Essay No. 33
What Can Women Do for the Empire ?
A FEW WORDS TO GIRLS
BY
Mrs. Claude Epps, B.Sc.
(Late Head Mistress of the Stafford Girls' High School.)
"WHAT can Women do for England ?"
This was the subject set a few days ago for a prize essay at a girls' school. I began to wonder what I should have written had the task been given to me; and then I thought it might be interesting to write down the train of ideas that passed through my mind.
First of all, however, the position of women may alter politically; whether we are given the Parlia¬mentary vote or not, there are three things at least that we, the women of England, shall have to do for our country : We must be the mothers of coming generations; we must be the nurses of these child¬ren ; and we must be mainly responsible for the teaching of all the girls, and largely concerned in the teaching of the boys while they are small. I need not dwell on the importance of these duties, nor
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need I point out how carefully we should prepare ourselves to discharge our obligations faithfully if we knew exactly what part we should be called upon to play.
Now, at this juncture we come to the really vital point. Since the future is hidden from us, we must all prepare ourselves, so far as we can, to be ready to do what is required of us when the call comes, whether as mother, nurse, teacher, home daughter, or as a worker in any of the numerous callings open to women. Some of us make up our minds quite early that we want to follow a certain career, and perhaps we are able to achieve our desire ; we eagerly do all that we can to secure the proper technical training for our future work, but if we do this without also getting character training we can¬not but be failures. The converse does not entirely hold, for if we train our characters, even though we have no technical qualifications of any sort, we shall be able to some degree to lead useful, successful lives, helping and influencing others, and so we shall be a benefit to our generation.
Let us remember this : Women differ fundamen¬tally from men, and all the talk that we hear nowa¬days of the equality of the sexes rests on an untenable basis. Men and women are made to be the comple¬ments of each other, so let us see how we can best help to fulfil this relationship, and also to remove certain blemishes which spoil the work of so many
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women. Here are some grave charges that I fear may justly be brought against us : We are lacking in public spirit ; many of us are somewhat shallow and superficial ; and we are frequently sentimental and allow ourselves to be carried away by emotion, and so are led to commit acts which in our thinking moments we realise to be foolish, if not actually wrong. Let us look into these accusations in order to see how we can effect a remedy and help to become the true helpmeets of men, and so a greater strength to our nation, to the whole Empire, and to our generation at large.
Although some women are realising more their lack of public spirit, much yet remains to be done ; we must not be selfish and self-centred, and be satisfied if all goes well with us and those intimately connected with us. Let us remember that outside our homes there is the nation ; beyond that our sister nations over the seas; and we must do all we can to grasp the social and economic conditions of our times, to study history, especially the history of our Empire, so that we can understand the significance of the march of events and, moreover, be able to take an intelligent part in the conversation of those around us. If we once convince men that we have a real, sane, and intelligent grasp of the problems of the day, they will be more ready to discuss things with us on an equal footing ; they will come to see that the man's point of view must, in some ways, differ
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from the woman's, but their respect for us will increase, and so our influence must grow.
It is useless to deny that women often let their hearts rule their heads, and in an impulsive way they allow themselves to do things solely on the ground of sentiment ; it is often so much easier to act on the suggestion of our emotions rather than to stop and consider the true merits and significance of a situa¬tion. We should train ourselves to look at life as it really is, not as we imagine it to be, or as we should like it to be. Shall we be consulted and referred to in difficulties if it is known that our opinions and actions are based on insecure founda¬tions ? Let us remember the words of that great man, Theodore Roosevelt : "Of all broken reeds, senti¬mentality is the most broken on which righteousness can lean."
Much philanthropic work is being done in our country to-day through the agency of Civic Guilds and Guilds of Help. These societies all aim at help¬ing those in need, primarily by personal service, and the help required necessarily involves a thorough investigation of all the facts and circumstances of the case, a knowledge of economic conditions, and a quick and clear-sighted decision as to the best and truest way in which help can be given ; and though throughout one may be actuated by love for one's fellow-creatures, one sees immediately how little room there is for sentimentality to run riot in such
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rk, and how far off the world is still from the time when it may become a Paradise from which all force or punishment for wrongdoing can be safely eliminated.
