"Our women in Germany," said the professor of a German university to
me, a few days ago, "must by all means be acquainted with the different
departments of housekeeping, and must interest themselves therein.
Those who stand highest as well as those who stand lowest, from the
wives and daughters of a Minister of State to the wives and daughters
of the meanest peasant. The Princess-Royal attends to the skimming of
the milk in her dairy." "I beg your pardon for interrupting you," I
said, "but an American lady would think that quite out of her sphere;
and if I were not convinced of your seriousness, I should imagine you
were amusing me by a piece of fiction." "I do assure you," replied
the professor, "that it is a well known fact that the Princess-Royal
keeps cows and superintends personally the management of her dairy,
and I have heard that the Queen of England does the same." "Please
to instruct me further regarding the education of women in Germany,"
I said. "I am very much interested in that subject, as, from my own
observations, I have seen that as a general thing the German ladies
are well read, not only in the literature of their own country, but
also in that of France and England." "Our women," he replied, "also
speak French and English, especially French, and many of them are able
to read the authors of those countries in the original." "This is the
more surprising to me," I remarked, "as they seem to be much occupied
with the cares of housekeeping, and I would like to know how they find
time to learn foreign languages, and to read all the principal works
of the poets and romance writers of three countries." "That," said
the professor, "is a part of their education, and in order that you
may understand in what manner German girls must utilize their time at
school, I will give you a brief explanation of the system of education
employed and of that knowledge which it is incumbent upon every German
girl to possess, whatever be her position in life, and afterward of the
different grades of education from that of the peasant girl to that of
the lady of the highest position in the State. Every girl in Germany
must learn to read and to write, to sew and to knit, to cook and to
do general housework, and to acquire besides some general knowledge
of grammar, geography, mathematics, and history. Beginning at the
daughter of the _Bauer_, or, as you say in America, _farmer_, the above
mentioned knowledge, which is the starting point for the education of
the other classes, is the limit of her education; and as it may be
interesting to you, I will mention that when the daughters of the Bauer
have learned thus much they quit school and labor in the field until
they are married, when they leave aside the field work and enter upon
the duties of the household and its immediate attachments, such as the
dairy, the chicken yard, the gardens, etc.; and while the products of
the field belong to their husbands, the garden stuffs, and the milk,
eggs, butter, etc., become their own property, and from the profits of
these, which they carry to the markets and sell, they provide their
pantries with the necessary teas, sugar, coffee, etc., and themselves
and their children with clothes.
"Between the peasant class and nobility there are many grades and
classes varying more or less in the refinement of their manners as
well as in the extent of their education, but as it would not be
possible and is also unnecessary for our purpose to describe them all
in particular, I prefer to include them all under the head of gentry,
and for these a more ample education is provided. The daughters of
the gentry must, in addition to the aforesaid rudiments of knowledge,
have a very thorough education in history as well as in grammar,
mathematics, and natural and physical geography. They must know French
and English, and have an intelligent understanding of the literature
of those countries, as well as of that of Germany. They must learn
fine needle-work and the art of governing a house and of educating
young children. They must also acquire a knowledge of good manners
and an understanding of society. They must be able to receive company
and do the honors of the house. In addition to this they will have an
intelligent understanding of music and art. For all of these branches
of knowledge there are schools provided, and according to the position
or wealth of the parents, or the intelligence and application of the
daughters, will vary the refinement and education of each. As, for
instance, the education of a country squire's daughter will be superior
to that of a wholesale merchant's daughter, and that of the wholesale
merchant's daughter will be superior to that of the retail merchant's
daughter. The daughter of a very wealthy banker will be educated above
the daughters of the merchants; the daughter of a professor of the
University above that of the daughters of a professor of the Gymnasium,
and so on; and each will fill a position in life differing from that
of the others, according to the respect in which the position of the
parents is held.
"The same system of education which we have described for the daughters
of the gentry will be incumbent on the daughters of the nobility, with
the addition of a more finished and thorough education in regard to
the manners and formalities which attach to their station of life, and
these will also vary in kind and extent, according to the position of
the persons concerned. A Duke's daughter, for instance, will be more
accomplished than a Count's. But the difference will be more apparent
than real; the actual knowledge of both will, as far as their education
provides, be the same. In the society of the Court, the ladies will
naturally acquire some knowledge of the affairs of State, which those
in private life and a more retired existence will not care to learn.
But in matters of art, in literature, in the general business of life,
all German ladies are expected to be well informed and to be able to
converse intelligently regarding them, while the special faculties of
law, of medicine, of theology, of chemistry, etc., etc., are left to
the higher ambition of their fathers and brothers, and they do not
meddle with them. But, above all, as I remarked in the beginning, a
German girl of whatever rank or condition must understand fully all the
matters concerning a _household_."
When the Professor had finished, I thanked him and expressed so much
admiration at the system of education provided for the women of
Germany, that he promised me at some future time a brief explanation of
morals and manners in Germany, which I shall be most happy to present
before the reader at the proper time.