jr.] EMANCIPATION BLACK AND WHITE. 21 



toys, beneath man ; or a sort of angels above him ; the highest 

 ideal aimed at oscillating between Clarchen and Beatrice. The 

 possibility that the ideal of womanhood lies neither in the fair 

 saint, nor in the fair sinner ; that the female type of character is 

 neither better nor worse than the male, but only weaker ; that 

 women are meant neither to be men s guides nor their playthings, 

 but their comrades, their fellows and their equals, so far as 

 Nature puts no bar to that equality, does not seem to have 

 entered into the minds of those who have had the conduct of 

 the education of girls. 



If the present system of female education stands self- 

 condemned, as inherently absurd ; and if that which we have 

 just indicated is the true position of woman, what is the first 

 step towards a better state of things ? We reply, emancipate 

 girls. Recognize the fact that they share the senses, perceptions, 

 feelings, reasoning powers, emotions, of boys, and that the mind 

 of the average girl is less different from that of the average boy, 

 than the mind of one boy is from that of another ; so that what 

 ever argument justifies a given education for all boys, justifies 

 its application to girls as well. So far from imposing artificial 

 restrictions upon the acquirement of knowledge by women, throw 

 every facility in their way. Let our Faustinas, if they will, toil 

 through the whole round of 



&quot; Juristerei und Medizin, 

 Und leider ! auch Philosoplrie.&quot; 



Let us have &quot; sweet girl graduates &quot; by all means. They will be 

 none the less sweet for a little wisdom ; and the &quot; golden hair &quot; 

 will not curl less gracefully outside the head by reason of there 

 being brains within. Nay, if obvious practical difficulties can 

 be overcome, let those women who feel inclined to do so descend 

 into the gladiatorial arena of life, not merely in the guise of 

 retiaricc, as heretofore, but as bold sicarice, breasting the open 

 fray. Let them, if they so please, become merchants, barristers, 

 politicians. Let them have a fair field, but let them understand, 

 as the necessary correlative, that they are to have no favour. 



