A WOMAN'S IDEAL OF WOMAN.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 87, 6 January 1908, Page 3

A WOMAN'S IDEAL OF WOMAN.

".Foremost among the leaders of the. 'New Woman Movement 1 - -now agitating the sociological waters - of.'Europe is .Ellen Key, the Swedish writer," says the Now York "Independent.". "In all of her.works sho proclaims herselft as a champion of the divino rights of women, but in quite a different way from tho usually , accopted interpretation of this fomihino shibboloth. It is from a purely ethical standpoint of.' soul development that she preaches this new doctrine of woman's right. Sho believes that only through spiritual,and intellectual development can these rights be obtained.

"As she herself lias it: 'No woman over stopped . out of a perfectly happy lifo of domestic contentment to grasp tho banner of emancipation in her > hands and .cry out through tlio strcots for woman's rights.' Her works, which arc few., deal with every phase of modern life, ; i and arc broadly humanitarian, deeply philosophical. The three elates which appeal most strongly to this altruistic philosopher and thinker are women,

vage-earners', and children, and to them and ilieir causo she dedicates tho greater part of l'cr works."

J'Jllon Key has written an article on "Tho Woman of the Future," from which wo take ;ho following:—

"The 'storm and stress' period of womon, arid tho higher culture alone social and psychological lines with which it is intimately connected, will probably reach far into the new century. This period, full of cnnllict.and unrest, will only cease when woman, both married and unmarried, lias attained unto a full legal equality with man; whan fciaoli. fcftlcAn. plauio.

in our social fabric that the present competition botween . tho sexes, shall. have been i mutually and satisfactorily adjusted;. and when the means by- which a woman; earns her living, as well as the serious problem of domestic conditions, shall hare reached such a state as to relievo her from the burden of i oppression under which she now suffors. Probably, not until the close of tho twentieth . century will the feminine type of tho nineteenth century have reached the zenith of its development and a new type will begin to appear. A Being of Sharp Contrasts. ! "My. ideal woman of tho. future—and when ono paints ideal pictures one does not havo to deny one's' self anything—is a being of sharp contrasts which havo_ been attuned, into perfect harmony, sho is a creature of diverso traits, in which one is, however, able to traco a clearly-defined unity; her nature is richly exuberant and, at the same time, tho essence of simplicity, sho is a through and through product of the highest culture, and. still retains possession of her primeval elomental impulsos. "This woman will understand tho seriousness of soiontific ; work, will bo .a. strict searcher after tho truths of free -thought and. artistic creation. . Sho will bo able to grasji the necessity, of 'natural laws and tho lines of development. Society at large will claim' her interest and responsibility. She will boVjuster than-.the' woman of the present,' because sho knows , more and thinks more" clearlysho : will:. bo better becauso she is stronger ; milder because. she is • wiser. She, will be able-to tako a broader-view of life and its meaning,v and ih this way: she will lose certain prejudices which are now. known'as virtues.: ' \ : A Moulder of Morals. "She ,will ,alwaysromain a;-moulder of morals, riot seeking support in social ; con-'-bijt. ra'ther. iri laws of. her; own. nat-; ure;.she will have courage to,think hpr,ownthoughts ,and '■ to sift the new thoughts. of her age. ' She will, dare to. feel' and ,to avow those feelings which sho now hides-and suppresses; Her freedom of'action and her all-, round personal dqvclopm'enfc will make, possible • a bolder and more. encrgetic striving after'an existence, which rests-on tho same plane'with her. Own'ego;-and such an existence she will be. enabled to find by a surer instinct than i she .now-possesses. ■ '.'She will. understand how to work more intensely,'.to . rest more'intensely, and- to re : joi'ce;more intensely in all simple,' contiguous sourcos of joy than the w,oman of tho •present. In this way her life will becomo fuller.; her' experiences will. be deepened; her soul-lifo will bo more highly developed, and her sonsc of tho beautiful will bo heightened and: refined. Sho will be very sensitive, highly responsive, and will, thorefore, possess in a higher degree the faculty of enjoyment and bo able, to suffer and enduro nioro than .tho, present generation of women. Sho. Cfves New Value to Life. "By- all this the woman of tho twentieth •contury will give new. values •to social life, to .art,, and literature. But her greatest significance as a culturo force will bo ,the protection, of mankind from overculturo, and this sho will be ablo to do.by tho enigmatitho presaging and impulsive qualities in her nature.. To knowledge sho opposes tho'unknowable; to logic she opposes feeling; over, against feality she places' possibilities, and for analysis sho substitutes intuition. Tho woman . will, above all, promote the growth of tho soul—mail that of tho intelligence; sho will extend tho provineo of presentiment—ho that of reason; she will exemplify the power of' lovo—he tHat. of. justice; she will conquor through pride—lie through courage. Her Religious Creed. "Tho woman; of the twentieth century will not only havo learned much, but sho will also havo forgotten, much, ...especially many of the feminine and anti-feminine follies of the prosont.. The happiness of-being..loved sho will desire with tho intensity of her entire being. ■ Sho will be pure, not out of indifference, but. out of. passion ;' aristocratic; not- because sho is nnajinic, but becauso she is full-blooded. Sho is moral, becauso sho is soulful,, and truo because sho is proud. Sho demands much lovo, and is herself capable of giving much moro. Out of her hyperrclincd idealism sho will construct - an. orotic problem,. tho solution of which will not always be an easy ono. • "On the other hand, tho happiness which she feels 'and.gives will bo richer, deeper, and' maro l lasting than anything which up to this time has been called happiness. Many trials which now belong to,the present wife and mother will in all probability bo lacking in the wonian of. tlio twentieth century. "She will dedicate her deepest and strongest powers to tho difficult but beautiful task of being tho beloved and at the same time tho mother ; her religious creod.will bo. to create life's. happiness and bliss. ; '. ... "This now typo has already niado its appearance, .not only in the present,'-but m past centuries as well. In the Jliddlo Ages ■sho wrote tho letters of Heloiso, during the: lionaissanco Leonardo painted li'er as' Moria Lisa, and in the eighteenth century shecon'ducted a Fronch saloii as' Jlllo. Lespinasse. in our century she wrote tho lovo poems of Elizabeth .Barrett Browning, she . has appeared, upon tile stage as Eleonora Duse."