equally difficult -to ordinary minds to imagine the condition of always having more money -than you quite know what to do with. The absence of sympathy between -youth and age is traceable to the same want. Old people have either -forgotten their own youth, or they remember it too well, and fall -into the not less fatal mistake of supposing that the new youth is -like their own. Young people, on their part, are equally at a loss to -understand what it is to be old. In all the relations of life, the want -of imagination produces defective sympathy, and defective sympathy -brings in its train all sorts of vague and intolerable evils. In every -branch of study a vivid imagination is a most powerful agent, aiding -the memory, and bringing clearly before the mind the materials on which -a judgment has to be formed. - -This, however, is not the place to discuss the comparative importance -of the mental faculties. Without going into the details of what, or how -to teach, it will be more to the purpose to inquire whether there are -any general measures, the working of which is likely to be beneficial, -let the subjects and the methods of instruction be what they may. - -Among the most necessary, and the most easily and immediately -applicable, is the extension to women of such examinations as demand -a high standard of attainment. The test of a searching examination is -indispensable as a guarantee for the qualifications of teachers; it is -wanted as a stimulus by young women studying with no immediate object -in view, and no incentive to exertion other than the high, but dim and -distant, purpose of self-culture. This purpose, regarded in its bearing -on the general welfare, is indeed honourable and animating, and every -other must be subordinate to it. But we must not forget that we have -to deal with human and very imperfect beings; and it is not difficult -to believe that young women of only average energy and perseverance, -while working in the main towards the higher end, may yet need an -occasionally recurring stage within sight, as an allurement to draw -them on, and to help them in their struggle with the temptations to -indolence which lie thick about their path. The fact of having an -examination to work for, would not only be a stimulus to themselves, -it would also serve as a defence against idle companions, whose -solicitations it is hard to refuse on the mere ground of an abstract -love of learning. - -The want of examinations for women is not a new discovery. So long -ago as 1841, Dr Arnold wrote to Mr Justice Coleridge:--‘I feel quite -as strongly as you do the extreme difficulty of giving to girls what -really deserves the name of education intellectually. When ---- was -young, I used to teach her some Latin with her brothers, and that has -been, I think, of real use to her, and she feels it now in reading -and translating German, of which she does a great deal. But there is -nothing for girls like the Degree examination, which concentrates -one’s reading so beautifully, and makes one master a certain number -of books perfectly. And unless we had a domestic examination for -young ladies, to be passed before they come out, and another, like -the great go, before they come of age, I do not see how the thing can -ever be effected. Seriously, I do not see how we can supply sufficient -encouragement for systematic and laborious reading, or how we can -insure many things being retained at once fully in the mind, when we -are wholly without the machinery which we have for our boys.’ - -In another letter, speaking of the need of continual questioning in -the case of a boy, he says, ‘He wants this, and he wants it daily, -not only to interest and excite him, but to dispel what is very apt -to grow around a lonely reader not constantly questioned--a haze of -indistinctness as to a consciousness of his own knowledge or ignorance; -he takes a vague impression for a definite one, an imperfect notion -for one that is full and complete, and in this way he is continually -deceiving himself.’ - -This is an exact description of the state of the young female mind, -even where there has been considerable cultivation. Women have ‘general -ideas,’ which interest and occupy their minds, but produce little -fruit, owing to their incompleteness and uncertainty. Of course, it -would be absurd to recommend examinations as an infallible cure for -this or any other mental defect. The familiar objections, that there -are many things which no examination can test; that they sometimes -encourage cram and check originality; and that, when abused, they -foster ambition, and cause overexcitement and overwork--no doubt -have some truth in them. But the question is whether, on the whole, -examinations work for good or for evil; and the testimony of long -experience seems to be strongly in their favour. To refuse to test -knowledge, because you cannot by the same process judge of moral -excellence, is about as wise as to say that a man ought not to eat, -because, unless he also takes exercise, he will not be in good -health. Cram is no doubt a very bad thing, but it is not a necessary -antecedent of examinations; and, after all, there are alternatives -worse than cramming. It may be better even to cram than to leave -the mind quite empty; and though the word has become, by perpetual -reiteration, closely associated with the idea of examinations, it is -as well to remember that it is quite possible for