MODERN WIVES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19376, 10 July 1926, Page 6 (Supplement)

MODERN WIVES.

MODERN GIRLS' METIER.

BY G.n,

Pick up any newspaper or magazine and somewhere you will find space devoted to the modern girl. It may be a column or a page article, a mere paragraph, or a full page advertisement with the saucy jade flaunting her joie de vivre through the medium of somebody's chocolates or somebody's silk stockings. Her healthy outlook on life as. a cheery optimist is a tonic to most of us. Her whims and fancies amuse some of us. Her outragebus extravagance irritates others. Her colossal impudence raises the ire of the meek and her headlong dive into the pit of iniquity is the despair of the selfrighteous. At all events, she is in the limelight, people read about her, talk about her and discuss her. It might be interesting to follow her meteor-like career. According to literature it ends in pbscurlty. We hear nothing of her as a wife, a mother, or a professional woman. These, and such like, were never modern girls except., perhaps, in a few isolated instances, and then fiction tells a sad story of an unhappy marriage or neglected profession. But in real life it is quite the reverse. They do marry and the majority of them make excellent wives and mothers. The spirit and dash and mentality that .made them alive to their possibilities in grasping all that life had to offer in the way of pleasure makes them equally alive to more satisfying joys. You will find them intensely interested in their homes. The flair for making themselves typical exponents of modernity in an age where youth leads the way will be put into their clinch for home-making. In their efforts to keep pace with the favourites of fortune, who are invariably the leaders of the younger set, they have learned to contrive. To be well dressed, to meet the small day-to-day expenses, and to appear oblivious to tightened purse strings, are essentials in the life of the modern girl. Irresponsibility will get them nowhere. They become practical. This practical turn of mind serves them well in home-making. They can discriminate between when it is wise to spend and when it is not. They will get the effect—and comfort with it. •When the babies come the flair will take another guise. The maternal instinct will be well backed with mothercraft lore and child welfare precepts. The babies will lack few of the advantages that modern training can give. Meanwhile she is happy, but no paragon of domesticity, I. can assure you. She is far too keen on her husband to allow the mundane cares of housekeeping ..to interfere with her enjoyment of him. She attracted him when they jazzed and took tea together. It is up to her to see that they still jazz and tea. Both find pleasure in social gaieties. He is there to applaud her little successes and she likes to see him accepted as a social factor in their circle of friends. She knows that as long as they can find their pleasure together their matrimonial barque can weather the storms. Amusement is one of the strongest of possible ties. The common interest of a home and family binds two people together according, to their sense of responsibility and the satisfaction derived from having someone to play with, seals the bond. Individual Ego. Thus, the attributes of the modern girl become very powerful factors for success when turned into the channel of wifehood. The faculty of being up and doing " when there was anything agog in the flapper stage clings to her as a wife, and in that role she. is ready for arty emergency. She copes with the baby's first wlioop vaih the same efficiency as that with which she accepts a lastminute invitation to dance, on the top of a spring-cleaning bout—appearing cool and serene. Apparently she has mastered the complications that make life such as it is—a series of up and downs, joy to-day, sorrow to-morrow, peace sometimes. But there is a last hurdle to meet, and this is perhaps the greatest test of her self-sufficiency. The babies are no longer- infants. They are at school, not needing the close attention of earlier years. Her experience in housekeeping has taught her to manage with less effort. Organisation has taken the place of haphazard methods, ! and the wheels. run smoothly. She has greater freedom and more time on her hands. Too active mentally to remain passive and secure within the four walls of her home, she longs for some means of expression. Husband and children are brought into contact with others through their work. She may be, a guiding star, a confidante, an influential factor in their lives, but her individual ego is repressed. Her salvation lies in a hobby. It sounds simple, but one of the most difficult things to find in this life is a vent for mental activity when there is no particular talent or gift. However, the modern girl had initiative, and it has stood her in good stead all her life. The mother was thankful for it in countless ways, and now the wife with the bloom of youth faded, a woman of maturer charms will find it her touchstone. Business, art, literature, gardening, poultry-farming-, beekeeping, and a thousand and one like pursuits are open to her choice. Fixing on one, she will be wise enough to make it self-supporting. Like Kipling's artist, she won't work for money, or for fame, but in the old adage that the servant is worthy of his hire, she will see that her work should justify itself in current value. Thus a happy, contented woman, alert, broad-minded, and interesting, has evolved from the saucy jade of 20 years ago.