Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 40, Number 161, 19 June 1915 — Page 7

Tine American! W ommsLim Aimalysed fcy Fir amice's Foremost: Feriuunfct

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"Whereas in

Husband Uses Almost Indefinable Sentimental Methods, the American Woman Demands Before Everything Else Justice and Fidelity. She Has Triumphed Because She Represents a New 'Feminine Type, An Image of An Extraordinarily Clear Sculptural Relief, a Type That Is Unique and Surpasses in Intensity All Others."

By Mme. Jane Catulle Mendes

The Distinguished Parisian Poetess and Feminist Leader.

IT Is always audacious to express an opinion about persons who are not of our own country and our own race, and whose habits and Intimate character we do not know sufficiently. Our Judgment can only be formed upon external facts, upon impressions arising from reading and conversation, and re mains necessarily superficial or incomplete. Having only been in New York for a few days, I must, therefore, admit at once that In spite of my Intimate friendship with many 'American women living in Paris, In spite of the very keen sympathy which I feel for those whom I already have had the pleasure of meeting here, In spite of the gratitude and admiration which their tireless devotion tor the unhappy victims of the war inspires In me, I could not pretend to speak of American women ' In a decisive manner and without error. I hope, and I desire ardently, that my stay in America may enlighten me completely upon this Interesting subject. I shall put all my heart and all my Intelligence into understanding them better in order that I may love them better. In the meanwhile, since I have been asked, I am going to tell you the sentiment and the Impression that we have of them In Paris. The Frenchwoman and the American woman are, oh! so very different 's "I cannot understand the Frenchwoman." my exquisite American friends often .say to me, with a little uneasiness, filled, though they are, with that penetrating and divining Intuition which is one of the characteristics of the cultivated American woman. And after I arrived here I heard always the same phrase, "We cannot understand the Frenchwoman." which charming young women . and young girls, with bright and interrogative eyes, have repeated to me. If the Frenchwoman remains so mysterious even for those whom she desires to conquer and charm. It is a little her own fault No woman In the civilised world has less willingness than the Frenchwoman to avow her sentiments, to lay bare her heart and mind In short, to reveal herself completely. She loves that people should anticipate her. should guess her feelings. She Is entirely made up of shades, of nuances. She says . more with a look, with a smile, with a pressure of the hand than with many words. Her words are for her a veil made of the sentiments by which they are inspired, a veil that barely permits that sentiment to penetrate to the ex terlor -world, just as one divines a light at evening from the Interior of some quiet chateau. Indeed, under her slightly frivolous appearance the Frenchwoman observes the words of the ancient wise man: "Hide thy life." She makes of her private life a work of art which be only unveils with great reluctance. Being thus made up, she fears all publicity. She hardly ever demands her rights, she loves to exercise a kind Of hidden power, an invisible influence which appears to her as potent as the most definite powers. The Self-Sacritice I fffi ', of the French Woman. " ' Her Ideal Is always an intimate tenderness, a secret harmony of heart and mind with the one she loves. If she could only attain that she would never ask a single thing else. And nearly all the women of our race think like Madame de Stael, who was the greatest feminine mind of France and who expressed in this beautiful phrase her proud disappointments: "Glory for women Is never anything but the splendid mourning of happiness." In short, the character of the true Frenchwoman is all made up of reserve, of patient moderation, of Intellectual elegance, of a smiling outside, even when she is full of sorrow. And she is the most sentimental woman In the world, not of a foolish sentimentality, not of a "romantic" sentimentality, narrow and egotistical, but of a sentiment which under gay and witty appearances is capable of the most perfect self-sacrifice and devotion. One might cite a thousand examples of this. One of the most touching Is perhaps that of the Duchess de Choiseul, who had, as we know, the most unfaithful husband in France. She lived in a country chateau, and to lighten her solitude she Invited to visit her the most distinguished men of her time Voltaire, Rousseau, and many others. All this time her husband was running after adventures. Very often he only encountered disappointments, and on such occasions he showed himself the saddest of men. Then his wife would write to him: "Come home, my friend, and I will cure you of your unhappiness. You know well that you. will go away again happy." No one consoled her for her sufferings, for she adored her husband and she suffered cruelly from his infidelity. But she remained amiable, smiling, without complaint, contenting herself when in the company of her husband with the role of a moral sister of charity, since she could not hold him by love. At the same time she displayed to everybody a face free from tears and the most exquisite dresses that one could imagine. Another and a different illustration of the character of the Frenchwoman is that which the women of the revolution gave. Nothing could terrorise them. They continued to give fetes and receptions In spite of the perils that hovered over them, perils that might lead them to the scaffold. To show their contempt for the guillotine, they invented a costume inspired by it. worn for the first , bl! .they called playfully: "The Ball of the Victims." This costume was made entirely in 'white, but as Its only decoration they put a narrow ribbon of blood-red color around the neck, exactly in the place where the knife of the guillotine would falL

