places on female education, and have long since been satisfied,
that the subject not only merits, but _imperiously demands_ a
thorough reconsideration. The whole scheme must, in my opinion,
be reconstructed. The great elements of usefulness and duty are
too little attended to. Women ought, in my view of the subject,
to approach to the best education now given to men, (I except
mathematics and the classics,) far more I believe than has ever yet
been attempted. Give me a host of educated, pious mothers and sisters,
and I will do more to revolutionize a country, in moral and religious
taste, in manners and in social virtues and intellectual cultivation,
than I can possibly do in double or treble the time, with a similar
host of educated men. I cannot but think that the miserable condition
of the great body of the people in all ancient communities, is to be
ascribed in a very great degree to the degradation of women.’
There is another way in which the general opinion, that women are
inferior to men, is manifested, that bears with tremendous effect on
the laboring class, and indeed on almost all who are obliged to earn
a subsistence, whether it be by mental or physical exertion--I allude
to the disproportionate value set on the time and labor of men and
of women. A man who is engaged in teaching, can always, I believe,
command a higher price for tuition than a woman--even when he teaches
the same branches, and is not in any respect superior to the woman.
This I know is the case in boarding and other schools with which I
have been acquainted, and it is so in every occupation in which the
sexes engage indiscriminately. As for example, in tailoring, a man has
twice, or three times as much for making a waistcoat or pantaloons as
a woman, although the work done by each may be equally good. In those
employments which are peculiar to women, their time is estimated at
only half the value of that of men. A woman who goes out to wash, works
as hard in proportion as a wood sawyer, or a coal heaver, but she is
not generally able to make more than half as much by a day’s work. The
low remuneration which women receive for their work, has claimed the
attention of a few philanthropists, and I hope it will continue to do
so until some remedy is applied for this enormous evil. I have known
a widow, left with four or five children, to provide for, unable to
leave home because her helpless babes demand her attention, compelled
to earn a scanty subsistence, by making coarse shirts at 12¹⁄₂ cents
a piece, or by taking in washing, for which she was paid by some
wealthy persons 12¹⁄₂ cents per dozen. All these things evince the
low estimation in which woman is held. There is yet another and more
disastrous consequence arising from this unscriptural notion--women
being educated, from earliest childhood, to regard themselves as
inferior creatures, have not that self-respect which conscious equality
would engender, and hence when their virtue is assailed, they yield to
temptation with facility, under the idea that it rather exalts than
debases them, to be connected with a superior being.
There is another class of women in this country, to whom I cannot
refer, without feelings of the deepest shame and sorrow. I allude to
our female slaves. Our southern cities are whelmed beneath a tide
of pollution; the virtue of female slaves is wholly at the mercy of
irresponsible tyrants, and women are bought and sold in our slave
markets, to gratify the brutal lust of those who bear the name of
Christians. In our slave States, if amid all her degradation and
ignorance, a woman desires to preserve her virtue unsullied, she is
either bribed or whipped into compliance, or if she dares resist her
seducer, her life by the laws of some of the slave States may be,
and has actually been sacrificed to the fury of disappointed passion.
Where such laws do not exist, the power which is necessarily vested in
the master over his property, leaves the defenceless slave entirely
at his mercy, and the sufferings of some females on this account,
both physical and mental, are intense. Mr. Gholson, in the House of
Delegates of Virginia, in 1832, said, ‘He really had been under the
impression that he owned his slaves. He had lately purchased four
women and ten children, in whom he thought he had obtained a great
bargain; for he supposed they were his own property, _as were his
brood mares_.’ But even if any laws existed in the United States, as
in Athens formerly, for the protection of female slaves, they would be
null and void, because the evidence of a colored person is not admitted
against a white, in any of our Courts of Justice in the slave States.
‘In Athens, if a female slave had cause to complain of any want of
respect to the laws of modesty, she could seek the protection of the
temple, and demand a change of owners; and such appeals were never
discountenanced, or neglected by the magistrate.’ In Christian America,
the slave has no refuge from unbridled cruelty and lust.
