Not allowed to dispose
of money, or call any thing their own, they learn to turn the
market penny; or, should a husband offend, by staying from home, or
give rise to some emotions of jealousy--a new gown, or any pretty
bauble, smooths Juno's angry brow.
But these LITTLENESSES would not degrade their character, if women
were led to respect themselves, if political and moral subjects
were opened to them; and I will venture to affirm, that this is the
only way to make them properly attentive to their domestic duties.
An active mind embraces the whole circle of its duties, and finds
time enough for all. It is not, I assert, a bold attempt to
emulate masculine virtues; it is not the enchantment of literary
pursuits, or the steady investigation of scientific subjects, that
lead women astray from duty. No, it is indolence and vanity --the
love of pleasure and the love of sway, that will reign paramount in
an empty mind. I say empty, emphatically, because the education
which women now receive scarcely deserves the name. For the little
knowledge they are led to acquire during the important years of
youth, is merely relative to accomplishments; and accomplishments
without a bottom, for unless the understanding be cultivated,
superficial and monotonous is every grace. Like the charms of a
made-up face, they only strike the senses in a crowd; but at home,
wanting mind, they want variety.
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