Ephemeral Femininity

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30390, 14 March 1964, Page 3

Ephemeral Femininity

Ascent of Woman. By Elisabeth Mann Borgese. Mac- , Gibbon and Kee. 247 pp. | This is an irritating book | because Mrs Borgese descends so readily to the ridiculous. At the outset, she puts her I scientific case, asserting that, | in the early days of the human race, there was no I difference between the sexes and that 'the annelid worm I may have been male at one {stage and female at another. (From that point, she jumps (to some hypothetical future I when children will be born, las suggested by Haldane and I others, in great establishiments where banks of deep- ' frozen reproductive cells, both male and female, will be maintained, along with multiplying cultures. This procedure, she claims, will make the most precious genetic heritage of humanity available for nurturing into childhood and adulthood and in the new society only the best (alpha-pluses) will be bred. Initially there will be no differences between boys! land girls; but, about the age of 18 years, all children will {grow into women—tall, strong ; and beautiful like Michaeltengelo’s angels. I These will serve four years lof drudgery in the labour I draft but afterwards become

scientists, doctors, and business executives. They will found families and enter into platonic relationships with men who, from the age of 46, will be the teacher* of women. Finally, women who have led full lives, raised (children, learned what they can from men, will turn into 1 men. Thus the sex reversal common at the lowest levels iof life will be repeated *t the highest. ' For most readers, this will be too much, and those conicemed with the status of , women here and now will not be impressed either with the author’s attempt to differentiate between male and female writing. What can be praised, however, is the valuable commentary on collective societies where, as a rule, women get a better chance of throwing off domestic responsibilities. The Soviet Union does not get full marks, but Mrs Borgese praises the kibbutz in Israel where the whole ideology is based on the principle of absolute equality of men and women. As she comments, most of the writers on utopias rarely get so far. But apart from this treatment of modern society, the book does not convince. Ths potential of the theme is enormous but only a mouse has