These are days in which sensible, solid, hard work is expected from our women, and our women must see to it that they can give what is required of them. Let us train ourselves to be thorough and systematic; and while we are engaged in any work or play, let us throw ourselves into it with our whole soul, heart, and body. It is a trite saying, but none the less a true one, that "if a thing is worth doing it is worth doing well." I feel that the author of these words was probably a man. Women are usually quicker than men in seeing a point ; but this is often their undoing, for instead of going deeply into a matter, they are satisfied with an inadequate and superficial grasp of it ; and this lack of thoroughness is the bane of many women.
It is good for us occasionally to pause in out daily occupations and think of the responsibilities that our lot in life brings to us ; the greater our privileges, the greater must be our responsibility; it always has been so, and, happily, it always must be so. Of one's duty to the members of one's family it is unnecessary to speak, it is too obvious to need emphasis ; but, passing on to wider claims beyond those of relations and neighbours, we are all proud to call ourselves subjects of King George, and as
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such we owe him and our country united loyalty and reverence. Let us ask ourselves what right we have to shelter behind the advantages and safeguards afforded us by British power and civilisation, and by the wisely-thought-out laws of our land, without attempting to give back some small service to our country. We cannot accept with folded hands all the benefits that thus come to us; let us rather rouse up and say :
"Here and here did England help me.
How can I help England? Say ! "
Even beyond this, we are fellow-members, joined with millions living overseas, of the great British Empire, and as such we are bound together by certain sacred mutual bonds, whose obligations are expressed so tersely and comprehensively in the watchwords of the great "Empire Movement " : "Responsibility, Duty, Sympathy, Self-sacrifice."
Whether we realise our obligations or not, we none of us can pass through this world unheeded, however humble our situation in life may be. If our influence is not good, then it is bad; and it is wonder¬ful how great an influence for good even the most apparently insignificant girl may have. I need not dwell on the undoubted influence women possess over men, but, confining ourselves to our own sex, have you ever noticed, when a group of friends is talking in a way that is hardly wise or sensible, how the
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entrance of another girl may change the whole tone of the conversation ? She says nothing, but the others realise that she would disapprove of what they are saying, and so, for the time being, she raises them up nearer to her own level.
You see that I have rambled far away from the great question of careers and all the splendid achieve¬ments that may be wrought by women, but the last paragraph deals with something of far greater im¬portance, and its inner meaning is that it is Being, rather than Doing, that chiefly matters.
So long as we live we have to "be," and if you will think you will see that whether we do this well or ill depends upon ourselves, what we demand of ourselves, what, in short, we have trained ourselves to be. This training will be no easy and trivial matter. It would be well to form the habit of think¬ing at the beginning of each day, how that day is to be spent, and of considering what we are going, with God's help, to try to do for the good of our fellow-creatures; and service to our fellow-creatures is service to God. At the end of the day let us not be afraid to look back and see how little we have probably achieved of what we set out to do; but let us begin again, prayerfully and hopefully, the next day, remembering that "there is no failure but ceasing to try, and perseverance is a series of fresh beginnings."
We must, to a great extent, train ourselves. The
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personal element enters very largely into the making of each individual ; if not, all the brothers and sisters brought up in one family would be exactly alike, and yet we know how much they usually differ ; and so we must, to some degree, develop ourselves, and that along the lines of our own individuality.
As a girl grows up she is given, and quite rightly, more freedom and independence; and with each gift of added freedom comes the added responsibility of making the right use of it. Let me say at once that freedom and responsibility do not do away, with the older order of duty and reverence to those to whom they are due. Emancipation comes first in the form of free time, to be used as we please, and our choice in this matter probably influences the whole of our future lives. What occupations are we going to take up; what books are we going to read; and what friends are we going to make when we are left to ourselves ?
