REASONS FOR A CHANGE.--THE EARLY TRAINING OP WOMEN.--COMMON
FALLACIES.--THE EDUCATION OF MOTHERS.
Having glanced at the present state of things, and at some of its
causes, let us show reasons why it should be changed.
A sufficient reason is, because it dwarfs the intellect, ruins the
health, and shortens the lives, of so many women. Another reason is,
that whereas the husband may keep himself informed on matters of
general interest in literature, art, science, and progress, while the
wife must give her mind to domestic activities, there is danger of the
two growing apart, which growing apart is destructive of that perfect
sympathy so essential to the happiness of married life. A certain
librarian remarked. "If a man wants a book for himself, I pick out a
solid work; if for his wife, a somewhat light and trifling one."
Third, because human beings have so much in common, are so closely
connected, that the good of all requires the good of each, and each of
all. And here is where the shortsightedness of the aristocracy of
wealth and the aristocracy of sex are strikingly apparent. They fail
to see that the very inferiority of what are called the inferior
classes re-acts on the superior classes. We all know how it is in the
human body. An injury to one small bone in the foot may cause distress
which shall be felt "all over," and shall disturb the operations of
the lordly brain itself. So in the body social. The wealthy and
refined, into whose luxurious dwellings enters no unsightly, no
uncleanly object, may say to themselves, "Never mind those poor
wretches down at the other end, huddled together in their filthy
tenements. They are ignorant, they don't know how to get along; but
their condition doesn't concern us, so long as our houses are light,
clean, and airy."
Those poor wretches, however, because they are ignorant, because they
don't know how "to get along," because they live huddled together in
filthy tenements, breathing foul air, starving on bad food, become a
ready prey to infectious diseases. The infectious diseases spread. Men
of wealth, from the refined and cleanly quarters, encounter in their
business walks representatives from the degraded and disgusting
quarter, and take from them the seeds of those diseases; or, on some
fatal day, a miasma from the corruption of the degraded quarter is
wafted in at the windows of the luxurious dwellings, and the idols of
those dwellings are stricken down. So in the body politic. The wise
and well-to-do enact laws, obedience to which is for the general good.
The ignorant and poverty-stricken, because of their unenlightened
condition, cannot see that obedience is for the good of all, and break
those laws. Hence crimes, the effects of which the wise and well-to-do
are made to feel, and for the punishment of which they are made to
pay. It is the same with man and woman. Man says, "Let woman manage
her domestic concerns, attend to her children, and gain the
approbation of her husband. These are her chief duties, and for these
little culture is needed." But woman becomes the mother of sons who
become men; and the character, condition, and destiny of those sons
who become men are, as we have seen, determined largely by the
condition, pre-natal and post-natal, of the mothers. So that the
ignorance in which woman is kept by man re-acts on man.
A fourth reason for a change is, that we live in a republic. In a
republic every man has a voice in public affairs. Every man is first a
child; and children, commonly speaking, are what the mother's
influence helps to make them. Therefore, if you would have the country
wisely, honestly, and decently governed, give the children the right
kind of mothers. If the community knew its own interests, it would not
merely permit women all possible means of culture, but would force all
possible means of culture upon them. It would say, "We can't afford
that you exhaust yourselves by labor, that you fritter yourselves away
in vanities; for by your deficiencies we all suffer, by your losses we
all lose."
But mark how stupid the community is. It desires that all its members
shall possess wisdom and integrity; it declares that, in regard to
character, a great deal depends on early training; it declares that
this early training is the duty of mothers; and yet it does not take
the next step, and say, _Therefore_ mothers should be qualified
for their duty, and have every facility for performing it
satisfactorily. It asserts with great solemnity, "Just as the twig is
bent the tree's inclined," then gives all its twigs into the hands of
mothers, saying, "Here, bend these: it makes a terrible difference how
they are bent, but then it is not important that you have given any
attention to the process." Or, to vary the statement, the community
virtually addresses woman in this way: "A fearful responsibility rests
upon you. It is the responsibility of training these young, immortal
souls. This is your mission, your high and holy calling. You will,
however, get little time to attend to it; and, as for any special
preparation or knowledge of the subject, none is required. There's a
great deal of delicate and complex machinery to superintend, and a
mistake will tell fearfully in the result; but, never mind, we'll
trust luck." "Do we not," as Horace Mann once asked, "do we not need
some single word where we can condense into one monosyllable the
meaning of ten thousand fools?" Some deny the power of early training.
"Look!" they say, "there is a family of children brought up just
alike, and see how differently they all turn out." But a family of
children should not be brought up just alike. Different temperaments
require different treatment. And this is exactly the point where
knowledge is necessary, and a wisdom almost superhuman. That character
is the result of "inherited traits," as well as of education, does not
affect the case, since children "inherit" from mothers and the sons of
mothers.