A WASTED SACRIFICE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 47, 19 November 1907, Page 3

A WASTED SACRIFICE.

Much alarm is expressed in certain quarters, says an English paper, lost the many, distractions of occupation, culture and recreation 'that now •,beckon women and' the younger members of the household shall have the effect of weakening family ties and bringing about a sort of social chaos most unpleasantly individualistic. It is assumed by these alarmists that the completcst possible absorption of the woman in her husband and children is an altogether fino and noble feminine ideal, but the wise woman will enter an omphatic protest against any such Chinese wall of concentrated interests boing regarded as,an-ideal environment. To begin with, such exclusiveness of purpose results ingrea-J; unhappiness for the wife and mother, since sho is wholly at the mercy of the temperaments, the moods, and the rival interests of husband and children. With her horizon bonndcd only by what directly concerns them, her .mind inevitably undergoes . a sort of fcroadniill existonco, which unfits hor for coinpa,riionship with any but persons of most primitive mental development. ( ' Even when the husband is ontiroly worthy and considerate, it' is the height .of folly to centre inf.prp.it upon him wholly, for besides being most, dwarfing mentally,'this is bound to be a source of great distress, since it is not conceivable that, evon one husband in a thousand would reciprocate; which, indeed is a'fortunate'circumstance,'if the nation is to continue to be distinguished by the general intellisenco of its people. It is riot an especially cheerful thought, but the grim fact is that each individual in bound, in tho nature of things,:to livo his or her life largely alone, the lovo and sympathy of the nearest even being limited in its effects. This being unalterably the fact, it is wire to take it into consideration, and not to oxpeet of life or of individuals what is impossible. Unfortunately woman was for long centuries trained to a belief in the beauty and value of omotional dependency, and one of the hardest lossons she has to learn, since changes in industrial conditions forced large numbers of her ses to self-support outside the home, is to stand more or less alone. But it has been a wholesome lesson, and. as fast as women rralise what is for their best interest, they will fortify themselves against the occasional indifference of their husbands, and the selfishness

of children, .by, enlarging the circle of thoir own interest beyond norne circlcs. Thus will thoy • get, ;a sense of values, and realise that na noithpr • husband nor children concentrato all their interest on tboir wife and mother, they do not appreciate her sufferings. When 'other interests aro taken up by woman, she inevitably develops into a moro companionable as well as a less tormented beiup;. No fato is more to bo shunned than that in which the comfort and happiness of ono human being_'.is wholly dependent on the relations existing between him (or her) and another, -and'yot that has been the. deplorable fate, of women as a class for centuries. It is undoubtedly. true that no man should live for himself, but it is equally true that no one should allow anyone elso to do his living for him, , and that, is what thorough-going dependence on another amounts to. What all should seek, to cultivate is an ennobled sclfHiiffieiency.