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    FROM PARIS. 195

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    ._———— —^^»— ^ A Phil 17, 1860. To The C...

    lence of woman as a wife and motlier . There is , however , an old they proverb profess to the to cure effect . that Michelet some ' s remedies defence appears are worse to th "be an profoundl the evils y

    displeasing ass on to to the the more " Itevue intelli " the gent article among is on Frenchwomen Dr . Elizabeth . Black I will - now

    well p and is based on the memoir , which appeared in the " English Woman , ' s Journal" for April , _1858 . It is the preliminary chapter

    which I shall abridge and translate . " Melancholy truths are uttered day by day upon the destiny of

    women , as fixed by laws human and divine . Melancholy , _because incompletethose revelations are nevertheless valuable in spite of

    their extreme , diversity . Each speaker possessing only one necessarillimited point of viewhow shall we expect the French race

    and the Teutonic racesthe , reasoning- mind of man and the instinctive conscience of , womanto come to one and the same

    conclusion as to the rdle to be assigned , to women in the family and in social life . In all ages this subject has been discussed with more or

    less of gallantry ; the novelty lies in this , that in the midst of grave political events , both in England and in France , people are

    simultaneously occupying * themselves with an obscure social question , and that they listen seriously to whoever presents it with seriousness .

    Among -us , in particular , the discussions carried on in all the journals have not tired out public curiosity . The recent appearance

    and rapid success of " La Femme " has given new animation to the debate , and yet none among the combatants have dreamt of taking

    up new weapons , of widening the field of battle , or , better still , of peacefully bringing to light a less known aspect of the same subject .

    " I do not see that French writers have examined what England has to say in those philosophicalmoral , historical , or economical

    , treatises which relate to women . In calling attention to one remarkable fact due to English influence , ( the career of Miss Blackwell , ) I

    do not pretend to supply our vast omission , I only hope to show that it would be very useful to do so . But previous to entering

    on the question itself , I wish to remark how this turning of many intellects upon the destiny of womenexemplifies in its

    , first steps the essential difference between the genius of the two neighbouring nations . Our thinkers have prefaced their

    examination of a special question by a general coup d'ceil . The question itself has even onlappeared important because of its relation to the

    ensemble of human y existence . On the contrary , it is the observation of passing- daily events , and individual accidental occurrences , which

    has guided the English to general conclusions ; nearly always susceptible of immediate application . With us , they are masculine

    treats with Eng pens lish which them of deman a , the subject have d discussion , guided above while all public the has things French proceeded op , inion special seek upon from ra competen ther the women woman for cy , a because in warrant -question whoever the of ;

    moral impartiality . ,

    vox _,, v . o 2

    From Paris. 195

    FROM PARIS . 195

• Citation
  • English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), May 1, 1860, page 195, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01051860/page/51/