From the Juvenile Instructor, May 1926 –

“Unhinging the Door of Opportunity for Women”

By Gweneth Gibbs Gates

Nothing is easier for woman, than to coax a man to pet her like a child; it is often more difficult to persuade him to treat her like a responsible human being. Even though man, in the majority of cases, gives little encouragement for woman’s progression, is it not her duty for the future advancement of her sex, to take upon herself the responsibility of more thoroughly developing her own mind? Should she allow herself to remain at a standstill? Surely, she has brains capable of cultivation. All that is needed is a will seeking for the free use of whatever power she might inherit, and each step of the ladder must be climbed by herself. Every woman who works wisely to improve her intellect, aids in the uplifting of the womanhood of the nation.

Above all, woman’s sphere as it is so called, should be glorified. If she is to become less dutiful to her home, less unselfish and conscientious, less pure and chaste, then let us be prudent enough to say : It is better to be held back in life’s progression, being a wife and mother to the race with our hearts and not our intellects.

To improve womanhood, let us start with girlhood. What an opportunity to educate the mothers against allowing trivialities to entirely surround the lives of their daughters. How important it is to give our little girls the freedom of outdoor life, to teach them to love the flowers and birds, and to encourage them to drink in the joys of the sunshine! How important it is to develop their childish minds to see the bigness and beauties of life! If the child mind is more thoroughly developed, how much more elevated will be the mind of her womanhood.

One of the most satisfying achievements, wrought from the so-called woman’s movement, lies in its improved mothers. There is a wonderful type of woman — -the awakened average mother — who is carrying the race forward, by giving to her children a spiritual and mental childhood. Though no one considers her, no one hears of her, she is making history, nevertheless. Indeed, those who are being the best kind of mothers are those who are contributing to society an improved child. Great men who have attributed the success of their power to their mothers have invariably credited their gifts to the companionship, the spiritual stimulus of their mothers. What a world of opportunity even the busiest of mothers have to build their intellects at home. During the daily absence of husband and children a woman who systematizes her duties, can find time besides caring for her home, to improve her mind with other work. This should not exhaust her to the extent that she loses her mother spirit, which fills her children with light-hearted gladness on their return. Is it right and just to mankind that woman should find herself in a ‘rut’ after marriage, losing her personality, her individuality, allowing her husband alone to go on progressing and improving his mind ? Can an intellectual man be satisfied with such a mate? Woman has a duty to perform in improving her intellect. She has a duty to herself, to her mate, to her children, and to society.

The woman who does not know what to do with the few odd hours before preparing dinner, is in a pitiful plight. If she but realized that to read a good book, those hours would be made happy and she would be laying a foundation for a broader life! Indeed, if the truth were known, shouldn’t we find that many mothers, who in schooldays prepared for a profession, are now unselfishly serving, simply biding their time to return to it when their children should be older? There is hope for a woman of advancing years, when, instead of finding herself idle and a burden to society, she finds herself useful, serving the community, and expressing her personality. The energies of a woman at this age, after her children no longer need her immediate attention, should be one of the Nation’s greatest assets. Yet, you will agree with me, those energies are too often lost in inexcusable waste. Thousands of women at the mature age could give service doing social creative work, which should be valued as highly as the expression of artistic power. The most enthusiastic workers of the woman’s movement are women who for the most part, have fulfilled their missions as mothers.

In the days past, woman has been denied the privileges she has today; the door of opportunity has been closed to her. She has been deprived of public work. Even entrance in the school-rooms of advanced learning has been denied her. But here and there, as dots on the pages of history, her achievements have come to light.

A prophetic seer of Norway is quoted as saying, “The women are knocking at the door.” Today that door is swinging open. Women are standing ready to enter its realms and take their place in the arts and professions. The privileges of an education, granted during the modern days, have awakened the feminine brain cell, and released woman’s Intellectual faculties. We read of her accomplishments in philosophy, astronomy, and theology. In physics and chemistry she has achieved success. The government statistics of 1S88 show that she had been credited with over one thousand inventions. She has taken her place in the field of medicine; and in scientific discovery she is not unknown.

There was a time when woman was deprived her share in the work of art. It would seem that in this she should be peculiarly at home. Beauty and color have always been specially attractive to her. Among the Grecians we read of several women who manifested ability in painting. After this period we hear very little until the eighteenth century. The women of the greatest note in art belong to the modern periods, and usually to the nations that have become more highly democratic.

In music, also, woman has been handicapped until modern times. Many musicians who have come to realize what her special talent is in this phase of art have regretted the absence of her delicate and refined touch in the musical world in the past. Mr. Stokowske says :

“We are deliberately shutting away great forces of beauty and progress by leaving women out of our scheme of things in the art world * * * When I think of women as I see them in the musical world, what they are capable of doing, their fine spirit, excellent technique, I realize what a splendid power we are letting go to waste.”

So also in the drama, woman is taking her place. Like unto music and painting we find acknowledgment of a peculiar feminine quality in this phase of art.

Last, but not least, let us honor woman for the wonderful part she has played in literature. In this field — one of the first creative realms, since writing requires less technical training than the other arts — the golden harvest is reaped as abundantly by woman as by man. While man has taken the opportunity for civic freedom, woman in the home has made the best of her life developing this talent. Giving herself unselfishly to her home and children, she has dealt with literature only as an avocation. The most successful of writers has quelled her dreams and ambitions during her fruitful years of motherhood, writing her would-be masterpieces upon the plastic minds of her sons and daughters — conceded to be her greatest heritage. But when the time has come that she no longer has the full responsibility of her children, her pen has given forth treasures of wealth to enrich the very soul of the world.

Too much should not readily be expected of this new-born attribute of woman, which is flooding the schoolroom and capturing high awards. A spark of fire has stated in her soul, which in the future will burst into a flame. That flame will bring to woman the blue-bird of happiness — the joy of congenial work. Through increased intellect, she will find a singleness of purpose. Constructively she will work out her ideas until she will be rewarded with a glorious finish. The finished product we will call genius. At that time she will find a would listening for the message she will have to utter.

The attitude of the new mother should be to declare that her highest goal in life is motherhood. Her love and devotion should never be impaired. To them must be added the study of how best to exercise them. The modern mother must be skilled in the physical care of her children. She must have a knowledge of the chemical values and combinations of food. She should know the virtues of sanitation and order. But beside these fundamentals, blessed would our Nation be if every mother realized that she has a brain power whose capacity is limited only at the station at which she wishes to place it; and if she were imbued with the longing that she might wisely and consistently add to its function each day, that not only her self might be benefitted, but the face of which she is a representative.