Hance: Freshmen ^latrimonial Ideals 



161 



it comes their turn to face the reahty, 

 we ma^• expect more from them than 

 the traditional portion of an offspring 

 statistically allotted to each college 

 graduate. 



Among minor desires falls the hope 

 that the next generation will be "curly 

 headed" so that they will not be af- 

 flicted with the female curse of 

 straight hair. The man of one pair 

 must be "strong enough to hold up 

 his end of the argument, otherwise he'll 

 be apt to get the worst of it." 



In reviewing the statement of the 

 women, I think, that they all show de- 

 sires that are apt to make for stable 

 happiness. The women seem willing 

 and anxious wholly to do their part 

 in making mutual concessions and to 

 take up the increased burdens. Selfish- 

 ness—a characteristic believed to be 

 dominant in a class of women today — 

 appears in only one instance and for 

 the possible man's sake we hope with 

 the writer that she'll "never be foolish 

 enough to marry anybody" for if she 

 did she has in mind more restrictions 

 than a League of Nations. 



The Ideal Wife 



In turning our attention to the hopes 

 of the males, we find very much the 

 same ideals running through their dis- 

 cussions. Most of them really seem to 

 believe that beauty is as beauty does 

 and so long as a girl is free from ab- 

 normalities more cannot be expected. 

 A reviewer may have just a bit of skep- 

 ticism on this point and feel that on' 

 man more correctly expresses the usual 

 instinct when he claims that while the 

 male ideal need not be good looking, 

 still that is a very nice characteristic 

 to have. At least some sages are to be 

 graduated, for out of the mouths of 

 babes comes the information that "looks 

 make little or no difference although 

 the saying goes 'if you want to know 

 vour wife at fifty, look at her mother 

 now.' " 



We again hope that writers are sin- 

 cere in desiring women of mental at- 

 tainments equal to their own. Many 

 want mates to balance their peculiarities 



— mates who can take things as they 

 come — a few rec[uire parlor tricks or a 

 mate who will in general "speak my 

 language," and lastly, to counterbalance 

 the sense of humor desired by the wo- 

 men, we have from the men the ex- 

 pressed hope for a girl with common 

 sense. Whether we may classify as a 

 mental attribute the necessity of the 

 girl's thinking, "I am the best man this 

 side of heaven," is doubtful. 



Ability to manage a home and to 

 cook is the materialistic expectation of 

 many and to this one man adds that 

 his woman must have ambition to get 

 up in the morning and dress. Com- 

 panionship is realized to depend upon 

 common interests and congeniality and 

 finds able expression in the phrase, 

 "harmony is a good thing in any enter- 

 prise." 



The mixing of races is believed to be 

 dangerous to happiness by the Jews. 

 Religion is very frequently mentioned 

 as a good thing to look out for in mat- 

 rimonial planning. There seems to be 

 some agreement on the proposition that 

 "religion keeps men together, but ruins 

 all aims of genetics and eugenics," but 

 the chap who wants a "Christian — not a 

 Roman Catholic" — might strike fire in 

 some circles. 



We can see a very fair tendency in 

 the men to pass up their time-honored 

 right to distribute wild oats in such 

 statements that "she must be healthy 

 and fairly young and like Caesar's wife 

 'above suspicion.' It is unjust for a 

 man to expect more than he gives." 

 Or again "the musculine sex seems to 

 be much interested in finding a mate 

 with all the characteristics that will 

 help to elevate their children, but how 

 is it possible when the father is gener- 

 ally the one who is pulling down the 

 moral standard of mankind daily." 



Children are expected and wanted 

 and the value of healthy parents is ap- 

 ]:)reciated. One man goes the Eugenists 

 one better by insisting on knowing the 

 girl's "family skeleton." One optimis- 

 tic pessimist concludes that the stand- 

 ards set auger bachelorhood for him. 