knowledge to be -equally undigested, whether it has been got up for an examination or -not. As to fostering ambition, the question seems to be, whether it is -possible, or even desirable, entirely to eradicate it, and whether to -direct it towards a respectable object, the pursuit of which at least -implies some good moral qualities, may not be useful as diverting it -from that meanest of aims--the only one held up indiscriminately to -women of every grade--that of shining in society. The danger of injury -to health, through excitement and overwork, is within the control of -parents and teachers. As regards girls, the experience of the Cambridge -local examinations has proved beyond a doubt that, where ordinary -common sense is practised, there is no risk whatever of this sort. - -There are at present no examinations open to women of such standing as -to constitute a fitting test of advanced scholarship. The examinations -of the Society of Arts, being primarily intended for artisans, are -manifestly inadequate; and the University local examinations are -limited to students under eighteen. The University of London, having -adopted the principle of making its examinations simply a test and -standard of acquirement, without enforcing upon students that their -knowledge should have been acquired by attendance at college lectures, -or under any particular system, is in a peculiarly favourable position -for giving assistance in this matter. The extension of the London -examinations to women need present no greater difficulties than those -which have been already overcome in throwing open the Cambridge local -examinations to girls, and would go far towards supplying a want which -every day becomes more pressing. - -The access to progressive examinations, of such a character as to -test and attest advanced attainments, would, there is every reason to -believe, at once begin to work in lengthening the period of study. It -would probably tell first upon the ladies’ colleges; but its influence -would not be limited to college students. Where circumstances make it -inconvenient for a girl to attend classes, it may still be practicable -for her to pursue her studies at home, so long as there is some -definite and intelligible object in view. An essential requisite is -the use of a room where she can be secure from trivial interruptions. -This might seem obvious enough; but those who know anything of family -life in the middle class are aware that it is a privilege rarely -accorded to young women. The best teaching within reach would, -of course, be a great assistance, but would not be in all cases -indispensable. - -An increase in the number of colleges and a higher standard of -efficiency would be the natural result of retaining the students under -instruction for a longer time, and this again would improve the quality -of teachers. Probably something more would still be required in the way -of training for teachers. It seems to be the opinion of the persons -best qualified to judge, that some technical instruction is required as -a preparation for teaching, and that such instruction might be obtained -by taking a short course at a training-college at the end of a general -education. - -The ladies’ colleges may fairly be expected to supply ‘the education -of a lady.’ The special training for any particular profession must -be obtained in distinct schools. This, of course, applies to every -branch of art. It applies also to the study of medicine. There is -at present no medical school for women; and individual students are -therefore obliged to obtain the necessary instruction privately. It is -to be wished that one of the London hospitals, not connected with any -existing medical school, should be reserved for female students and -classes formed in connexion with it. If this were done, as it probably -would be on the application of a sufficient number of students, the -education of medical women would be provided for. - -The preparation for business is, in most cases, simply a matter of -arrangement, requiring nothing but the good will and hearty concurrence -of the masters. The easiest thing would be for fathers to bring up -their daughters to their own business; and, no doubt, this would often -be done, if custom permitted. It is the fear of public opinion--of -exciting astonishment and remark--that, probably more than any other -cause, imposes upon parents what they feel to be a sort of moral and -social obligation to keep their daughters idle. - -In addition to other hindrances in the way of giving a thorough -education to girls, there is one which presses heavily on persons of -narrow incomes--namely, its costliness as compared with that of boys. -This is a fact, notwithstanding the other fact, that the teachers of -girls are, as a rule, much worse paid than the teachers of boys. It is -traceable to two causes--the absence of endowments, and the smallness -of girls’ schools. Both these causes are removable. - -With regard to endowments, there is reason to believe that a large -proportion of those which are now appropriated to the use of boys were -originally intended for both sexes. The founders do not seem to have -known anything about the modern theories of separate education, and, -when they established a school, had no idea of excluding any of ‘the -children’ of the parish or kin which it was designed to benefit. It is -noticeable that, in cases where girls happen to be expressly