EUGENIC IDEALS

Evening Star, Issue 14965, 27 August 1912, Page 7

EUGENIC IDEALS

FOR WOMANHOOD. Professor Benham presided at tho meeting of tho Eugenics Education Society last night. Mrs A. H. Griniiug read a paper on ' Eugenio Ideals for Womanhood.' W© present the latter part of the paper:— Sir Francis Galton has denned eugenics as a science which deals with all tho influences that improve the inborn qualities of tho race, also with those that develop them to the utmost advantage. "The aim of eugenics," continues Sir Francis, " is to represent each class or sect by its best specimens, and its practice would result in a generally higher tone of domestic, social, and political life. The race as a whole would then be less foolish, less frivolous, less excitable, and politically mora prudent than now." 'lt remains to consider," says Alice Ravenhill, "why these ideals are unfulfilled and unrecognised by many women. There has been a mass of unpretending yet valuable work done by women whose names are unknown to tho historian and the biographer ; on the other hand there are thousands of women whoso obligations and opportunities have remained unutilised—either they have fluttered through life as irresponsible butterflies or they have subsisted as sheltered pets; while in the case of others the deadly weariness of their daily lives lias completely eclipsed these ideals, which would at least have served to illuminate the fog of harassing cares and unintelligent drudgery that too often obscured their horizon. . . . Faulty methods of education constitute a potent cause for woman's blindness to her comprehensive opportunities and remarkable influence. Perhaps, too, women's often self-imposed limitations are also a sourco of low aims and restricted ideals." Relative to educational influences, Miss Kaveuhill says further: "I am not competent to analyse the numerous factors—social, industrial, and political —which gradually reduced the capable, expert woman of the Middle Ages to tho effeminate toy of the 17th or 18th centuries. The fact remains, that whereas man Mas quick to seize upon each new discovery and invention and adapt it to his commercial or professional advantage, woman lagged behind, remaining too conservative to apply to the problems of kitchen, storo room, and nursery the methods which lightened the labor and promoted tho health of the industrial world. The intimate connection between home life and national prosperity was hardly perceived 60 years ago. The menace to the nation of continued infant mortality, unchecked disease, and premature toil for children only secured Lardy attention much nearer our own time. . . . Systematic instruction on tho right conduct of physical lifo has hardly yet found a footing, and is in many respects inadequate and incomplete. Should not women have seen to it long ago that these blots on our civilisation wore removed ? . . . The eugenic

ideals for us women to-day may perhaps be formulated thus : —To procure for boys and girls alike general instruction in subjects hitherto given little prominence in their home and school training. A more careful inculcation of high standards of religion and ethics: for all young people should be secured suitable instruction on the greatest power entrusted to mankind, the intensely great responsibilities of marriage and parenthood. The mystery of tho transmission of life and its sacred character, tho marvels of development, should he gradually and imperceptibly absorbed during childhood. Further than this, every young person at adolescence has a right to be enlightened upon the eugenic aspects of parenthood. Most urgent of all, the girl growing to womanhood, whether in tho humblest or most exalted sphere of life, should study the needs of infancy and the art of the right rearing of children. The woman of to-day has a right to know the ancestry of both her child's parents ; she must exact a health standard as well as a moral one; she must equip herself to be the mother and guardian of healthy children by acquainting herself with the nature of tho bundle of possibilities called a child. Maternity is not tho privilege of all women, but a knowledge of tho needs of childhood and youth is indispensable to all. On the one hand, however, tho absence of education does not make for tho intelligent care of children; on the other hand, tho possession of an honors degree does not carry this knowledge with it. To influence for good the art, literature, and recreations of her country is another ideal which may be called eugenic—to train young people in the wise and fitting use of leisure. Woman has great opportunities For teaching the uses of civilisation ; of showing how its gifts may be enjoyed so as to refine; how they may refresh and cheer without tending to license or excess." Obviously there is no lack of eugenic ideals for womanhood, neither is there any likely risk of woman's intellectual development becoming restricted if she endeavors to carry out these ideals. If her sphere is bound by church, children, cooking, and clothes, within those bounds is a wide and varied area of great and far-reaching responsibility. She may prove better able, hotter equipped by nature to conduct this enormous programme, covering, as it does, tho whole range of human happiness, health, and comfort from the cradle to the grave, than man, whose programme seems to concentrate on one or perhaps two subjects throughout a lifetime. It seems that man succeeds best when he specialises: he can only do well one thing at a time. Woman's sphere is multifarious. A man is not expected to be well versed in surgery if he is a lawyer, or to be an adept at law if he is a surgeon; if lie is a scientist he is not expected to be an authority on theology, nor is it demanded of a theologian that he be a scientist. A journalist is seldom a gardener, nor a gardener a writer for newspapers. On the other hand, a woman is considered quite inefficient unless she masters church, children, cooking, and clothes, with all that these tonus convey, which does not all appear on the surface. Church implies that she must give time and attention to religion, not only herself, but cause those wheso lives she controls to cultivate a taste, for church also. That may not sound so difficult as it really is. Tho caro of children, too, may not sound a very awful phrase, but the poems that liavo been sung, tho rhapsodies written on the beauteous and divine relations of mother and child do not convey a real estimate of the true j situation. Not much do tho poets sing ' of the wear and tear of motherhood; i of tho perpetual toil and turmoil in a ( homo where young children predominate ; neither do we hear much of tho true state of the mother-feelings when, physically weakened, sho contends with the wayward wills of growing boys and . girls, who, with youth's impetuosity, ! oppose her control before they are capable of controlling themselves. From a book of medieval lore may I bo permitted to quote the following description of child disposition : " They lead their lives without thought or care, and dread no perils more than beating with a rod. They desire things that be to them contrary and grievous, ... and make muoh sorrow and woe, weeping more for the loss of an apple than for the loss of their heritage. And the goodness that is done for them they let it pass out of mind. They desiro all things they see, and ask for it with voice and hand. Always they cry, janglo, and jape. When they be washed of filth, anon they defile themselves again. When their mother washeth them, they kick and sprawl, and withstand with all their might, and they cry for meat anon." That is the child of the 14th century, which tho 20th century child resembles not a little. Not only does the mother comb and care for children, sho prepares their food, makes their clothes, ohoosing with intelligent caro and foresight their food and raiment, ordering the conditions of the home so that ctaualinass, ventilation, and common-

