Men
order their thoughts to be made, and have done with the subject; women
make their own clothes, necessary or ornamental, and are continually
talking about them; and their thoughts follow their hands. It is not
indeed the making of necessaries that weakens the mind; but the
frippery of dress. For when a woman in the lower rank of life makes
her husband's and children's clothes, she does her duty, this is her
part of the family business; but when women work only to dress
better than they could otherwise afford, it is worse than sheer loss
of time. To render the poor virtuous they must be employed, and
women in the middle rank of life, did they not ape the fashions of the
nobility, without catching their ease, might employ them, whilst
they themselves managed their families, instructed their children, and
exercised their own minds. Gardening, experimental philosophy, and
literature, would afford them subjects to think of and matter for
conversation, that in some degree would exercise their understandings.
The conversation of French women, who are not so rigidly nailed to
their chairs to twist lappets, and knot ribands, is frequently
superficial; but, I contend, that it is not half so insipid as that of
those English women whose time is spent in making caps, bonnets, and
the whole mischief of trimmings, not to mention shopping,
bargain-hunting, &c. &c.: and it is the decent, prudent women, who are
most degraded by these practices; for their motive is simply vanity.
Pages:
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131