mentioned -in the foundation deeds, Latin and accounts are almost invariably -named in the course of instruction laid down. There is much difference -of opinion as to the permanent usefulness of endowments. Some people -think they do more harm than good, and would like to get rid of them -altogether. This seems a somewhat extreme view; and, at any rate, as -the endowments exist, something must be done with them. If it is for -the general good that education should be much more expensive, and, -therefore, much more difficult to get, for a girl than for a boy; or -if the balance is redressed by greater willingness on the part of -parents to make sacrifices in behalf of their daughters, it may be -well to let the present distribution stand. But it appears rather that -the education of women is at present exactly at the stage at which -artificial support is wanted. There are many ways in which it might -be applied. Probably the most useful at the present juncture would be -the foundation of exhibitions and scholarships, awarded under such -varying conditions as to give them the widest possible range. Taking -the middle classes generally, there seems to be no reason why they -should not pay for the education of their children at cost price; but -there are many exceptions, and the legitimate use of all eleemosynary -aid seems to be to meet special cases of misfortune. For this reason -it is desirable that, besides exhibitions and scholarships awarded -after a competitive examination--which would act as an encouragement -to industry and ability--there should be in the hands of governors -and trustees a power of conferring free or assisted education without -competition. Scholarships might be tenable at elementary schools, at a -college, at a medical school, or at schools of art; or there might be -exhibitions available for apprenticeship to any profession or trade -whatsoever, at the discretion of the trustees. - -In the meantime, without any aid from public sources, a good deal might -be done by a more judicious use of existing means. The present mode -of carrying on girls’ schools involves an enormous waste of teaching -power. Fifteen or twenty girls absorb a staff amply sufficient for -three or four times the number. This is inevitable in small schools; -and the consequence follows, that in many boardingschools for girls -the terms are considerably higher than at Rugby or Harrow. It is -doubtful whether very large boardingschools would work well; but -the difficulty may be got over in another way, by establishing a -thoroughly good day-school, and clustering round it boardinghouses -of moderate size, according to the demand. In places like Blackheath, -Clapham, St John’s Wood, or in any locality where girls’ schools -congregate, this plan might be adopted, and would combine many of the -respective advantages of large and small schools. The facilities for -classification, companionship in study, healthy public spirit, and a -general kind of open-airiness which go with large numbers, would be -found in the school. The boardinghouses would have the quietness and -something of the domestic character which it is difficult to get in -a household conducted on a very large scale. The popularity of small -boardingschools is probably chiefly owing to their fancied resemblance -to a home circle. There is an impression that a group of girls, -all about the same age, and without father or brothers, constitute -something like a family. It is really much more like a nunnery; and -there is reason to believe that, in a less degree, just those evils -which are said to attach to conventual life are rife in boardingschools. - -A sense of these evils leads some people to prefer the system of -private governesses. This no doubt has recommendation; it certainly -has serious drawbacks. Among those which are inevitable is the effect -of a lonely life on the governess. Without going into sentimental -wailings over her unhappy lot, it must be confessed that her position -is peculiarly isolated. She spends the greater part of her time in -intercourse with young and immature minds, only varied by unequal -association with the parents or grown-up brothers and sisters of her -pupils. The society of her equals in age and position is entirely -wanting, and the natural tendency of such mental solitude is to produce -childishness, angularity, and narrow-mindedness. It must be a very -strong character indeed which can do without the wholesome trituration -and the expansive influence of equal companionship, and this is just -what a governess cannot have. A great effort may be made to treat her -as one of the family, but she does not really belong to the people, -or even to their class. She is always a bird of passage, and in this -respect her position is worse than that of a servant, who, besides -having the companionship of fellowservants, may look forward to -remaining in one family for life. A governess must always be prepared -to leave when the term of temporary service expires, and this is in -itself an obstacle to the formation of strong attachments. And if it -is true that the conditions of governess life have a deteriorating -effect on character, it follows that the pupils will in a degree more -or less be losers. Whether there may be advantages or conveniences -which more than compensate for what is lost, is a question which must -be affected by considerations varying in individual cases. Similarly, -with