S. A. Forrall, speaking of the state of morals at the South, says,
‘Negresses when young and likely, are often employed by the planter, or
his friends, to administer to their sensual desires. This frequently is
a matter of speculation, for if the offspring, a mulatto, be a handsome
female, 800 or 1000 dollars may be obtained for her in the New Orleans
market. It is an occurrence of no uncommon nature to see a Christian
father sell his own daughter, and the brother his own sister.’ The
following is copied by the N. Y. Evening Star from the Picayune, a
paper published in New Orleans. ‘A very beautiful girl, belonging to
the estate of John French, a deceased gambler at New Orleans, was sold
a few days since for the round sum of $7,000. An ugly-looking bachelor
named Gouch, a member of the Council of one of the Principalities, was
the purchaser. The girl is a brunette; remarkable for her beauty and
intelligence, and there was considerable contention, who should be
the purchaser. She was, however, persuaded to accept Gouch, he having
made her princely promises.’ I will add but one more from the numerous
testimonies respecting the degradation of female slaves, and the
licentiousness of the South. It is from the Circular of the Kentucky
Union, for the moral and religious improvement of the colored race.
‘To the female character among our black population, we cannot allude
but with feelings of the bitterest shame. A similar condition of moral
pollution and utter disregard of a pure and virtuous reputation, is
to be found _only without the pale of Christendom_. That such a state
of society should exist in a Christian nation, claiming to be the
most enlightened upon earth, without calling forth any _particular
attention_ to its existence, though ever before our eyes and _in our_
families, is a moral phenomenon at once unaccountable and disgraceful.’
Nor does the colored woman suffer alone: the moral purity of the white
woman is deeply contaminated. In the daily habit of seeing the virtue
of her enslaved sister sacrificed without hesitancy or remorse, she
looks upon the crimes of seduction and illicit intercourse without
horror, and although not personally involved in the guilt, she loses
that value for innocence in her own, as well as the other sex, which
is one of the strongest safeguards to virtue. She lives in habitual
intercourse with men, whom she knows to be polluted by licentiousness,
and often is she compelled to witness in her own domestic circle, those
disgusting and heart-sickening jealousies and strifes which disgraced
and distracted the family of Abraham. In addition to all this, the
female slaves suffer every species of degradation and cruelty, which
the most wanton barbarity can inflict; they are indecently divested
of their clothing, sometimes tied up and severely whipped, sometimes
prostrated on the earth, while their naked bodies are torn by the
scorpion lash.
‘The whip on WOMAN’S shrinking flesh!
Our soil yet reddening with the stains
Caught from her scourging warm and fresh.’
Can any American woman look at these scenes of shocking licentiousness
and cruelty, and fold her hands in apathy, and say, ‘I have nothing to
do with slavery’? _She cannot and be guiltless._
I cannot close this letter, without saying a few words on the benefits
to be derived by men, as well as women, from the opinions I advocate
relative to the equality of the sexes. Many women are now supported, in
idleness and extravagance, by the industry of their husbands, fathers,
or brothers, who are compelled to toil out their existence, at the
counting house, or in the printing office, or some other laborious
occupation, while the wife and daughters and sisters take no part in
the support of the family, and appear to think that their sole business
is to spend the hard bought earnings of their male friends. I deeply
regret such a state of things, because I believe that if women felt
their responsibility, for the support of themselves, or their families
it would add strength and dignity to their characters, and teach
them more true sympathy for their husbands, than is now generally
manifested,--a sympathy which would be exhibited by actions as well as
words. Our brethren may reject my doctrine, because it runs counter
to common opinions, and because it wounds their pride; but I believe
they would be ‘partakers of the benefit’ resulting from the Equality of
the Sexes, and would find that woman, as their equal, was unspeakably
more valuable than woman as their inferior, both as a moral and an
intellectual being.
Thine in the bonds of womanhood,
SARAH M. GRIMKE.
FOOTNOTES:
[2] Thomas S. Grimke.
LETTER IX.
HEROISM OF WOMEN--WOMEN IN AUTHORITY.
