Itmayevenbethattheenterpriseowesitshonorificvirtue，asameansofenhancingthedonor’sgoodrepute，totheimputedpresenceofthisnon-invidiousmotive；butthatdoesnothindertheinvidiousinterestfromguidingtheexpenditure。Theeffectualpresenceofmotivesofanemulativeorinvidiousorigininnon-emulativeworksofthiskindmightbeshownatlengthandwithdetail，inanyoneoftheclassesofenterprisespokenofabove。Wherethesehonorificdetailsoccur，insuchcases，theycommonlymasqueradeunderdesignationsthatbelonginthefieldoftheaesthetic，ethicaloreconomicinterest。Thesespecialmotives，derivedfromthestandardsandcanonsofthepecuniaryculture，actsurreptitiouslytodiverteffortofanon-invidiouskindfromeffectiveservice，withoutdisturbingtheagent’ssenseofgoodintentionorobtrudinguponhisconsciousnessthesubstantialfutilityofhiswork。Theireffectmightbetracedthroughtheentirerangeofthatscheduleofnon-invidious，meliorativeenterprisethatissoconsiderableafeature，andespeciallysoconspicuousafeature，intheovertschemeoflifeofthewell-to-do。Butthetheoreticalbearingisperhapsclearenoughandmayrequirenofurtherillustration；especiallyassomedetailedattentionwillbegiventooneoftheselinesofenterprise——theestablishmentsforthehigherlearning——inanotherconnection。
Underthecircumstancesoftheshelteredsituationinwhichtheleisureclassisplacedthereseems，therefore，tobesomethingofareversiontotherangeofnon-invidiousimpulsesthatcharacterizestheante-predatorysavageculture。Thereversioncomprisesboththesenseofworkmanshipandtheproclivitytoindolenceandgood-fellowship。Butinthemodernschemeoflifecanonsofconductbasedonpecuniaryorinvidiousmeritstandinthewayofafreeexerciseoftheseimpulses；andthedominantpresenceofthesecanonsofconductgoesfartodivertsucheffortsasaremadeonthebasisofthenon-invidiousinteresttotheserviceofthatinvidiousinterestonwhichthepecuniaryculturerests。Thecanonsofpecuniarydecencyarereducibleforthepresentpurposetotheprinciplesofwaste，futility，andferocity。Therequirementsofdecencyareimperiouslypresentinmeliorativeenterpriseasinotherlinesofconduct，andexerciseaselectivesurveillanceoverthedetailsofconductandmanagementinanyenterprise。Byguidingandadaptingthemethodindetail，thesecanonsofdecencygofartomakeallnon-invidiousaspirationoreffortnugatory。Thepervasive，impersonal，un-eagerprincipleoffutilityisathandfromdaytodayandworksobstructivelytohindertheeffectualexpressionofsomuchofthesurvivingante-predatoryaptitudesasistobeclassedundertheinstinctofworkmanship；butitspresencedoesnotprecludethetransmissionofthoseaptitudesorthecontinuedrecurrenceofanimpulsetofindexpressionforthem。
Inthelaterandfartherdevelopmentofthepecuniaryculture，therequirementofwithdrawalfromtheindustrialprocessinordertoavoidsocialodiumiscarriedsofarastocompriseabstentionfromtheemulativeemployments。Atthisadvancedstagethepecuniaryculturenegativelyfavorstheassertionofthenon-invidiouspropensitiesbyrelaxingthestresslaidonthemeritofemulative，predatory，orpecuniaryoccupations，ascomparedwiththoseofanindustrialorproductivekind。Aswasnoticedabove，therequirementofsuchwithdrawalfromallemploymentthatisofhumanuseappliesmorerigorouslytotheupper-classwomenthantoanyotherclass，unlessthepriesthoodofcertaincultsmightbecitedasanexception，perhapsmoreapparentthanreal，tothisrule。Thereasonforthemoreextremeinsistenceonafutilelifeforthisclassofwomenthanforthemenofthesamepecuniaryandsocialgradeliesintheirbeingnotonlyanupper-gradeleisureclassbutalsoatthesametimeavicariousleisureclass。Thereisintheircaseadoublegroundforaconsistentwithdrawalfromusefuleffort。
Ithasbeenwellandrepeatedlysaidbypopularwritersandspeakerswhoreflectthecommonsenseofintelligentpeopleonquestionsofsocialstructureandfunctionthatthepositionofwomaninanycommunityisthemoststrikingindexofthelevelofcultureattainedbythecommunity，anditmightbeadded，byanygivenclassinthecommunity。Thisremarkisperhapstruerasregardsthestageofeconomicdevelopmentthanasregardsdevelopmentinanyotherrespect。Atthesametimethepositionassignedtothewomanintheacceptedschemeoflife，inanycommunityorunderanyculture，isinaverygreatdegreeanexpressionoftraditionswhichhavebeenshapedbythecircumstancesofanearlierphaseofdevelopment，andwhichhavebeenbutpartiallyadaptedtotheexistingeconomiccircumstances，ortotheexistingexigenciesoftemperamentandhabitsofmindbywhichthewomenlivingunderthismoderneconomicsituationareactuated。