sense sanitation prevail in all their surroundings. Then her influence extends to their maimers, morals, and general conduct in life. She must road to them, think for them, advise and direct them, comfort and encourage tliein, and, as far as sho can, fit them for the battle of life successfully. If women who are mothers dovoted their whole time to the care of children alone it would ho sufhcient tax upon their energies. But add to this cooking and general housewifery, social duties, visiting and entertaining friends, and in these advanced days when domestic assistance is almost impossible to procure, actually washing the clothes, cooking the food, sweeping, scrubbing, polishing with her own hands, little time is left to her for culture or quiet. In the same little volume of medieval lore to which I have already referred is the following description of a worthy woman:—"No man hath more wealth than he that hath a good wife, and no man hath more woe than ho that hath an evil wife, crying and jangling, chiding and scolding, contrary to him, costly, gay, envious, woeful and wrathful. ' In a. good spouse and wile behoveth these conditions: that she bo busy and devout in God's service, meek and serviceable to her husband, merciful and good to wretches that be needy, easy and peaceable to her neighbors, mightiful and patient in suffering, busy and diligent in her doing, mannerly in clothing, sober in moving, wary in speaking, honest in bearing, sad in parting, merry and glad with her husband. Such a wife is worthy to bo praised that intendeth more to pleaso her husband with such womanly dues than with her braided hairs, and desi reth more to please him with virtues than with fair and gay clothes." Whatever dizzy heights of idealism woman may have for herself, she will scarcely be able to exceed that of man for her—at any rate, within the limits of domesticity. JJut though woman's ideals are still high in regard to church, children, cooking, and clothes, they are somewhat modified from what thoy were in those bygone days. She has enlarged her ambitions so that now they extend beyond the purely domestic. sphere. And yet whatever further sphere she wanders into, whether of intellect, trade, or business, she is never really delivered from the domestic pressure! Man has made no attempt to return to the kitchen because woman has essayed to wander out of it, so that qualify as she will for life other than domestic, force of circumstance, and to some extent natural inclination and fitness, will tend to draw her into that sphere from which for a time she has deserted. Probably this may bo sufficient reason for the rarity of developed genius in women. Many girls become distinguished in study, and in subsequent professions bid fair to reach something akin to genius; but love, marriage, and the child, which ever bulk largely in woman's estimate, with their far-reaching demands, seem to divert the current of her genius into tho practical channels of the home and its numerous requirements. The fact that woman nowadays goes beyond the solely domestic sphere for her employment and interest need not therefore bo any cause for alarm to the conservative onlooker. The domestic sphere will not be left without the ea.ro and attention of woman, however much she mav accomplish in other matters. It is more likely that getting a little distance from it for a time will servo to give her a more correct perspective of the domestic sphere, than she h?d when entirely confined within its borders. Already she is bringing something of scientific knowledge to bear upon its problems. From I)r Trilby King's enthusiastic espousal of the cause of the infant, its proper feeding and general well-being, she is learning to intelligently provide a long-felt lack in the artificial nurture of those frail lives. From the Otago University heme science classes sho may learn the chemical constituents of foods, how best to conserve in cooking their nutritive qualities, how to cook and bake, wash and make, with an understanding and intelligence denied to our forbears, however excellent, (hose ancient ladies may have been ,; and the present-day development of an, furnishing provides her with opportur-itics for making the homo beautiful and comfortable without crowding it with the unnecessary and toil-provokii articles and ornaments much esteemed by the housewife of the past. | Whatever car, he said of ideals for women, it seems as if Jove, marriage, and the home are her true inborn ambition, and it would be well that men and women alike should recognise that ambition to lie lofty and noble in its essence. Jf man holds the key that unlocks the door 'of woman's true ambition, should he turn the key in the lock when, she enters? Should he, not rather enter with her, since hers is really a larger and more important sphere 'than his oivn? Should he not. aid her in developing the splendid characteristics demanded of her as mother of the race? Should he not enter into n close and gracious compact with her. that life shall yield rich possibilities for both? For man to specialise is well; but to specialise on some business, trade, or profession, and. leave no ''acuity free for the study of woman a.iid her complexities of need and charjneter is detrimental to the race, audi v. ithotit his ready and intelligent co-oiH-ration woman cannot hope to fully realise her eugenic ideal. Man cannot affiled to lose the companionship, the intuijtive counsel, the sympathy, and encouragement of woman. Life is lean and I pinched for all till it is well matched la ml mated. Woman cannot

supplant woman, and man, "whatever he aspires to, cannot supplant woman. Let both grow together. Unhappily, in the past man has. blundered in his estimate and treatment of woman. Professor Boys-Smith and others took part in the discussion on the paper, and a vote of thanks was accorded Mrs Grinling. The meeting also passed a of encouragement and sympathy with Miss Mac George in respect to her work in the North. .