_Brookline, 8th Mo. 25th, 1837._
MY DEAR SISTER,--It seems necessary to glance at the conduct of women
under circumstances which place them in juxtaposition with men,
although I regard it as entirely unimportant in proving the moral
equality of the sexes; because I condemn, in both, the exercise of that
brute force which is as contrary to the law of God in men as in women;
still, as a part of our history, I shall notice some instances of
courage exhibited by females.
‘Philippa, wife of Edward III., was the principal cause of the victory
gained over the Scots at Neville Cross. In the absence of her husband,
she rode among the troops, and exhorted them to “be of good courage.”’
Jane, Countess of Mountfort, and a contemporary of Philippa, likewise
possessed a great share of physical courage. The history of Joan of
Arc is too familiar to need repetition. During the reign of James II.
a singular instance of female intrepidity occurred in Scotland. Sir
John Cochrane being condemned to be hung, his daughter twice disguised
herself, and robbed the mail that brought his death warrant. In the
mean time, his pardon was obtained from the King. Instances might be
multiplied, but it is unnecessary. I shall therefore close these proofs
of female courage with one more fact. ‘During the revolutionary war,
the women shared in the patriotism and bravery of the men. Several
individuals carried their enthusiasm so far as to enter the army, where
they faced all the perils and fatigues of the camp, until the close of
the war.’
When I view my countrywomen in the character of soldiers, or even
behold them loading fire arms and moulding bullets for their brethren
to destroy men’s lives, I cannot refrain a sigh. I cannot but contrast
their conduct at that solemn crisis with the conduct of those women
who followed their Lord and Master with unresisting submission, to
Calvary’s Mount. With the precepts and example of a crucified Redeemer,
who, in that sublime precept, ‘Resist not evil,’ has interdicted to his
disciples all war and all violence, and taught us that the spirit of
retaliation for injuries, whether in the camp, or at the fire-side, is
wholly at variance with the peaceful religion he came to promulgate.
How little do we comprehend that simple truth, ‘By this shall all men
know that ye are my disciples, if ye have _love one to another_.’
Women have sometimes distinguished themselves in a way more consistent
with their duties as moral beings. During the war between the Romans
and the Sabines, the Sabine women who had been carried off by the
Romans, repaired to the Sabine camp, dressed in deep mourning, with
their little ones in their arms, to soften, if possible, the feelings
of their parents. They knelt at the feet of their relatives; and
when Hersilia, the wife of Romulus, described the kindness of their
husbands, and their unwillingness to be separated from them, their
fathers yielded to their entreaties, and an alliance was soon agreed
upon. In consequence of this important service, peculiar privileges
were conferred on women by the Romans. Brutus said of his wife, ‘I
must not answer Portia in the words of Hector, “Mind your wheel, and
to your maids give law,” for in courage, activity and concern for her
country’s freedom, she is inferior to none of us.’ After the fatal
battle of Cannæ, the Roman women consecrated all their ornaments to the
service of the state. But when the triumvirs attempted to tax them for
the expenses of carrying on a civil war, they resisted the innovation.
They chose Hortensia for their speaker, and went in a body to the
market-place to expostulate with the magistrates. The triumvirs wished
to drive them away, but they were compelled to yield to the wishes of
the people, and give the women a hearing. Hortensia pleaded so well the
cause of her sisters, who resolved that they would not voluntarily aid
in a _civil war_, that the number of women taxed was reduced from 1400
to 400.
In the wars of the Guelphs and the Ghibbelines, the emperor Conrad
refused all terms of capitulation to the garrison of Winnisberg, but
he granted the request of the women to pass out in safety with such of
their effects as they could carry themselves. Accordingly, they issued
from the besieged city, each bearing on her shoulders a husband, son,
father, or brother. They passed unmolested through the enemy’s camp,
which rung with acclamations of applause.
During our struggle for independence, the women were as exemplary as
the men in various instances of self-denial: they refused every article
of decoration for their persons; foreign elegances were laid aside, and
they cheerfully abstained from luxuries for their tables.
