The MotherBy Marion Harland(Well-known magazine writer. The following is from “The Independent.”)
By Marion Harland
(Well-known magazine writer. The following is from “The Independent.”)
She has never ceased out of the land. That she seems to be more in evidence now than she wassixty years ago may be but one more expression of Feminism....
In every well-appointed household the mother is the controlling influence. In a large percentage of homes her acknowledged sovereignty is a dictatorship. If she be a woman of intelligence and refinement, she virtually supervises her girl’s education and molds her views of life, morals and manners. The father is, at most, Prince Consort, playing an insignificant part in the selection of associates and instructors, and no part at all in the regulation of deportment, speech and dress. “My mother thinks,” and “My mother says,” are cast-iron formulas that make an end of all controversy while the girl is in short skirts and wears her unshorn locks between her shoulders. With the lengthened skirts, and trussed hair, comes entrance upon the school or college world, and the beginning of individual life.