But I am not sure that at
first this way out will seem happy. Useful it certainly will be, but
all said and done I fancy that some residue of regret will be apt to
remain, and that because of it women will be tempted to indulge in
self-pity. And self-pity both for men and women is the most enervating
of all emotional luxuries. Therefore, I wish to insert here a word of
grateful testimony. If the sublimation of sex instinct seems to some
women a poor and pale substitute for the normal career of marriage and
motherhood, I am at least sure that for society at large it is a very
blessed substitute. My chief experience of life has been in those
places called slums, where life is always seen in its most drab and
pitiful guise, and I can speak with certainty about this problem in
relation to them. In the districts in which I have worked there have
always been at least a few unmarried women who were spending with
lavish generosity their whole life force in practical service and
sympathy for needy children, harassed mothers, wayward men, and the
sufferers of the district in general.
Pages:
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166