English history presents many instances of women exercising
prerogatives now denied them. In an action at law, it has been
determined that an unmarried woman, having a freehold, might vote for
members of Parliament; and it is recorded that lady Packington returned
two. Lady Broughton was keeper of the gatehouse prison. And in a much
later period, a woman was appointed governor of the house of correction
at Chelmsford, by order of the court. In the reign of George II. the
minister of Clerkenwell was chosen by a majority of women. The office
of grand chamberlain in 1822 was filled by two women; and that of clerk
of the crown, in the court of king’s bench, has been granted to a
female. The celebrated Anne, countess of Pembroke, held the hereditary
office of sheriff of Westmoreland, and exercised it in person, sitting
on the bench with the judges.
I need hardly advert to the names of Elizabeth of England, Maria
Theresa of Germany, Catharine of Russia, and Isabella of Spain, to
prove that women are capable of swaying the sceptre of royalty. The
page of history proves incontestibly, not only that they are as well
qualified to do so as men, but that there has been a comparatively
greater proportion of good queens, than of good kings; women who have
purchased their celebrity by individual strength of character.
I mention these women only to prove that intellect is not sexed; that
strength of mind is not sexed; and that our views about the duties of
men and the duties of women, the sphere of man and the sphere of woman,
are mere arbitrary opinions, differing in different ages and countries,
and dependant solely on the will and judgment of erring mortals.
As moral and responsible beings, men and women have the same sphere of
action, and the same duties devolve upon both; but no one can doubt
that the duties of each vary according to circumstances; that a father
and a mother, a husband and a wife, have sacred obligations resting on
them, which cannot possibly belong to those who do not sustain these
relations. But these duties and responsibilities do not attach to them
as men and as women, but as parents, husbands, and wives.
Thine in the bonds of womanhood,
SARAH M. GRIMKE.
LETTER X.
INTELLECT OF WOMAN.
_Brookline, 8th Mo. 1837._
MY DEAR SISTER,--It will scarcely be denied, I presume, that, as a
general rule, men do not desire the improvement of women. There are few
instances of men who are magnanimous enough to be entirely willing that
women should know more than themselves, on any subjects except dress
and cookery; and, indeed, this necessarily flows from their assumption
of superiority. As _they_ have determined that Jehovah has placed
woman on a lower platform than man, they of course wish to keep her
there; and hence the noble faculties of our minds are crushed, and our
reasoning powers are almost wholly uncultivated.
A writer in the time of Charles I. says--‘She that knoweth how to
compound a pudding, is more desirable than she who skilfully compounded
a poem. A female poet I mislike at all times.’ Within the last century,
it has been gravely asserted that, ‘chemistry enough to keep the pot
boiling, and geography enough to know the location of the different
rooms in her house, is learning sufficient for a woman.’ Byron, who
was too sensual to conceive of a pure and perfect companionship
between the sexes, would limit a woman’s library to a Bible and cookery
book. I have myself heard men, who knew for themselves the value of
intellectual culture, say they cared very little for a wife who could
not make a pudding, and smile with contempt at the ardent thirst for
knowledge exhibited by some women.
But all this is miserable wit and worse philosophy. It exhibits that
passion for the gratification of a pampered appetite, which is beneath
those who claim to be so far above us, and may justly be placed on
a par with the policy of the slaveholder, who says that men will be
better slaves, if they are not permitted to learn to read.
In spite, however, of the obstacles which impede the progress of women
towards that state of high mental cultivation for which her Creator
prepared her, the tendency towards the universal dissemination of
knowledge has had its influence on their destinies; and in all ages, a
few have surmounted every hindrance, and proved, beyond dispute, that
they have talents equal to their brethren.
Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio Africanus, was distinguished for
virtue, learning and good sense. She wrote and spoke with uncommon
elegance and purity. Cicero and Quinctilian bestow high praise upon
her letters, and the eloquence of her children was attributed to
her careful superintendence. This reminds me of a remark made by my
brother, Thomas S. Grimke, when speaking of the importance of women
being well educated, that ‘educated men would never make educated
women, but educated women would make educated men.’ I believe the
sentiment is correct, because if the wealth of latent intellect among
women was fully evolved and improved, they would rejoice to communicate
to their sons all their own knowledge, and inspire them with desires to
drink from the fountain of literature.