Thefacthasalreadybeenremarkeduponincidentallyinthecourseofthediscussionofthegrowthofeconomicinstitutionsgenerally，andinparticularinspeakingofvicariousleisureandofdress，thatthepositionofwomeninthemoderneconomicschemeismorewidelyandmoreconsistentlyatvariancewiththepromptingsoftheinstinctofworkmanshipthanisthepositionofthemenofthesameclasses。Itisalsoapparentlytruethatthewoman’stemperamentincludesalargershareofthisinstinctthatapprovespeaceanddisapprovesfutility。Itisthereforenotafortuitouscircumstancethatthewomenofmodernindustrialcommunitiesshowaliveliersenseofthediscrepancybetweentheacceptedschemeoflifeandtheexigenciesoftheeconomicsituation。
Theseveralphasesofthe“womanquestion“havebroughtoutinintelligibleformtheextenttowhichthelifeofwomeninmodernsociety，andinthepolitecirclesespecially，isregulatedbyabodyofcommonsenseformulatedundertheeconomiccircumstancesofanearlierphaseofdevelopment。Itisstillfeltthatwoman’slife，initscivil，economic，andsocialbearing，isessentiallyandnormallyavicariouslife，themeritordemeritofwhichis，inthenatureofthings，tobeimputedtosomeotherindividualwhostandsinsomerelationofownershiportutelagetothewoman。So，forinstance，anyactiononthepartofawomanwhichtraversesaninjunctionoftheacceptedscheduleofproprietiesisfelttoreflectimmediatelyuponthehonorofthemanwhosewomansheis。Theremayofcoursebesomesenseofincongruityinthemindofanyonepassinganopinionofthiskindonthewoman’sfrailtyorperversity；butthecommon-sensejudgmentofthecommunityinsuchmattersis，afterall，deliveredwithoutmuchhesitation，andfewmenwouldquestionthelegitimacyoftheirsenseofanoutragedtutelageinanycasethatmightarise。Ontheotherhand，relativelylittlediscreditattachestoawomanthroughtheevildeedsofthemanwithwhomherlifeisassociated。
Thegoodandbeautifulschemeoflife，then——thatistosaytheschemetowhichwearehabituated——assignstothewomana“sphere“ancillarytotheactivityoftheman；anditisfeltthatanydeparturefromthetraditionsofherassignedroundofdutiesisunwomanly。Ifthequestionisastocivilrightsorthesuffrage，ourcommonsenseinthematter——thatistosaythelogicaldeliveranceofourgeneralschemeoflifeuponthepointinquestion——saysthatthewomanshouldberepresentedinthebodypoliticandbeforethelaw，notimmediatelyinherownperson，butthroughthemediationoftheheadofthehouseholdtowhichshebelongs。Itisunfeminineinhertoaspiretoaself-directing，self-centeredlife；andourcommonsensetellsusthatherdirectparticipationintheaffairsofthecommunity，civilorindustrial，isamenacetothatsocialorderwhichexpressesourhabitsofthoughtastheyhavebeenformedundertheguidanceofthetraditionsofthepecuniaryculture。“Allthisfumeandfrothof’emancipatingwomanfromtheslaveryofman’andsoon，is，tousethechasteandexpressivelanguageofElizabethCadyStantoninversely，’utterrot。’Thesocialrelationsofthesexesarefixedbynature。Ourentirecivilization——thatiswhateverisgoodinit——isbasedonthehome。“The“home“isthehouseholdwithamalehead。Thisview，butcommonlyexpressedevenmorechastely，istheprevailingviewofthewoman’sstatus，notonlyamongthecommonrunofthemenofcivilizedcommunities，butamongthewomenaswell。Womenhaveaveryalertsenseofwhattheschemeofproprietiesrequires，andwhileitistruethatmanyofthemareillateaseunderthedetailswhichthecodeimposes，therearefewwhodonotrecognizethattheexistingmoralorder，ofnecessityandbythedivinerightofprescription，placesthewomaninapositionancillarytotheman。Inthelastanalysis，accordingtoherownsenseofwhatisgoodandbeautiful，thewoman’slifeis，andintheorymustbe，anexpressionoftheman’slifeatthesecondremove。
