LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
MARRIED WOMEN AND WORK.
[To the Editor of the SrEcxxroa.] Snt,—In my opinion married women should not work. A great many unhappy and disappointing marriages could be avoided, and the lack of suitable employment for men could be minimized, if the man invariably became, and remained, the breadwinner. Perhaps the word breadwinner is open to criticism ; but I wish to convey by it that the husband should be the leader, master and captain of the good ship Home.' Marriage, in my idea, is essentially a profession, and the noblest and best a woman can take up. How, then, can she hope to succeed if she endeavours to practise two careers at the same time ?
I know the ideal view is that should Mr. and Mrs. X. be both practising as doctors, what a consultation might be held as to Mr. Brown's bronchial symptoms and Mr. Jones's joint trouble ; but suppose Mr. and Mrs. X. disagree as to these worthy people's ailments, we all know what awful things are threatened when doctors disagree I Therefore, it seems to me, Mrs. X. might be better employed in looking to her children and household and leaving the dosing of Messrs. Brown and Jones to her husband. Meeting the small son of a woman doctor last week, and noticing his finger was cut and bleeding, I advised him to hasten home and ask daddy to bind it up. "Daddy not often there," he said ; so I suggested mummy, but the mite shook his head : "Oh, mummy never at home ! " It may sound a truism, but it seems to me the two things in life worth putting up a strong fight for are love and home, and whether the husband is peer, politician, or peasant swinging his empty dinner-can on his homeward way, it would cheer them all to know "an eye grew brighter" when they arrived at home after their various occupations. No one will deny the splendid work done by women during the War ; and when any mother, wife or sister comforted any soldier, she was bringing a bit of home (so to speak) to the trenches ; but now order is being brought from chaos and the weapons of war discarded home life, which is one of the biggest bulwarks of our nation, should be carefully cultivated. Like many hothouse plants, it cannot 'withstand a succession of wintry storms, and, should house- hold duties and suchlike sometimes seem only mere drudgery, one can remember George Herbert's words :—
" Who sweeps a floor, as for thy law, Makes that and the action fine."
Previous page