regard to boardingschools, a first-rate mistress may be able to -offer certain advantages attainable in no other way. The conclusion -arrived at goes no farther than this, that, other things being equal, a -large day-school attended by scholars living either at home or in small -boardinghouses, has a clear advantage, both as regards economy and -mental and moral training, over the rival systems of boardingschools -and private governesses. It follows that in any direct efforts which -may be made for the improvement of elementary education, the foundation -or strengthening of well conducted day-schools is the wisest course to -adopt. - -The foregoing suggestions must of course be subject to all sorts of -modifications, according to temporary and local necessities. Specific -schemes, adapted to circumstances, will be devised as occasions -arise. In the meantime, any kind of recognition of the fact that the -education of women is a matter worth thinking about, is of the utmost -practical value. In this point of view, as indicating and expressing -a growing sense of the importance of the subject, the extension to -girls of the local examinations of the Universities of Cambridge and -Edinburgh, and the steps taken by the Schools Inquiry Commission in -their pending investigations, have an indirect influence quite out of -proportion to the immediate and calculable results obtained, affording -a moral support and encouragement the effect of which it is not easy to -estimate. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[6] With equal need, if what Lord Russell says is true:--‘As it is at -present, there is no doubt that women of the higher ranks have much -more knowledge and information when their education is finished than -men have. But I cannot see any reason why our young men should not, -while they have the advantage of public schools, at the same time be -able to do a sum in the rule of three, and make themselves masters of -the fact that James I. was not the son of Queen Elizabeth.’ - -In another place he says:--‘It is to a dogged application to the Latin -grammar perhaps that the precision of men, when compared to women, in -this country is in great part to be attributed.’--_Earl Russell on the -English Government and Constitution_, pp. 210, 208. - - - [Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -CONCLUSION. - - -To guard against misconception on so obscure and so complex a subject -as that of the present inquiry is a somewhat hopeless endeavour. But it -may, perhaps, be worth while to say once more, what has so often been -said already, that those who ask for a fuller and freer life for women -have no desire to interfere with distinctions of sex. The question -under debate is not whether, as a matter of fact, there is such a thing -as distinctive manhood and womanhood; for that no one denies. The -dispute is rather as to the degree in which certain qualities, commonly -regarded as respectively masculine and feminine characteristics, are -such intrinsically, or only conventionally; and further, as to the -degree of prominence which it is desirable to give to the specific -differences in determining social arrangements. It is not against the -recognition of real distinctions, but against arbitrary judgments, not -based upon reason, that the protest is raised. If, in the exigencies of -controversy, expressions may sometimes be used which seem to involve -a denial of differences in the respective natures of women and of -men, it must be regarded as a misfortune for which the advocates of -restriction and suppression are responsible. When broad assertions are -made as to natural fitness and unfitness, and a course of action is -founded upon them, it becomes necessary, at least, to ask for proof. -When proof is wanting, it is not unnatural to fall back upon feeling; -and prejudices, dignified by the name of instincts, are appealed to as -decisive when rational argument fails. The whole question is clouded -over by this confusing procedure. The instincts, to which so much -importance is attached, differ in the most bewildering manner. What -one person’s instinct pronounces lawful and becoming, another finds -revolting. Assumptions are made, and a fabric of argument is built up -upon data which are unverified, and which it is at present impossible -either to verify or absolutely to contradict. For, until artificial -appliances are removed, we cannot know anything certainly about the -native distinctions. As to the future, who can say? It may be that, - - ‘In the long years liker must they grow, - The man be more of woman, she of man; - He gain in sweetness and in moral height, - Nor lose the wrestling thews that throw the world; - She mental breadth, nor fail in childward care; - More as the double-natured poet each:’ - -or it may be that, when ‘full-summed in all their powers,’ new shades -of unlikeness--refinements of diversity hitherto unimagined--may -appear. It is neither necessary nor expedient to prejudge the question; -and those whose faith in the reality and permanence of the native -distinctions is the strongest are the least tempted to make rash -assertions on either side. The excessive apprehensiveness shown by -some people on this point seems to indicate a deeprooted distrust in -the strength of their position. The fear betrays a doubt. No one urges -that girls should be denied the use of cold water, or fresh air, or -light, or animal food, lest they should