Butinspiteofthispervadingsenseofwhatisthegoodandnaturalplaceforthewoman，thereisalsoperceptibleanincipientdevelopmentofsentimenttotheeffectthatthiswholearrangementoftutelageandvicariouslifeandimputationofmeritanddemeritissomehowamistake。Or，atleast，thatevenifitmaybeanaturalgrowthandagoodarrangementinitstimeandplace，andinspiteofitspatentaestheticvalue，stillitdoesnotadequatelyservethemoreeverydayendsoflifeinamodernindustrialcommunity。Eventhatlargeandsubstantialbodyofwell-bred，upperandmiddle-classwomentowhosedispassionate，matronlysenseofthetraditionalproprietiesthisrelationofstatuscommendsitselfasfundamentallyandeternallyright-eventhese，whoseattitudeisconservative，commonlyfindsomeslightdiscrepancyindetailbetweenthingsastheyareandthingsastheyshouldbeinthisrespect。Butthatlessmanageablebodyofmodernwomenwho，byforceofyouth，education，ortemperament，areinsomedegreeoutoftouchwiththetraditionsofstatusreceivedfromthebarbarianculture，andinwhomthereis，perhaps，anunduereversiontotheimpulseofself-expressionandworkmanship——thesearetouchedwithasenseofgrievancetoovividtoleavethematrest。
Inthis“New-Woman“movement——astheseblindandincoherenteffortstorehabilitatethewoman’spre-glacialstandinghavebeennamed——thereareatleasttwoelementsdiscernible，bothofwhichareofaneconomiccharacter。Thesetwoelementsormotivesareexpressedbythedoublewatchword，“Emancipation“and“Work。“Eachofthesewordsisrecognizedtostandforsomethinginthewayofawide-spreadsenseofgrievance。Theprevalenceofthesentimentisrecognizedevenbypeoplewhodonotseethatthereisanyrealgroundforagrievanceinthesituationasitstandstoday。Itisamongthewomenofthewell-to-doclasses，inthecommunitieswhicharefarthestadvancedinindustrialdevelopment，thatthissenseofagrievancetoberedressedismostaliveandfindsmostfrequentexpression。Thatistosay，inotherwords，thereisademand，moreorlessserious，foremancipationfromallrelationofstatus，tutelage，orvicariouslife；andtherevulsionassertsitselfespeciallyamongtheclassofwomenuponwhomtheschemeoflifehandeddownfromtheregimeofstatusimposeswithleastlitigationavicariouslife，andinthosecommunitieswhoseeconomicdevelopmenthasdepartedfarthestfromthecircumstancestowhichthistraditionalschemeisadapted。Thedemandcomesfromthatportionofwomankindwhichisexcludedbythecanonsofgoodreputefromalleffectualwork，andwhichiscloselyreservedforalifeofleisureandconspicuousconsumption。
Morethanonecriticofthisnew-womanmovementhasmisapprehendeditsmotive。ThecaseoftheAmerican“newwoman“
haslatelybeensummedupwithsomewarmthbyapopularobserverofsocialphenomena:“Sheispettedbyherhusband，themostdevotedandhard-workingofhusbandsintheworld……Sheisthesuperiorofherhusbandineducation，andinalmosteveryrespect。Sheissurroundedbythemostnumerousanddelicateattentions。Yetsheisnotsatisfied……TheAnglo-Saxon’newwoman’isthemostridiculousproductionofmoderntimes，anddestinedtobethemostghastlyfailureofthecentury。“Apartfromthedeprecation——perhapswellplaced——whichiscontainedinthispresentment，itaddsnothingbutobscuritytothewomanquestion。Thegrievanceofthenewwomanismadeupofthosethingswhichthistypicalcharacterizationofthemovementurgesasreasonswhysheshouldbecontent。Sheispetted，andispermitted，orevenrequired，toconsumelargelyandconspicuously——vicariouslyforherhusbandorothernaturalguardian。Sheisexempted，ordebarred，fromvulgarlyusefulemployment——inordertoperformleisurevicariouslyforthegoodreputeofhernatural(pecuniary)guardian。Theseofficesaretheconventionalmarksoftheun-free，atthesametimethattheyareincompatiblewiththehumanimpulsetopurposefulactivity。Butthewomanisendowedwithhershare-whichthereisreasontobelieveismorethananevenshare——oftheinstinctofworkmanship，towhichfutilityoflifeorofexpenditureisobnoxious。Shemustunfoldherlifeactivityinresponsetothedirect，unmediatedstimulioftheeconomicenvironmentwithwhichsheisincontact。Theimpulseisperhapsstrongeruponthewomanthanuponthemantoliveherownlifeinherownwayandtoentertheindustrialprocessofthecommunityatsomethingnearerthanthesecondremove。
