years of their lives in mere waiting for marriage, to take their places by the side of their mothers or aunts in carrying on the serious business of the community, and thus learn beforehand how to be in their turn, also, co-operative housekeepers. In truth, the employment of this expensive, and now nearly useless, class would not only be a vast economy to society, but would go far to solve its most perplexing problem, and assist in curing its worst evil.
The Inferences that determine Woman's present Development.
For its worst evil is the social evil, and its most perplexing problem is how to make early marriages prudent; since it is the difficulty of the latter which is made the chief excuse for the former. Now, while there is no doubt that the social evil is greatly enhanced by the unnatural lateness of marriage throughout the civilized world, yet the history of all other crime and lawlessness proves clearly enough that it exists in its present dimensions chiefly because there is no public opinion against it. Who is to create this opinion? Not the men, for obvious reasons. Only the sex which is its real victim can be expected to begin the crusade against it; but this women cannot do successfully unless they are a power in society, which now I deny them to be. The real powers in society are the young men, and they are its despots; while the young girls (and their mothers too) are their cringing suppliants and flatterers, and this to such an extent that they dare not be independent in their characters, their pursuits, or even their principles.[1] They see that those among them who dress the best, dance the best, and are the most sweetly complacent to the other sex, also marry the best and the soonest. With what justice, then, do the newspapers keep up this perpetual
- ↑ If this be disputed, witness the "round dance" question alone, which the young men have so successfully carried against the disapproval of the mothers and the scruples of the daughters simply by neglecting the young ladies who refused to join in such dances.
