Part 15
Women, ignoring of civic duties by, 154. the care of children the duty of, 155. behaviour of, to children, 179. few, like housework, 245.
Work, the, of parenthood, 37. during motherhood, 271. the human being who does not, contemptible, 275.
Young, advantage of the, over the old, 158. better education of the, an imperative need, 253. ambition of the, a force to lift mankind, 23. respect due to the, 172.
Youth, the foolishness of, due to our training, 21. the fountain of human progress, 21.
Zend-Avesta, the, 114.
PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH
* * * * *
THE BOOKS OF CHARLOTTE PERKINS STETSON
(Mrs. G. H. GILMAN)
WOMEN AND ECONOMICS
A STUDY OF THE ECONOMIC RELATION BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN AS A FACTOR IN SOCIAL EVOLUTION
_358 pages, crown 8vo, cloth, 6s._
In writing this book it has been Mrs. Stetson's purpose to point out, explain, and justify the changes now going on in the relations of women to society. The subject is one which must inevitably come home to every household in the country. No woman, whatever her position or the conditions surrounding her, can read the book and not feel that the whole argument applies to herself and her concerns almost like a personal appeal.
In brief, the position taken is that women have for centuries been economically dependent on men; that as a result women have been tending to become more and more feminine and less and less normal human beings. Even this bald statement of Mrs. Stetson's thesis will serve to show the scope and importance of her book. The argument is extended to every branch of social activity with remarkable originality. It may safely be said that hardly any volume of recent years has treated a confused subject with so much real intelligence and in an attitude so singularly fair and high-minded.
It has been no part of Mrs. Stetson's purpose to write a dull book. On the contrary, one of the surprising qualities of _Women and Economics_ is its readableness throughout--the really absorbing interest of its argument even to the least scientific reader. It is a book hard to lay down. One hardly knows which to admire the more,--its clearness, earnestness, and courage, or the keen wit and shrewd satire which keep its pages fresh and sparkling to the end.
Whether one finally agrees with Mrs. Stetson's position or not, _Women and Economics_ is distinctly a book one cannot afford to miss. It is worth reading if only for its high ideals of a finer marriage, a family better nourished and better bred, a fuller life and opportunity for childhood, and a more complete and better rounded womanhood in the house as well as in society.
_WHAT THE CRITICS SAY_
"Mrs. Stetson's polemical poetry has a force and vigour of its own, which may perhaps serve to drive home the arguments lucidly stated in 'Women and Economics.' She differs from other advocates of women's rights, chiefly in her estimate of women as they are."--_Athenæum._
"There have been heard now and again whispers of feminine discontent, hints that the relations of the sexes are on a not entirely satisfactory footing, and suggestions that marriage from a woman's point of view, comes near being a failure.... In her book Mrs. Stetson goes to the very root of the matter, and turns hints, as it were, into italics."--_World._
"The charm of the book lies in its evident sincerity, its eloquent appeals to the higher side of human nature, and its wholesale optimism. These qualities will make the book a power for good among those who have hitherto given little thought to the position of women in society, and the fearless exposure of many social evils will stimulate such readers to serious thought."--_Fabian News._
"When we pass to the book of the lady whose inspiration is derived from the expansive temperament of the great Republic of the West ... we recognise at once how much more hopeful one can be when one is not a citizen of a played-out European nation.... Mrs. Stetson's intention is to show that what she calls the 'excessive sex development' of women is responsible for some of the worst evils under which we suffer.... With a great deal of what she says on this matter it is impossible not to agree."--_Saturday Review._
"'Women and Economics' is a book to be read and a book to be thought about, whether you may agree with it or not. If all the literature of the feminist movement had been half so cogent, so accurately based on fact, so sincere, and withal so pure and modest as this, the feminist movement of to-day would have been a great deal farther advanced than it is."--_Hearth and Home._
"Here is a book that, whether we look on its teaching as wholesome or dangerous, we are bound to acknowledge to be of exceptional ability. It is the book of a woman of a clear and of a trained intellect, and of great courage. As such it demands attention and very likely will get it--of the hostile kind--from many quarters."--_Bookman._
"To-day it will meet with opposition and dispute--more or less great as we appreciate more or less truly the conditions of human progress. Ten years hence--perhaps five years hence--it will be accepted eagerly. Twenty years hence it will be a mere milestone of history. These are the stages through which books must pass which contain true analyses of transient societies. But the literary historian who somewhere towards the latter half of the twentieth century looks up Mrs. Stetson's volume, will find amid phrases grown old-fashioned, and arguments long since admitted, a sparkle of wit, a lucidity of statement and an admirable spirit of justice and allowance, likely even in those improved days to be still rare among controversialists."--_Academy._
"There is one thing at all events that may be predicated of this book. It is admirably devised for the purpose of making a dust.... There are some who will read Mrs. Stetson's book with anger or will turn from it with repulsion. I cannot put myself in their place. To me it seems that the courageous and clear-headed American woman speaks as a rule the language of reason and sense. I read her with pleasure and gratitude.... It is an honest and stimulating book. Perfect in temper, noble in intention, and therefore it is to be cordially welcomed."--_Sunday Sun._
"Mrs. Stetson is such a specimen of the modern woman as it does one good to encounter. She is strong and clear; as free from noise as from flippancy.... 'Women and Economics' is a book to read."--_Echo._
"Mrs. Stetson's contribution to the woman question is a notable one, but it is notable chiefly because of its logical conclusions, its constructive ability, its art of putting things in an arranging way."--_Humanitarian._
IN THIS OUR WORLD
REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION
_16mo, cloth, ornamental, gilt top, with a photogravure frontispiece from a recent photograph, 5s._
This new Edition, following the little pamphlet volumes issued on the Pacific Coast, should give her book a popularity as wide as the country. Certainly the vigour, the _verve_, the deep moral earnestness, and the delightful humour and extraordinary talent for satire which she displays in these poems, have hardly been surpassed. The volume is divided into three parts. The first, entitled _The World_, ranges in subject from _Similar Cases_ and _An Obstacle_ (to name only two of those satirical pieces by which Mrs. Stetson has hitherto been best known), to lyrics of nature remarkable for their tender sympathy and loving observation. While the third part, called _The March_, deals with the "forward movement" of human brotherhood which has always been so dear to Mrs. Stetson's heart.
