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James, Ada Lois, 1876-1952 / Ada James papers, correspondence, 1912, Dec. 24-31, [1912]
Wis Mss OP, Box 17, Folder 4 ([unpublished])
[The womanly woman], pp. [unnumbered]-5
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TYE WCYA1TLY W"CVAN. The womanly woman abd the manly man are traditional. They belong to every age and they also differ with every age. The anti-suffragists have pictured the womanly woman as a woman who perennially sits by the fire andtiembroiders, she is prone to get what she wants by shedding tears or I-harmi njgt . The womanly woran is a legitipate ideal,. It is not enough for us to ridicule the anti-suffragistV ideal, unless we are ready to suistitute a more wholesome one. Why not make the womanly woman a 5tu- dy, and construct an idea~l wotthy of emulation? The Drimeval duties of women remain the same, but the methods of carrying on these duties vary continually. In order of importance these duties are maternal, domestic and marital, and the woman who attains the highest degree of excellence in these three lines can well be rated the most womanly. Motherhood being the most important function of women, girls should be tught to qualify ior maternity. Too long the subject of maternity h' s heen submerged in a veritable sluice of meaningless gush To be honest, motherhood is either beautiful and honorable, or sordid and disgraceful; we often fail to make the distinction. The professio of motherhood ought to held up as a r-ward for girls who are willing to fit t1-mselves for it physically, rfentlly and spiritually. Some of our normal schools, colleges and universities are providing lec- tures for giirb dealing with motherhood, but these talks reach only the favored few who can go to college, whereas the preparation for motherhood ought4 to be as common as motherhood itself. If a girl, aftrr being instructed bon tc live/ so as to fit herself for the high- est profession in life, were considered unwomanly if she. such instruction, the women of the future would be less trifling and. more ~rious. ~Let us te cni our girls t'ht the divinest instincts riveri ki are the -mat rnol and paternal, but let uZJieach them t that these instincts art not 'Ite~deint , necessarily, on 'hysical motherhood and fath -rhood for expression. Jane Addams and Judge Lindsey have done more for society through bettering the conditions of thousands of little children than have the most devoted fathers and mothers who have spent their lives merely catereing to the wants of pam.pered darlings. There was a time when we thoug' t that instin4 was enough to guide a motler, a house-keeper or a farmer. But now we know that these instincts must be supplemented by all the knowledge it is possible to acquire. A home for children is as necessary as a nest for birds. So home-making is woman's next important function. The present home bears little resem/lance to the home of fifty years age, the house-keepers of then and now have little in common. Our grand- ,others made almost everything that was consumed in the hcrme from the candles to the carpets. It was their duty to know that the f food was nourishing and the house clean, if they did not do all the work theiselvespit was dine under their supervision. Our
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