But now I want to talk again. I want to tell you what a young lady has
discovered in her own halting way about the hungry-eyed man. Let us say
that John, there, is the perfect example. John, as you know, stands on
the sidelines at every dance and looks at the girls with a wishful look.
My diagnosis is that John was at one time one of those bashful youths
you have just been talking about but he took the wrong tack; he
specialized on something that made him unpopular with the girls as well
as the men. Probably he chose, because of some hurt, to deny himself
the society of women entirely only to discover when he reached the full
flush of manhood that he was not as roundly developed as he might be.
Having discovered this he went about remedying the fault but he overdid
it. He emphasized his sensuality. That was too bad.
He did not know that in the clever little game of life that the maidens
do not like to be made conscious of that side of their natures. They
think that it is animalistic and quite unrefined. More’s the pity.
Theirs the fault, not his.
And now that he has failed to cure himself, John has taken to
Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. He has become the great blond beast seeking
whom he may devour. All the girls are aware and being aware of this
avoid him most assiduously.
The only possible remedy for this is a little more understanding than
he has acquired. He should know that men are no more wonderful animals
than women. In fact, we are the same animal but unlike the worm we were
divided so long ago that we have forgotten it.