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Love and Marriage,

It was a pretty defiance te death, and .we know that, when they had to die they mounted the scaffold with as much heroism as grace, wearing this time also a white dress, but needing no longer to place around the neck the red line that the knife would soon make. It is the women of this race that the Germans expect to terrify with their Taubes and their Zeppelins! ; There is, of course, much more to be said about the French woman, and I hope to say it before long with more details. To-day I will keep to these few summary outlines just to show my American readers what a contrast she makes with the American woman, "the new woman," who has suddenly arisen in a mighty country, healthy, bold, positive, thoroughly human, who imposes on the world a new energy. , - - The contrast is striking!. While the Frenchwoman, as I have indicated, makes it a point of dignity not to reveal herself and to remain in the "half-lights-," the American woman finds her dignity in a freedom full of ardor, full of potent charm, full of magnificent impulse." She produces the illusion of saying everything that she thinks, everything that she feels, everything that she desires. I say "illusion," for in whatever country one may be, "the eternal feminine" preserves certain indefinable complexities, which are most often secrets even for herself. But this luminous frankness is nevertheless a great benefit, for the women of the old world run the risk of losing in too many subtelties. in too many complex dreams, the clarity and the instinct of their hearts. Before our European eyes, impressed with gentleness and melancholy, the American woman appears inspired by nature herself, entirely saturated with the original virtues of humanity, determined to carry her will and her instincts to realization. The American Woman Is Creating the Future. ' She seems to tis to personify the Joy of living. While we Frenchwomen are still too restrained, too much under the spell of a deliriously mighty past, she is only interested in the present, preoccupied with the future, and with a justifiable and passionate faith, with a practical vehemence, she knows the great role that she is called to play in the future destiny of woman, she knows that she belongs to an elite sex, she believes only in her mission and in her ultimate victory. Suddenly the American woman has taken her place, a preponderating place in the life of Paris. Suddenly she has imposed on us her personality, the legend of her triumphs. It is not merely, in fact it is scarcely at all, through the money that she often possesses, that she has thus triumphed. It is before all because she represents a new feminine type, an image of an extraordinarily clear sculptural relief, a type that is unique and surpasses in intensity all others. Her dresses show an assured taste, attractive but considerably different from our own. Among our fashionable dressmakers a special department is almost invariably reserved for American women. It would be impossible to define exactly of what this difference is made up, for it is only a note, but a note which reveals the taste for invention, for novelty, for audacity, which harmonizes admirably with the proud beauty of the Americans. Yet many American women to-day seem to renounce this pecullarty native note of their elegance, this tendency to exteriorize the audacious and captivating side of their character. They are perhaps trying to be European. I think it is a great pity. Some of them seem to like to wear neutral colors and show preferences for navy blue, for white, and for black. I regret rather these new ways of seeing things. Navy blue is indeed an amiable and practical color, but it loses much of its charm when it becomes almost a uniform. The day before yesterday, as I was walking through the streets of New York, a person who was with me counted among one hundred young women whom we passed sixtyseven dressed in blue. That is a great many. I may add that I myself wore a blue dress; I have Indeed several. Then, perhaps. I am not the right person to make this reflection. As to white, it is a delightful color, but it seems that it should be specially reserved for young girls or for women whose temples are adorned with snow-white hair. White is also becoming on hot days.when it preserves an air of coolness in the sun, and for this purpose it is certainly Indicated for everybody. As to the Colors Women Should Wear. As to black, I think that it should not be worn often, in order that it may not be vulgarized. It has a significance which should be preserved. Last Winter a young woman of foreign birth, finding herself at a Parisian gathering, where there was an officer seriously wounded and convalescent, asked, with surprising thoughtlessness: "What are they going to wear In Paris this Spring?" . .. "Black, madame," said the officer, who had seen so many of his companions die about him on the field of battle. Yet, black may have another character than a sign of mourning. It may in certain cases be the indication of a temperament In Spain, for instance, the women o the aristocracy are almost always dressed in black. But with them this color is not sad: it is, in a certain degree, national n.i traditional. Through the luxury of the material, through the lines of the figure, it has a secret soul of ardor, it seems a sombre flame, re ealing the depths of this profound Iberian race, rigid in certain respects, intense, burning with a hidden fire. I think then that American women will find it altogether to their advantage to preserve in their costumes, their original taste. It is

