VII. THE HOMELESS DAUGHTER 164

VIII. THE CHILDLESS WOMAN AND THE FRIENDLESS CHILD 190

IX. ON THE ENNOBLING OF THE WOMAN'S BUSINESS 216




THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WOMAN


CHAPTER I

The Uneasy Woman


The most conspicuous occupation of the American woman of to-day,
dressing herself aside, is self-discussion. It is a disquieting
phenomenon. Chronic self-discussion argues chronic ferment of mind,
and ferment of mind is a serious handicap to both happiness and
efficiency. Nor is self-discussion the only exhibit of restlessness
the American woman gives. To an unaccustomed observer she seems always
to be running about on the face of things with no other purpose than
to put in her time. He points to the triviality of the things in which
she can immerse herself--her fantastic and ever-changing raiment, the
welter of lectures and other culture schemes which she supports, the
eagerness with which she transports herself to the ends of the
earth--as marks of a spirit not at home with itself, and certainly not
convinced that it is going in any particular direction or that it is