grow into boys. Yet that these -conditions tend to produce masculine vigour cannot be denied. Those -who are afraid that a free range of thought and action would injure -the delicacy of the female mind, ought, in consistency, to carry their -precautions a little farther. The atmosphere of a hothouse, judiciously -darkened, abstinence from exercise, and a vegetarian diet would have an -evident tendency to produce a sickly delicacy of complexion, to give -languor to the limbs, and feebleness to the voice, and in every way to -make girls much more unlike their brothers than they were by nature. -And if this is the object of education, the appropriate means ought to -be used. - -In the meantime, a great part of the difficulties which beset every -question concerning women would be at once removed by a frank -recognition of the fact, that there is between the sexes a deep -and broad basis of likeness. The hypothesis that men and women are -essentially and radically different, embarrasses every discussion. -When facts are proved and admitted, scarcely any progress has been -made, because it is assumed that their action is modified by their -application to the feminine nature. Conditions which would certainly -make a man happy or miserable, as the case might be, are supposed to -have a different, if not an exactly opposite, effect upon a woman. -The theory has been asserted and reasserted so incessantly, that -even women themselves have been partly persuaded to believe it. -And it is, no doubt, so far true, that while the education and the -circumstances of women are widely different from those of men, every -agency brought to bear upon either must act somewhat differently. -But to create facts, and then to argue from them as if they were the -result of an unalterable destiny, is a method which convinces only so -long as it is enforced by prejudice. ‘Chacun selon sa capacité’--‘à -chaque producteur l’ouvrage auquel il est propre’--these are maxims of -unquestioned validity. But who shall say for another--much more, who -shall say for half the human race--this, or this, is the measure of -your capacity; this, and no other, is the work you are qualified to -perform? ‘Women’s work,’ it is said, ‘is helping work.’ Certainly it -is. And is it men’s work to hinder? The vague information that women -are to be ministering angels is no answer to the practical questions, -Whom are they to help, and how? The easy solution, that it is their -nature to do what men cannot do, or cannot do so well, has never been -adopted in practice, inasmuch as everything in the world that there is -to do, the care of infants alone excepted, men are doing; and there is -nothing that a trained man cannot do better than an untrained woman. -Literature and art, teaching, nursing, cooking, sewing--these are the -recognised feminine occupations, and they are all shared by men. The -pursuit of them does not turn men into women, or women into men. Miss -Yonge and Mrs Oliphant ‘help’ Mr Trollope in supplying the world with -novels; and it is not thought necessary to guard either party from -writing masculine or feminine novels respectively. Schoolmasters and -schoolmistresses do not come into unseemly rivalry, although women -teach boys and men teach girls. By and by it will be found equally -superfluous to prescribe limitations in any department of thought or -industry. - -It can scarcely be necessary to discuss at length the difficulty -expressed in the frequent question,--if women take to doing men’s work, -what are men to do? Will not the intrusion of women into professions -and trades already overcrowded, lower the current rate of wages, and -by thus making men less able to support their families--in the long -run, do more harm than good? As to the manner and degree in which the -labour-market might be affected by such a readjustment as is proposed, -it is difficult to predict anything with certainty. It is impossible to -tell beforehand how many women would take to what is called (by a very -conspicuous _petitio principii_) men’s work, and how large a portion -of their lives they would devote to it. If women, already destined to -work for their bread, chose to earn it in some hitherto unaccustomed -way, it is obvious that in the exact measure in which their entrance -into a new profession reduced the rate of wages in that particular -calling, it would tend to raise it in some other which they would have -otherwise pursued, and the balance would thus be redressed. If, on -the other hand, women are not supporting themselves, they are being -supported by somebody else, consuming either present earnings or -accumulated savings. To keep them from earning money does not prevent -their spending it. Let us suppose the event, not a very probable one, -that the introduction of women into the medical profession would -lower the average rate of remuneration by one-third, in which case -the professional income of an ordinary medical man would be lessened -in the same proportion. Let us suppose, also--a not at all improbable -case--that the doctor’s wife, or sister, or daughter, would earn, in -the practice of _her_ profession, a sum equivalent to the one-third -he has lost. Evidently, the doctor and his family would be where they -were, neither better nor worse off than before. In the meantime, the -public would be so much the richer by getting its medical attendance -one-third cheaper. Whatever might be the temporary effect