Saturday, September 5, 2015

In Defense of Women - H.L. Mencken


This is a very old book I got from the collection of my friend, Teddi, who passed away and left me her books.  H. L. Mencken was a critic and writer who commented on society.  This book is satirical at first, with a tongue in cheek take on women as the superior gender and men being bamboozled by their actions.

His thoughts on women and marriage:

"She seeks a husband, not sentimentally, but realistically; she always give thought to the economic situation; she seldom takes a chance if it is possible to avoid it."

After several chapters he seems to applaud instead of criticize the evolution of the female gender and changes to praise.

In describing the "New Age" [the coming 1920's] he points out that:

"There already appears in the world, a class of women who, while still not genuinely averse to marriage, are yet free from any theory that it is necessary...who, with their economic Independence assured, either by inheritance or by their own efforts...do exactly as they please, and make no pother about it."

I wish I'd known Teddi had this book when we could have talked about it.  It would have been a lively discussion.


Published:  1922  Read: August 2015  Genre: Essay

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