the Frenchwoman

an instinctive taste which they have formed and refined by contemplation of the wild natural splendors of their country and by the artistic education, through which both in Europe and at home they have cultivated their minds. 1 repeat, it would be a great pity it they became similar in appearance to other women, even to those who are the most graceful and the most attractive. One can only lose by not being entirely oneself, especially when one has a quality so personal and so strongly developed. But perhaps this tendency to simplicity, to self-effacement in dress, is not simply the desire to be like others; perhaps it is already the expression of a little lassitude, Of a certain melancholy arising from-satiety in the good things of the earth a desire to pay less attention tp external pleasures and to, turn more exclusively to the things of the soul and the spirit Everything that we know of the present wonderful intellectual effervescence Of American women leads us to believe it This intellectual effervescence is what intereets me most ardently in the character of the American"1 woman. Her passion for generoua ideas, her vehemence in discussing them and in defending them is the surest indication of her dominating power, of the new light which she is to carry into the world. When I was in Paris a young American friend with whom. I; was chatting, said to me: "People have very false ideas about us American women. They think us taken up entirely with fads, with dress, and with beauty treatments.' The fact is that what appeals to us most passionately is Intellectual discussion. When you go over there do not believe that people will be very much concerned with your life story, with your celebrity, with your successes. They will talk of these things perhaps for two or three days, then there will be an end of it. What would interest them most deeply will be what you think on every subject; they will inquire into your ideas and your opinions; they will not accept them all, certainly, but they will respect them and they will judge them, for the liberty Of thought is one of the honors of America." What my friend said pleased me very much and I have since been able to observe that it was the absolute expression of the truth. With the American woman the abundance of sensations shows itself immediately by an abundance of cerebration, from which there must come forth a great progress for humanity. . To these general characteristics which observation of the American woman as I have met her in Paris and on so many travels has revealed to me, I may add some more Intimate re relations surprised during friendly conversation. I have been able to learn, I believe, some of the most profound sentiments of be American woman. In this case also there is a contrast with us an almost total contrast Whereas in love and in marriage, the Frenchwoman in order to conquer and hold her husband uses almost indefinable sentimental methods, the American woman demands, before everything else, justice and fidelity. In Paris recently a charming American woman confided to me an anecdote which she told me was not the only instance of its kind and which shows how these qualities appear essential and superior. "One of my women friends." she said, "discovered that her best friend had taken her husband from her. She had no feelings against the husband because she believed that in such cases from the American point of view, it is always the women who are guilty and who have begun the evil. "This is what she did. She brought together all her best friends and relations at a large dinner party and went through the dinner in the customary manner. At the end of the meal she arose, and before everybody revealed the treachery of her woman friend. Then she ordered the latter to leave the house immediately and never to come back. In a word she drove her out and the disloyal woman went away under the condemnation of all the guests." The young American woman who told me that story, a woman full of goodness of heart and keenness of mind, whom I like very much, approved those dramatic proceedings entirely. She could not conceive any other solution to the situation created by the guilty woman. , Yet, with us such a solution would be impossible, for in similar circumstances we should consider the husband the most guilty and, therefore, having the chief responsibility. , Moreover, to act thus would be for a Frenchwoman the surest way of losing her husband, and if with her, love were stronger than jealousy, and she wished to win black and keep him. she would use other means less direct and more complex to win her object. I had a great deal of difficulty in making my friend understand this reasoning, and even then she did not accept it as sound. This lack of directness shocked her profoundly and I could not make her admit that It is useful sometimes In love to be willing to appear wrong momentarily even when one is right But it is none the less true that the fine frankness of the American manner Is pralaeworthy and impressive, and that the happiness of humanity would be more easily attained if things could always be managed with such honest simplicity. This loyal and noble sincerity which would perhaps constitute a danger in love, if it were applied to a man of a different race, is a sovereign quality in friendship. Friendship is a virtue very rare among Latin women, and that is deeply regrettable. Latin women are much more often rivals than friends; and I believe one oan say the same of Slav women. There are, indeed, contrary instances, but in most cases they are not to

