SONIA—THE WOMAN

New Zealand Tablet, 1 April 1920, Page 39

SONIA—THE WOMAN

(By Cuchulain.)

‘ Two books of the hour are. Sonia and Sonia Married, ■both works ■of the able novelist Stephen Mackenna. Sonia portrays the artificial upbringing of the girl- Sonia MarTied tells the result. From a' man’s point Jof s view, the books are first-rate modern novels; from a woman’s point of j view they are intensely disappointing. ‘ Why is this so? Men are interested in - the politics, women irf the narrative of the books. Women feel that it is unfair ' for any novelist especially one of ability— to hold? up to . the public gaze such a type of womanhood as Sonia ‘ represents. Perhaps it is hardly correct to say she is a type. Is she not rather a unique specimen ? Most certainly there exists in New Zealand no such class of girl as Sonia. Of course, it must be admitted that there is a vast difference between the colonial and the Home girl. What we have seen m the form of recent imports makes us inclined to agree with Pope concerning the women of his land:

“Nothing so true as what you once lot fall— Most women have no character at all Matter too soft a lasting mark to bear, And"best distinguished by black, brown, or fair.”

The. Homo girl is polite— and designing; the colonial girl is blunt and honest. Girls of the Sonia typer—intended, ve can but suppose, to bo the author’s representation of the English society girlseem to be strangely lacking in that invaluable asset, common sense. Not so the colonial girl.- You will find that every girl in New Zealand has-underneath the crepe de Chine frills a stratum of good, practical common sense. No doubt this is, a gift bequeathed to her by her pioneer parents or grandparents. ■ - . To return to Sonin-. It is to be hoped that neither of Stephen Mackenna’s books becomes a classic, for would it not be grossly unfair were Sonia to bo handed down to future* generations- as the woman of the great war period, the days, the : years when so many hundreds ,of women did work almost as brave and noble as that of the poor suffering soldier in the trenches? Sonia is a true daughter of Eve; most women, let us hope, . are daughters of Mary. Therefore, like her notorious greatgrandmother, Sonia is the cause of endless masculine consternation. Qui se ressemhle s’assemble. Curiously enough Sonia herself knows and says that all women detest her. But the men I They fall over one another in their eagerness to attend her. Even one of the few. men- who dislike hci , in order to soothe her, philanthropicallv kisses her. She is very pretty. Qui se. ressemble s'assemble. The author brings most of bis men to the level of this foolish, capricious, fickle, cruel girl. rue, she docs war-work when all else fails hei, but "by? Simply to please herself. Were Stephen MacKemia to write a third volume, he would either have! to describe O’Rane’s utter estrangement from his shallow wife, or else put a halo round his head. O’Rane has the soul of a giant poet; Sonia, that of a tinselled doll. It is a most pitiful thing to see a good man tolemtin i; his wife, and in such an uneven marriage as that of David and Sonia nothing but toleration' could keep the scales steady. . There are, : it would seem, three kinds of loves first, sensual love ; secondly, - love of -.-. the. soul lastly, H for the much-favored few, complete love, love of body and soul. How could a grand soul like David O’Rane’s be satisfied with the poor, miserable soul of his wife, Sonia?.