But the thing they clamour for most is equality. There is a great deal
to be said in favour of placing the sexes on an equal footing, and if
social conventions are stronger and more admirable than natural
instincts--and doubtless they are--the thing should be done; but the
innate perversity of women make it difficult--for, I know this, that
whatever the position of a true woman, and however much she may clamour
for equality with men in general, the man she herself loves in
particular will always be her master.
"But such ridicule as this party has brought upon itself would not have
mattered so much had nothing worse come of it. Unfortunately, there
seems to be no neutral ground for us women: we either do good or harm;
and I hold that first class responsible for the existence of those
people who clamour for change of any kind, regardless of the
consequences. Their ideas, shorn of all good intention, have resulted
in the production of a new creature; and have made it possible for
women who have the faults of both sexes and the virtues of neither to
mix in society. The bad work done by the influence of this second class
is only too apparent.
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