But the most
fastidious critic on the departure of Woman from her sphere can
scarcely fail to see, at present, that a vast proportion of the sex,
if not the better half, do not, _cannot_ have this domestic
sphere. Thousands and scores of thousands in this country, no less
than in Europe, are obliged to maintain themselves alone. Far greater
numbers divide with their husbands the care of earning a support for
the family. In England, now, the progress of society has reached so
admirable a pitch, that the position of the sexes is frequently
reversed, and the husband is obliged to stay at home and "mind the
house and bairns," while the wife goes forth to the employment she
alone can secure.
We readily admit that the picture of this is most painful;--that
Nature made an entirely opposite distribution of functions between the
sexes. We believe the natural order to be the best, and that, if it
could be followed in an enlightened spirit, it would bring to Woman
all she wants, no less for her immortal than her mortal destiny. We
are not surprised that men who do not look deeply and carefully at
causes and tendencies, should be led, by disgust at the hardened,
hackneyed characters which the present state of things too often
produces in women, to such conclusions as they are.
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