_PRESS NOTICES_
"Mrs. Stetson's civic satire is of a form which she has herself invented; it recalls the work of no one else; you can say of it that since the Biglow Papers there has been no satire approaching it in the wit flashing from profound conviction."--W. D. HOWELLS in the _North American Review_.
"Mrs. Stetson has plenty to say, especially when her theme is revolt."--_Spectator._
"She puts things in a new way and succeeds by sheer intensity of insight and directness of personal consciousness. The book is too exclusively occupied with morals, no doubt; but this is an Anglo-Saxon weakness--or strength, and, like everything else, it is justified when it succeeds.... We do not say that this is a volume of great poetry, but we do say that it is an original and interesting book, one of the best kind, the kind that makes us stop and think."--_Literature._
"On the whole Mrs. Stetson's little book is a refreshing proof of the spread of culture in California."--_Manchester Guardian._
"The gospel which C. P. Stetson preaches in her delightful verses, 'In this our World,' is as original as it is well expressed. It is not only in the novelty of the theme, but also in the freshness and vigour of her diction, that her charm lies.... She is really a very remarkable writer, and possesses a power of thought and expression seldom met with."--_Gentlewoman._
THE YELLOW WALL PAPER
_12mo, paper boards, 2s._
"Mrs. Charlotte Perkins Stetson's 'The Yellow Wall Paper' is a conceit fantastical and gruesome enough to have emanated from the brain of Edgar Poe. It is written with remarkable vividness, as if the writer had experienced something very like the misery which she describes. There is nothing extravagant or unreal in the narration. Wall-papers, yellow and other coloured, have had often a pernicious influence on people of defective nervous poise, and quite unbalanced them. Mrs. Stetson's story has a purely literary justification, but is none the worse for teaching a lesson which some loving husbands and parents would do well to heed."--_Christian Register._
TALKS WITH BARBARA
Being an Informal and Experimental Discussion, from the Point of View of a Young Woman of To-morrow, of certain of the Complexities of Life, particularly in regard to the Relations of Men and Women
By ELIZABETH KNIGHT TOMPKINS
AUTHOR OF "HER MAJESTY," "THE THINGS THAT COUNT," ETC.
_Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 6s._
Miss Tompkins sets forth in this volume certain striking opinions in regard to the problems which confront young men and young women of to-day. She has drawn a bright and energetic girl, whose breezy talks with her masculine friend include many bits of protest against the restrictions at present imposed by Mrs. Grundy.
THE THINGS THAT COUNT
By ELIZABETH KNIGHT TOMPKINS
AUTHOR OF "HER MAJESTY," "THE BROKEN RING," ETC.
_12mo, cloth, 3s. 6d._
In her well-known graphic style, Miss Tompkins has made a strong and vivid study of a character hitherto not delineated in American fiction. Her heroine is an indolent young woman of small means, who lives by visiting the houses of wealthy friends. The story of her regeneration, through her affection for a man of strong character, is cleverly told.
HOUSEHOLD ECONOMICS
A COURSE OF LECTURES IN THE SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
By HELEN CAMPBELL
AUTHOR OF "PRISONERS OF POVERTY," "WOMEN WAGE-EARNERS," ETC.
_8vo, cloth extra, gilt tops, 6s._
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS LONDON AND NEW YORK
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
A few obvious printer errors were repaired, but otherwise spelling and punctuation were retained as in the original, including variant spellings on the same words (for example: "color" and "colour").
The index is not listed in the original Contents page.
In the original, index entries for "Humanity, degrees of," and "Species, power to improve the," erroneously referred to page 1. These entries have been corrected to page 3.
End of Project Gutenberg's Concerning Children, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman