| Original Message |
Leon Silverman
Posted Oct 30, 1999 10:01 PM
Frances E.W. Harper expresses a hopeful attitude for the gains women have achieved. Its not just what women have gained, but how they use these gains that is important. She indicates that women can have a favorable influence on men and/or the population in general through "character". Does this character differentiate women from men? Is it that women are more compassionate, more understanding, more willing to compromise, and less pedantic than men? For example, would women be less likely to go to war or be more concerned about the impoverished? Is this the type of virtue that would rub off on the voting population? As in "Ruth Hall", would a woman be less likely to abandon a widow and her children? (It appears not likely, given the nature of Ruth Hall's mother-in-law.)
It would appear that Frances E. W. Harper is appealing not to women exclusively, but to the general population for clearer thinking to upgrade the ideology of politics - perhaps asking for women to lead the way. She refers to "emancipation" in a universal sense. Let us look upon everyone as equal and improve their ability to make the best decisions. |
|