of opening -any particular profession to women, one thing is certain, it can never -be for the interest of society, in a purely economical aspect, to keep -any class of its members in idleness. A man who should carry one of his -arms in a sling, in order to secure greater efficiency and importance -to the other, would be regarded as a lunatic. The one free member might -very probably gain a little extra dexterity, of an abnormal sort, but -that the man would be on the whole a loser, is obvious. The case of the -body politic is precisely analogous. The economical argument is all in -favour of setting everybody to work. Such difficulties as exist are -of a moral or æsthetic nature, and require for their disentanglement -considerations of a different sort from those which govern the -comparatively easy economical question. - -Much misapprehension has probably arisen from a confusion between -a standard or law of life and the persons to whom it is applied. A -standard or law says nothing about the character of the persons who -are expected to conform to it. It pronounces no opinion upon their -nature beyond what is implied in assuming it to be not impossible for -them to live by it. The command, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with -all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself,’ implies that such love -is possible to men; but it may be manifested in countless ways--in -heroic conflict or in patient endurance, in passionate ardour or meek -submission. If it be true that certain gifts and graces are specially -congenial to the masculine or feminine nature, the presentation of a -common standard will draw them out according to their kind, without -the risk of seeming to dispense with the less easy virtues. Just as -when you plant two rose-trees in the same ground, you imply the belief -that certain general conditions of soil and atmosphere are good for -both, but you make no attempt to influence variations of colour or of -perfume; so the Christian theory of education implies an essential -resemblance between the sexes, without interfering in any way with -native differences. If, indeed, you adopt the analogy, not without a -certain fanciful charm, according to which men are trees and women -flowers, the separate system is right. You do wisely to plant the oak -in the forest, and to shelter the delicate geranium in the hothouse. -But this view implies that men and women are of a different genus, -which no one in his senses would maintain. The popular simile of the -oak and the ivy is equally untenable. Advocates on both sides are apt -to talk as if men and women were distinct races, handing down their -respective characteristics from generation to generation. The fact is, -as every one knows, that hereditary qualities are transmitted from -father to daughter, and from mother to son, with much impartiality. The -influences tending to create dissimilarity, which, in our day at least, -are at work, without a moment’s intermission, from the cradle to the -grave, are incessantly neutralised in each successive generation. If -it were not so, it is difficult to imagine what the human race would -become. One thing is certain, it would very soon cease to be human. - -Writers on this subject commonly adopt somewhat of a threatening tone -in reference to any proposed change. They warn women that if the oak -and ivy theory is given up, what is called the old chivalry will die -out, and they must no longer expect to be protected. And it is further -urged that men would suffer, no less than women, from the absence of -any demand upon their protective instincts. We are indebted to Mr -Kingsley for a very clear and moderate statement of this view in a -chapter of ‘The Roman and the Teuton’ on the Lombard Laws. - -‘It is to be remarked,’ he says, ‘that no free woman can live in -Lombardy, or, I believe, in any Teutonic state, save under the -“mundium” of some one. You should understand this word “mund.” Among -most of the Teutonic races, women, slaves and youths, at least not -of age to carry arms, were under the mund of some one. Of course, -primarily the father, head of the family, and if he died, an uncle, -elder brother, &c. The married woman was, of course, under the mund of -her husband. He was answerable for the good conduct of all under his -mund; he had to pay their fines if they offended; and he was bound, on -the other hand, to protect them by all lawful means. - -‘This system still lingers in the legal status of women in England, for -good and evil; the husband is more or less answerable for the wife’s -debts; the wife, till lately, was unable to gain property apart from -her husband’s control; the wife is supposed, in certain cases of law, -to act under the husband’s compulsion. All these, and many others, are -relics of the old system of mund for women; and that system has, I -verily believe, succeeded. It has called out, as no other system could -have done, chivalry in the man. It has made him feel it a duty and an -honour to protect the physically weaker sex. It has made the woman feel -that her influence, whether in the state or in the family, is to be -not physical and legal, but moral and spiritual; and that it therefore -rests on a ground really nobler and deeper than that of the man. The -modern experiments for emancipating women from all mund, and placing -them on a physical and legal equality with the man, may be right, and -may be ultimately successful. We must not hastily prejudge them. But of -this we may be almost certain, that, if they succeed, they will cause -a wide-spread revolution in society, of which the patent danger will -be, the destruction of the feeling of chivalry, and the consequent -brutalisation of the male sex.’ - -These are terrible warnings, and may well make any one hesitate in -lifting a finger to aid in a revolution charged with such disastrous -possibilities. But is it really true that the male sex is likely -to be brutalised by learning that a man must no longer rely upon -physical and legal influence, but must rest his claims to allegiance -on a moral and spiritual basis? Is it good for a man to feel that his -influence rests on a ground less noble and deep than that of women, -and to satisfy himself with a lower moral position? The mund system -may have succeeded,--in other words, it may have been the best thing -possible, in a rude and barbarous age, when serfdom also was in full -force and ‘succeeded’ in its way--a time when force was met by force, -and individual protection was a surer resource than that of law. But -even as applying to those days, the success of the system seems to -have been somewhat incomplete. How it worked--or failed to work--Mr -Kingsley shows in a few graphic lines, in his recent tale, ‘Hereward.’ -Describing the fate of the little Torfrida, his hero’s daughter, he -tells us, that ‘she was married to Hugh of Evermue, who is not said -to have kicked her; and was, according to them of Crowland, a good -friend to their monastery, and therefore, doubtless, a good man. Once, -says wicked report, he offered to strike her, as was the fashion in -those chivalrous days. Whereon she turned upon him like a tigress, -and bidding him remember that she was the daughter of Hereward and -Torfrida, gave him such a beating, that he, not wishing to draw sword -upon her, surrendered at discretion; and they lived all their lives -afterwards as happily as most other people in those times.’ - -Mr Gladstone lays down, that ‘as the law of force is the law of the -brute creation, so in proportion as he is under the yoke of that law -does man approximate to the brute; and in proportion, on the other -hand, as he has escaped from its dominion, is he ascending into the -higher sphere of being and claiming relationship with Deity. But the -emancipation and due ascendancy of women are not a mere fact: they -are the emphatic assertion of a principle; and that principle is the -dethronement of the law of force, and the enthronement of other and -higher laws in its place, and in its despite.’ The advocates of the -protective theory seem scarcely to have realised that the idea of -protection implies the corresponding idea of attack. It assumes, as -part of its essence, that somebody is attacking, or what occasion would -there be for defence? Might it not be well for everybody to abandon -the attitude of attack? To assert that in a civilised country women -want such protection as any human arm can give, is a contradiction in -terms. It is supposing, either that the law permits outrages upon the -defenceless, or that it can be broken with impunity. That we in England -are as yet only partially emerged from barbarism is indeed true. The -time-honoured customs handed down from the days of Hugh of Evermue have -not yet disappeared, and cases of assault, almost invariably committed -by the natural protector, are not uncommon in English households. But -the law undertakes to interfere--and does interfere, though as yet -in a somewhat impotent manner--for the defence of hapless wives and -children. It can scarcely be the true policy of an age which professes -to be enlightened and humane, to suffer general licence to prevail, in -order that a few rare souls, able to be a law to themselves and other -people, may have the occasion for displaying exceptional heroism. If -the scheme of Divine Providence requires that there should be outlets -for the protective energies, they are likely to be found for a long -time yet, in the infirmities of age, of infancy, and of poverty, -without encouraging morbid or affected weakness in human beings -intended by nature to be healthy and strong. There is still plenty of -fighting to do, though the progress of civilisation has removed the -warfare into new fields, and demands new weapons. Evil now appears in a -subtle, intangible shape, against which physical strength is of little -avail. But the generosity and the courage which constituted the true -beauty and worth of chivalry can never become obsolete. The chivalrous -spirit now shows itself in the abandonment of unjust privileges, in -the enactment of equal laws, and in facing ridicule, opposition, and -discouragement in behalf of unpopular ideas. The great battle between -good and evil is for ever going on. The form is renewed from age to -age, but the spirit is the same. Let us take care lest, in clinging -to forms from which the spirit has departed, in shutting our eyes to -keep out the dawning day, we may be blindly fighting the battle of the -Philistines, all unwittingly ranged among the enemies of the cause we -desire to serve. - - -BALLANTYNE, ROBERTS, AND COMPANY, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH. - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HIGHER EDUCATION OF -WOMEN *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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