"WOMEN THROUGH THE AGES."

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 431, 13 February 1909, Page 11

"WOMEN THROUGH THE AGES."

Dr. Emit Reich, who has.already devoted as much timo to tho study and criticism of the sex, has now published a two-vohimo book entitled "Woman Through tho Ages." From a review of the book published in tho "Queen," it-would seem that the author has studied almost every branch of-his subject laboriously iiud thoroughly. He covers a very wide area,'for he starts with the women of 'ancient .Egypt, and 'concludes' with ' the position of. women in America, so that it will be seen.he embrace's all, or. nearly all, the periods in which women have made their presence felt. His chapters on the ladies of Greece ""Wnd Rome, are exceedingly good, the contrast between; the two being very strikingly portrayed, and other.... chapters worth noting.are those relating to mediaeval woman in: the convent, and outside, , while it may also be added that the author adds to-the interest of his book by paying.special attention to such famous characters as Cleopatra;- Sappho,, Joan, of ArCj St. Teresa, arid others of amore modern-dayl After dealing with the women of the Renaissance, of the Tudor, and Stuart-periods, of the Salons, of 'the: reigns of, Louis XIV; and XV., of the French, Revolution, of the eighteenth century, of■ the French Empire, and the literary women of the nineteenth century, the author strides a very modern -.keynote in his.last chapters, entitled respectively."The Feminism of ..the Nineteenth Century" and "Women of America," and he evidently, is not highly, impressed tho latest production. .'At times, indeed, he grows amusingly, cynical, and ifieverybody will hot he in agreement with his deductions, he hits somo.shrewd blows which will assuredly cause a fluttering in certain dove-cotes. Thus' be says in.one place, "To-day the mother of. the' Gracchi is"replaced.by a strenuous spinster with pince-nez 'and. theories, who hasa "smattering- of- every blogy except that of being a good wife. and:,a'. good-mother. The woman who.has made-'hor. son's: heart and mind properly receptive "has rendered enormous service to the-country and the -community. The woman ; who shrieks renders ■none." .He lays'it' down that in Christian Europe, ever.since say 900'-'.a.d';, the central fact of, social' life was the establishment of a home, but that, on the contrary,; American life has been .necessarily and inevitably'.-built up on its absence. He compares the woman of thai nation, ■indeed,, to the -old Greek , Amazon, and. sadly asks ; whether such women are or are-not likely to, promote, the real welfare of a.. nation,: concluding. his book with : the sentence,. "most. Europeans are not

'•inqimed , . to indulge; in ; great ..hopes [of Urn-, provement by women of; that-kind. Perhaps, then; Kuropeans are wrong" (a saving sentence); : As already stated, this is a capital book 'to read,; and rarely, if ever, .has, the positionof women.in\the ditfe'rent ages ;been so well depicted as in these.cleverly written volumes, which, by. the. way, contain "seyeral excellent illustrations: ;. : ~ '.[■"'.■} ;.' '■ /' .