There is so great a craving for pleasure in these days, in all classes of society, that girls tend to go with the stream and choose the easy and pleasant
path of inclination rather than the harder and more rugged path of duty and wisdom. We are much t mpted while we are young to think that we must have "all the fun we can get," and nothing that is not fun, if we can so arrange it. While we are thus idly playing, Time is passing, and Opportunities are allowed to go by unseen, and perchance they,
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may never return. What we have to do is to remem¬ber that "Life is Now," and not some years hence; and we must, as early as may be, take hold of our¬selves and decide how we are going to discipline ourselves and what is to be our attitude towards life.
For fear that you may bring against me the charge of being vague, let me indicate a few of the paths along which our thoughts should travel. I am not going to tell you just what I think you ought to do, because I want you to think it out for your¬selves. So much is done for us nowadays that we can usually find people even to think for us; and one of the things that the girls of today should learn to do is to think out things for themselves, logically, and sensibly. Here are a few things for you to think about, all of which tend to the training of character your reading ; whole volumes might be written on this one subject, and it is such an important one. Learn while you are yet young to read well, and make what you read your own ; and if you are going to do this you will not want to read anything but sound and good books. A certain library had as its motto, "Multum quam multa lege," and much is contained in this advice.
Along whatever lines your education may take you, see that it is not all brain-work to the exclusion of hand-work. Learn to use your hands; it gives one such a feeling of security and independence to
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know that, if necessary, one can "turn to " and do cooking, sewing, carpentry, gardening or house-work. I knew one young married woman who had a good staff of servants, but who proudly said she had once, at least, even blackleaded the kitchen grate and scrubbed the kitchen floor, so that she might feel that she could do everything necessary in her own house. Even if one is called upon to fill a high place in the social order, one becomes a better mistress and helper to one's subordinates if one has a practical knowledge of the work that has to be done.
Then comes the question of our friends. Friend¬ship should be a solemn and holy and happy tie in which the partners mutually benefit each other.
Next, our leisure. Here, I believe, lies the greatest difficulty of all. There are, alas ! many girls who give up their whole leisure and thoughts and con¬versation to games. Modern athletics have done so much for us in teaching us to "play up, play up, and play the game," in improving our physique, and in making us morally and physically sturdier, and withal they provide such genuine and healthy enjoyment, that it is very sad to think of the abso¬lutely undue prominence that is now often given to them. I travelled not long ago for nearly a hundred miles with some young women who were taking part in a hockey match, and their conversation was of little but games the whole time, except when some
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of them became animated over a "missing author" competition ; but it appeared that even this bore on games, for the proceeds from the entrance fees were for the funds of a needy hockey club. Here games had come to occupy quite a wrong place in the minds of these girls, and for the time being, at all events, their lives had lost all sense of proportion.
We all know the power of association. If we find ourselves inclined to place too great an import¬ance on the comparatively trivial interests of life, would it not be wise to join some of the numerous organisations of women with higher aims ? Religious and philanthropic associations for women are numer¬ous and well known, and membership of, say, the Girls' Patriotic League,* or of some similar organi¬sation, might assist towards the development of the spirit of self-sacrifice for the public good.
There is a legend that King Alfred used eight-hour candles, and that he burnt three each day—one for work, one for play, and one for sleep. It would be well for us to make some such scheme for our lives, that we may keep a right sense of proportion. We should none of us cut up a good piece of silk for a dress without having thought out a definite plan ; and surely the web of life is worthy of still more delicate and careful handling.
Remember that to fit ourselves for the big issues of life we must first build up our characters slowly,
* Hon. Sec.: Mrs. Douglas Owen, 9, Wilbraham Place, London, S.W.
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stage by stage; the superstructure can never be satisfactory unless the foundations are sound, and it is during our youth that we are laying these founda¬tions; so let us make it our business to do this work slowly and surely. If we think seriously how we are going to use our talents—that is, our brains, our bodies, our possessions, our friendships, and our opportunities—we shall have begun to lay our foundations well : the self-discipline and training will be started, and we shall have gone some way in working out a practical answer to the question with which I started—"What can Women do for England ? " and, we might add, for God, for their Empire, and for their fellow-creatures.
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