WOMEN'S NARROW LIVES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22808, 18 February 1936, Page 16

WOMEN'S NARROW LIVES

WOULD WITHER CLEOPATRA The " narrow" and monotonous life of voting wives in suburbia was referred to by Mr Wilson Harris at the annual conference of Educational Associations at University College, London. "What sort of life is being led by the young wife living in a suburban villa .whose husband's income is £4OO to £SOO a year? " lie asked. " There is no use pretending that her domestic life does not entail a great deal of drudgery and monotony. " It is a tremendous problem to know how to prevent the lives of these young women from getting narrower. Age could not wither Cleopatra nor custom stale her infinite variety, but the one-maid villa in Wembley would have done it in 18 months.

He would like to see an inquiry scientifically carried out in a dozen centres to discover how young suburban wives spent their afternoons. He would like to know what sort of books they read, whether they read a newspaper in a critical or credulous spirit, and what they listened to on the radio. "The future depends on whether young women leave school determined to continue their education, or whether they are going to their villas to read their Elinor Glyns, watch their Ramon Novarros, and listen to jazz on the wireless," Mr Harris added.