in Order to Conquer

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Mme. Catulle Mendes, the Famous French Poetess and Feminist Leader.

be depended upon. We cite, for instance, the friendship which united Mme. Recamier and Mme. de Stael; and yet it was not without clouds. In France friendship is as a rule only real and constant between men, or between a man and a woman. On the other hand we know that feminine friendship among American women is a frequent and solid virtue, resisting almost always all trials. I remember one day when I was visiting one of my American friends, elegant, pretty, witty, endowed with all the graces, that I saw a woman arrive,- ill dressed, almost sordid, almost ghastly, with a haggard face, evidently a wreck. My friend stretched out her hand, embraced her affectionately, kissed her. asked what she needed, and, after showing her every attention, gave her money. The Ameircan Woman in i . ' Love and Friendship. n " I did not say anything, but my friend guessed from my silence itself, my astonishment. "Yes," she said to me, "she has done harm to others and to herself. She has done a great deal of harm and she has fallen very low. But Ehe has never done anything wrong to me. I was her friend formerly when she was rich, beautiful and loved. Now when she Is miserable I am her friend still. I give her everything she needs since she has never committed any fault as a friend of mine." I confess that I was deeply touched and that I found there wa6 much beauty in such a deep respect for the bond of friendship. If we had not already known the generous and courageous heart of the American woman the war would have revealed it to us How can we find words to thank them and to tell them our emotions? There are no words wit which to do it Let them see. at least, our tears of gratitude. Those who are now in France have devoted themselves with a marvellous spirit, a contempt f 11?J " ub1lim- " courageous as if their pTfwJirfIK 0wn hU8band "d their own Fatherland had been attacked, mutilated and massacred. It is in the most difficult positions

and Hold Her

that we have found 9Amerlcan women as a rule putting forth all their courage, as well as all their ingenuity, and all their strength in the service of misfortune. I saw them at Ypres. at - Poeperingue. and other places on the front, in the midst of the bursting shells, nursing the wounded, giving milk to. little children who--were- dying of hunger. I saw them working tirelessly with their ambulance, which is one . of . the most magnificently organized in Paris. I saw them serving meals for artists as well as for orphans, forgetting no one among all who were suffering: I visited la Paris the "Pavilion de Flore- and saw innumerable packages sent-from America by American women.-who; -far from th horrors of war, work without relaxation to alleviate them. Yes. during these tragic times, which will remain in history as-the most dreadful preiod that the world has ever known. American women will have given the finest example of disinterested humanity which has been shown up to the present. The finest thing is that this generosity is not an exception on the part of a few individuals, but that all women are united in it. It seems to be the very beating of the heart of America. While our soldiers are being killed and mutilated for the cause of honor and Justice. American women are inscribing by their passionate and unlimited charity an unforgettable page in the history of their country, , . This is why a great fraternal impulse coming from the depths of the soul will, draw together forever the Frenchwoman, and . the American woman and create between them indestructible bonds which can only inrease in strength. I am certain, with the most ardent faith, that from this union there will result much good; for, if the Frenchwoman is destined to propagate and preserve all the pure and charming traditional virtues of sentiment and the spirit, the American woman on her side has the mission equally beautiful of inspiring new ideas of right, of justice and of liberty which will give to the human being more self-respect anJ more energy. Thus each completing the work of the other, they will be able to accomplish to perfection the grandiose feminine task of the future.

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