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WOMEN AND THE ALPHABET

A Series of Essays

by

THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON

1881







PREFATORY NOTE

The first essay in this volume, "Ought Women to learn the Alphabet?"
appeared originally in the "Atlantic Monthly" of February, 1859, and has
since been reprinted in various forms, bearing its share, I trust, in the
great development of more liberal views in respect to the training and
duties of women which has made itself manifest within forty years. There
was, for instance, a report that it was the perusal of this essay which led
the late Miss Sophia Smith to the founding of the women's college bearing
her name at Northampton, Massachusetts.

The remaining papers in the volume formed originally a part of a book
entitled "Common Sense About Women" which was made up largely of papers
from the "Woman's Journal." This book was first published in 1881 and was
reprinted in somewhat abridged form some years later in London
(Sonnenschein). It must have attained a considerable circulation there, as
the fourth (stereotyped) edition appeared in 1897. From this London reprint
a German translation was made by Fraeulein Eugenie Jacobi, under the title
"Die Frauenfrage und der gesunde Menschenverstand" (Schupp: Neuwied and
Leipzig, 1895).

T.W.H.

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.





CONTENTS

I. OUGHT WOMEN TO LEARN THE ALPHABET?

II. PHYSIOLOGY.
       Too Much Natural History
       Darwin, Huxley, and Buckle
       The Spirit of Small Tyranny
       The Noble Sex
       The Truth about our Grandmothers
       The Physique of American Women
       The Limitations of Sex

III. TEMPERAMENT.
       The Invisible Lady
       Sacred Obscurity
       Virtues in Common
       Individual Differences
       Angelic Superiority
       Vicarious Honors
       The Gospel of Humiliation
       Celery and Cherubs
       The Need of Cavalry
       The Reason Firm, the Temperate Will
       Allures to Brighter Worlds, and leads the Way

IV. THE HOME.
       Wanted--Homes
       The Origin of Civilization
       The Low-Water Mark
       Obey
       Woman in the Chrysalis
       Two and Two
       A Model Household
       A Safeguard for the Family
       Women as Economists
       Greater includes Less
       A Copartnership
       One Responsible Head
       Asking for Money
       Womanhood and Motherhood
       A German Point of View
       Childless Women
       The Prevention of Cruelty to Mothers

V. SOCIETY.
       Foam and Current
       In Society
       The Battle of the Cards
       Some Working-Women
       The Empire of Manners
       Girlsterousness
       Are Women Natural Aristocrats?
       Mrs. Blank's Daughters
       The European Plan
       Featherses

VI. STUDY AND WORK.
       Experiments
       Intellectual Cinderellas
       Cupid-and-Psychology
       Self-Supporting Wives
       Thorough
       Literary Aspirants
       The Career of Letters
       Talking and Taking
       How to speak in Public

VII. PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT.
       We the People
       The Use of the Declaration of Independence
       Some Old-Fashioned Principles
       Founded on a Rock
       The Good of the Governed
       Ruling at Second-Hand

VIII. SUFFRAGE.
       Drawing the Line
       For Self-Protection
       Womanly Statesmanship
       Too Much Prediction
       First-Class Carriages
       Education _via_ Suffrage
       Follow Your Leaders
       How to make Women understand Politics
       Inferior to Man, and near to Angels

IX. OBJECTIONS TO SUFFRAGE.
       The Fact of Sex
       How will it Result?
       I have all the Rights I want
       Sense Enough to Vote
       An Infelicitous Epithet
       The Rob Roy Theory
       The Votes of Non-Combatants
       Manners repeal Laws
       Dangerous Voters
       How Women will legislate
       Individuals _vs._ Classes
       Defeats before Victories

INDEX







I

OUGHT WOMEN TO LEARN THE ALPHABET?


Paris smiled, for an hour or two, in the year 1801, when, amidst Napoleon's
mighty projects for