WOMEN AND MOODS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17756, 28 January 1926, Page 10

WOMEN AND MOODS.

So many women—even in these days when they work* side by side with men -regard a mood as something of which they may be proud. They will tell you that they are “temperamental.” “erratic” or “hyper-sensitive,” and believe that they are manifesting the characteristics, if not of a

genius, at least of an extraordinary woman. If anyone had the pluck to tell a woman who was subject to daily attacks of moods that she was heading for an unbalanced mental state, the “sufferer” would be extremely indignant; and yet moods are undeniably and evidence of lack of self-control. We all know what it is to get up feeling “cheap" and ready to murder the other man or woman who will persist in singing in their bath; but the clear-headed person with some selfdiscipline and consideration for other members of the family tries to pull herself together and act normally. Leaving aside the invalid, or the person who may be recovering from a nervous breakdown, there is no reason for not throwing moods aside; in fact, the only way to combat the feeling is to refuse to allow it to develop into anything so concrete as a mood. To do otherwise is to exhibit lack of self-control. The difference between men and women—a difference which is, T venture to assert, indicative of men’s superiority in this respect as a ' general rule!—is that if a man has been irritable in the morning, he will invariably return in an apologetic frame of mind at night, with an excuse about “liver” or whatnot. He does not try and glorify his mood into “temperament” and expect to be hailed as a marvel by his family, for having been churlish at breakfast.