I pass over many interesting proofs of the intellectual powers of
women; but I must not omit glancing at the age of chivalry, which
has been compared to a golden thread running through the dark ages.
During this remarkable era, women who, before this period, had been
subject to every species of oppression and neglect, were suddenly
elevated into deities, and worshipped with a mad fanaticism. It is
not improbable, however, that even the absurdities of chivalry were
beneficial to women, as it raised them from that extreme degradation
to which they had been condemned, and prepared the way for them to
be permitted to enjoy some scattered rays from the sun of science
and literature. As the age of knight-errantry declined, men began to
take pride in learning, and women shared the advantages which this
change produced. ‘Women preached in public, supported controversies,
published and defended theses, filled the chairs of philosophy and
law, harangued the popes in Latin, wrote Greek and read Hebrew. Nuns
wrote poetry, women of rank became divines, and young girls publicly
exhorted Christian princes to take up arms for the recovery of the
holy sepulchre. Hypatia, daughter of Theon of Alexandria, succeeded
her father in the government of the Platonic school, and filled with
reputation a seat, where many celebrated philosophers had taught. The
people regarded her as an oracle, and magistrates consulted her in
all important cases. No reproach was ever uttered against the perfect
purity of her manners. She was unembarrassed in large assemblies of
men, because their admiration was tempered with the most scrupulous
respect. In the 13th century, a young lady of Bologna pronounced a
Latin oration at the age of twenty-three. At twenty-six, she took the
degree of doctor of laws, and began publicly to expound Justinian. At
thirty, she was elevated to a professor’s chair, and taught the law
to a crowd of scholars from all nations. Italy produced many learned
and gifted women, among whom, perhaps none was more celebrated than
Victoria Colonna, Marchioness of Pescara. In Spain, Isabella of Rosera
converted Jews by her eloquent preaching;’ and in England the names
of many women, from Lady Jane Gray down to Harriet Martineau, are
familiar to every reader of history. Of the last mentioned authoress,
Lord Brougham said that her writings on political economy were doing
more good than those of any man in England. There is a contemporary
of Harriet Martineau, who has recently rendered valuable services
to her country. She presented a memorial to Parliament, stating the
dangerous parts of the coast, where light-houses were needed, and at
her suggestion, several were erected. She keeps a life-boat and sailors
in her pay, and has been the means of saving many lives. Although she
has been deprived of the use of her limbs since early childhood, yet
even when the storm is unusually severe, she goes herself on the beach
in her carriage, that she may be sure her men perform their duty. She
understands several languages, and is now engaged in writing a work on
the Northern languages of Europe. ‘In Germany, the influence of women
on literature is considerable, though less obvious than in some other
countries. Literary families frequently meet at each others’ houses,
and learned and intelligent women are often the brightest ornaments of
these social circles.’ France has produced many distinguished women,
whose names are familiar to every lover of literature. And I believe it
is conceded universally, that Madame de Stael was intellectually the
greatest woman that ever lived. The United States have produced several
female writers, some of whom have talents of the highest order. But
women, even in this free republic, do not enjoy _all_ the intellectual
advantages of men, although there is a perceptible improvement within
the last ten or twenty years; and I trust there is a desire awakened
in my sisters for solid acquirements, which will elevate them to their
‘appropriate sphere,’ and enable them to ‘adorn the doctrine of God our
Saviour in all things.’
Thine in the bonds of womanhood,
SARAH M. GRIMKE.
LETTER XI.
DRESS OF WOMEN.
_Brookline, 9th Mo., 1837._
MY DEAR SISTER,--When I view woman as an immortal being, travelling
through this world to that city whose builder and maker is God,--when
I contemplate her in all the sublimity of her spiritual existence,
bearing the image and superscription of Jehovah, emanating from Him
and partaking of his nature, and destined, if she fulfils her duty,
to dwell with him through the endless ages of eternity,--I mourn that
she has lived so far below her privileges and her obligations, as a
rational and accountable creature; and I ardently long to behold her
occupying that sphere in which I believe her Creator designed her to
move.