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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Women And Woek.
themselves and make themselves useful . " An intimate friend of the last nurses " speaker You and ; , but and I , women much Maria , older " of said superior than she , herself " intellect mig indeed , protested ht , settle the when Blackwells against down it contentedl so to levellin for the examp y g for a le de , life would cision doubt , as .
whether find it very even hard you to or do I , this with . all And our , meekness , and came humility , would push , be I quite satisfied with such a lot . Let us suppose that you are reduced to the necesand
dressmaker Berlin sity of wool earning , or you milliner your cannot own , and possibl livelihood so y you be , delibe a and governess that ratel , y being embrace ; you no would adept the not profession in like music to be of a a
nurse . Well then , what happens after that ? Your acquaintance ( to hear them tee your speak m behaviour they ) are feel full for of most admi praise . ration Some wor of th strong the y , they course -minded have you families have not language pursued will even . to They express go so pronounce far the as es to
ask you to tea once you or twice , in a clandestine way , when nobody else is expectedbutafter allthe path of duty is a rugged pathand your
respectable peop ;— le will , soon get , tired of countenancing a person , whose income does not enable her to dress or do anything else like the rest of the worldand of
, whom they are ashamed before their very servants . You would then find yourself condemned to one of two evils : either to an unnatural state of
isolationor to the society of persons whom you might certainly esteem very hihl , but with whom you could not mix intimately or comfortably . "
g " Oh y , ! that I certainly could not endure , '' said Maria : " it is all very well to draw near to such people as their benefactor _; but as their intimate or equal ,
that is impossible . " " Yes , it is impossible , —you did not think of that , and it is very strange themselvesthe
how little women do think of what so nearly concerns . For most delicate and ethereal amongst us does not pretend to live without food ;
and yet , to hear people speak , any one might conclude that it was not a matter of necessity at allbut entirely a matter of taste . But let us suppose , on
the other handthat , from your early youth , you had scorned the bread of idlenessand had , been , preparing yourself for one of the higher
professionsfor the woman , ' s own profession , in short , —to be a woman ' s doctor , and supposing of this of course enlihtened ( for we country have a would great allow many you things to to earn suppose your ) poor that dail the y customs bread ,
without in short losing that g , tends in the to act embellish , friends , life posi . tion In , such intellectual a case , enjoyments how sincere , everyth would ing be ,
the esteem , how cordial the welcome ! ' Put money in thy purse' in a free , independent , way , and you would be surprised to find how easily all your
highrefined ladies and gentlemen would forgive you your industry , your moral ance courage on , your own social . pride To , your that small women regard have for not their the mental opinion powers , your firm required
relifor a profe your ssion , is takin say g too much for granted . Those powers which were intended to have been their guide to what is good and great are trodden
out before they come into use ; they are disabled , for any worthy purpose , as systematically as Chinese women are crippled in their feet ; both in books and
in conversation their existence as intellectual beings is absolutely ignored . All this is killing to the young impressionable mindnot to speak of the vain
ones pleasures they which may are expect soliciting to enjoy them without on every reproach hand , , and and whi derision ch are from the onl the y
world The . " amiable but weak-minded Mrs . B . was the next objector . * ie Well , it
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I210 OPEN COUNCIL . I
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), May 1, 1858, page 210, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01051858/page/66/
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