The position of woman: actual and ideal / with preface by Sir Oliver Lodge.

Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The position of woman: actual and ideal / with preface by Sir Oliver Lodge. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    be directed not solely or even mainly to improving the present, but principally to perfecting as far as may be the future. We are bound to be always hasting and pressing forward to the Golden Age, which we now know lies, not as in the fables of the poets, behind us, but before us. Every worthy parent realizes this truth in the case of the individual family, and tries to carry it out in a way more or less enlightened in pro- portion as it is better or worse understood. The same holds good, though in a less obvious way, with regard to what may be called “ spiritual parenthood.” Each man or woman is in a real sense father or mother of the whole future race. It is, therefore, worth while to attempt a neces- sarily imperfect examination of some of the characteristics implied in motherhood, as a clue to the essential qualities and opportunities of women. It would be interesting and not without use- fulness if we could contrast the features of mother- hood, regarded in this broad way, with those of fatherhood, similarly treated. But this would be too vast a subject to be attempted in a short space of time. Besides, there is much truth in the contention of Henry Drummond that the course of evolution up to the present time may be looked upon as the evolution of a mother, while the development of a father is, perhaps, only to be awaited in the future. We propose, therefore, to consider some of the functions and duties of a mother. These differ