WOMEN—ANCIENT AND MODERN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19215, 2 January 1926, Page 6 (Supplement)

WOMEN —ANCIENT AND MODERN.

BY E.G.P. We hear continual talk nowadays about the modern woman and her divergings And differences from the woman of older days. But, in truth, woman is woman, and in essentials, which are the things that count, the modern maideen of to-day differs very 'lightly from the maiden of her grandmother's time.

The two dominant desires aro still uppermost, love and admiration —and, for all her short hair, short frocks and short

manners, thejjirl of to-day is just as much possessed of these desires and just as keen on attaining them. The chief difference lies probably in the common meeting-ground of the sexes * —where tlio ijirl of the 'fifties probably went a little less than half-way, the girl of to-day generally goes a littlee more. Not that that is, in truth, a discredit to her. Generally speaking, she has to. Tho day of the bashful, demure maiden, who sat at home in blushing retirement while gallant knights sought and fought for her hand., is over, if, indeed, it ever existed. To get; anywhere or anything in the world of to-day one has to be well to the fore. It is merely a question of numbers, of arithmetic, in fact. Three million into ono million won't go—so naturally, tho demand being bigger than tho supply, those most eager and ambitious win the prize. And tho fact that matrimony is, even in these advanced times, still considered a prize is, of a surety, proof enough that tho feminine of the species is not altogether extinct,, nor will it ever be. The male can afford to smile—well, let him! In truth, tho real man thinks no less of a. girl for wanting and desiring a home of her own—and possibly moro of her for wanting children of her own. If they sm.ilo at all, ihey probably smile at woman's subterfuges and little foibles for trying to disguise her natural and proper instincts. But the fact that sha is more often tho seeker is none the less evident. And why not ? After all, she has just as much right to choose tho father of her children as a man has to choose the mother of his. Wliy should she always be relegated to tho passive part^ —either chosen or left ? Think of the fluttering in male breasts and the preening of male feathers were they consigned to the "waiting list," and deprived of their self-asserted right to pick and choose. Though wo talk of tho modern woman as though she were some newly-imported animal, or the pampered product of cos- \ raetice and cocktails, yet it is in truth only in externals that she differs. She is' more daring, and less trusting—has more savoir faire and less reticence—more frankness and less coyness—has, perhaps, a rather silly and exaggerated way of trying to be smart and pretending to bo' callous; and would as soon own to the possession of a heart, as she would to filial respect. But these things are merely affectations, shibboleths in which—because it is the fashion to do so—she seeks to hide tho truths and actualities of her nature. It may be silly—it is silly—but after all no more silly than it was for our ancestors to have the "vapours", and indulge in hysterics, or scream at a mouse. Each is merely a phase—a passing clothing of the mind as . "bustles and tight skirts" were and are respectively the time-being clothing of the body. After all the present-day woman has many qualities to recommend her over tho woman of her grandmother's day—and rn the whole, she makes a much more interesting companion—and is a more selfreliant and capable being. More modish but less moodish, reads more and thinks moire, and faces tho facts of life with a braver front and clearer understanding than ever her grandmother did—which ; s as it should be. Mock modesty and prudish pretence never did anyone any good. And though she may, and often does, overdo things, laid for puerile perversity deserves a spanking—yet she is a really "worthwhile" being, and for all her foibles and foolishness, can, if properly handled, be developed into quite a creditable member of hor sex, and, albeit, a sound and sensible partner for tho rough and tumble garno we call "life".