THE MODERN GIRL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLI, Issue 9394, 16 December 1920, Page 5

THE MODERN GIRL.

THE WAYS OF YOUTH.

UNAD APT ABILITY^ OF CONVENTIONS.

A writer on the Manners of Modern, Girls, in the Sydney Daily - Telegraph. says:— ( The many critics of our modern'girl •give forth their views with ' all the confidence of inspiration. -None suggest a remedy for the ills they deplore; none try with open mind to get to the root of the matter, to ascertain the reason why our age is witness of the evolution of a ne^w type of - young woman: „ . ■

We of the older generation regard our conventions as the standard of good breeding and behaviour for our sex, and we, seek, conscientiously, no doubt, to impose our views " on the young people of to-day. Were' we completely successful, we should probably find ourselves as much- embarrassed by the; restrictions ■we wish 'to enforce as we are by the'flouting of our advice to the emancipated maiden,- . Our prime disability to prescribe d line, of conduct for the girls is simply that the experiences oir our sheltered girjhood are useless to the girls who daily leave their homes to mix in business or in sport with men unknown to their families. Their eyes are open to much that is mere hearsay to us- They *shock us witlr their■ frank knowledge-of good and evil, the real safeguard of their maidenhood. ;

"She Knows." The exigencies of modern life have made it,- iii many cases, necessary for . the daughters to take their part' in earning a share of the family budget, and; ail unehaperoned, they go forth to their daily work, capable and selfreliant, well able- to take care of themselves. , The same spirit is shown' in ' all' grades of the community; the, society belle .goes out to dance or theatre unattended ,by the "harmless necessary" chaperon (I trust no reader will complete ,the quotation—) a thing unheard' of in her .mother's youth. They know the. limitation of her girlhood and "she knows that they know^ and' they know that she knows tHat they know,"and so they' answer her criticism with the report that her views are out of date ; in the eyes.of youth it is a serious indictment to be out of date. ■ i We of the older generation are scarcely to blame for our position unless, perhaps, it be that we are allowed a Ncertain indolenccj of mind to dull our vision of the future of these young people, passing,' with our ,consent, be-< yond our mental ken on their various 1 careers. The conventions of our youth', seemed so convenient for our daughters that we lost sight of their adapta- ' bility to the usages of the age in which we live. Events have crowded so quickly on us, the somnolent ways of our girlhood were so easy to follow, it seemed so wise and so safe to remain in the ancestral groove, that we will excuse ourselves for being overwhelmed by "the younger, generation knocking at the door." The door is ■ battered down, and we, in our. bewilderment, can only stand on thethres' hold and scold;;, . ■ The Better Way. I think there is 4a better way to help these wonderful and lovable girlsi In the store of our experience there is little that can serve them in their new-' found liberty, but greater and more sanctified help we can afford in assuring them of our love and admiration and in the proud allegiance of woman to woman. Let no carping criticism come between us and these half-shy, half-confident'beings; let us believe in them and trust in their clear-sighted^ knowledge of ' 'things as they are" for the working out of the greatest of our modern problfems. They will make mistakes, they will exasperate the harrow-minded almost beyond endurance with their modes and moods and passing fancies. It is' the >way of youth 'to wish to experiment with. ' every new idea; it;is a chase in which, unconsciously, they are working out their problem. The 1 few'—they are comparatively very- few —who step .behind the limits of decorum are frowned uponby the many, who, with their admirable comnionsense,, are prompt to decide'that such behaviour "does not pay." 1 ' ' ' "The, thoughts of youth are long, jlong ■ thoughts," the world was made ;for the young, and lies before them, and life, to them, consists' of an incalculable number of years, whose passage cannot touch them with the sombre doubts of age. For them our early conventions are prejudices unworthy of investigation; <.they, alone, they hold, have been enabled to form opinions from their own. observations of the world and its ways. Perhaps they are a little justified in this attitude, especially in'an age like,ours, -when>a clear-cut line divides their lives or, the generation • that has' gone before. No swing of the pendulum will- ever re-; store them to their safe and uneventful shelter of their mother's .skirts. Rich and poor, they have learnt during these recent years that the work o% the great world is calling for them, and this knowledge, with the help or older .women and their wise and friendly' guidance, will impart or restore to them the wisdom by which they will accomplish the high achievements ot the wide destiny awaiting them, and i hold aloft—greater women than the I world has yet seen—the lamp of love jand purity.