THE DIGNITY OF DOMESTIC WORK

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 573, 30 July 1909, Page 3

THE DIGNITY OF DOMESTIC WORK

!girl;y-.that:i : orice.; more.'people are' .talking : about'.the'/drgnity^of^domestic'work:. 'At' a. meeting/of Vthe;:,' Giris''/ Friendly'; Sbciety,',!!!; Auckland,- one 'speaker i.said. thatihe.prp'paga-i idoiv - of : v an 'Ide'aVbf .'the. dignity" of ::db.me'stic work : wa's:.'the.wayrto,"iucreasO:.the,sb domestic servants. "■ To' cook;,a dinner: really well,-to keep a house really pleaii/is.one.of the most .dignified'things;a ,-woman;cah;dp, an'd : w'e'.want"- to ''impress _this" on ;the: young girls;'.': 'AVbatJdo. you think of that?!'- and sue glanced' inquirnigly lit lier, fnehds. ■'- .': '.",I'm • ! -.'rery„:so'rry, but I-.do'n't.in .the least agree 'with.; it,'A-'.said.;the-, teacher; \ A .That would, be the,way to increase/the .supply, of. dbmestib, -servants,', if. you, could do it,., but ■ypiv'AVill not'.make girls believe'that ..washing dishes 1 and- scouring..;dirty,-.saucepans is the mbst;:dignifled: wonc'-.p,;'' woman, can-do..- It :'is'- not, Signified.'; .If, you -say that a-;-wonian can do these things without losing, a scrap of her 'dignity, that is'.perl'ectly true", and- .wo all i know ,wbinen - .whom _ from the bottom ,of ; : our hearts : wo .reverence,: -who,, have /Spent {half ■ their lives'.,doing:the little things;of..housei; .work; but-wo.'liaye thought /that their dignity . pame'from/some'ouite other source,zthat'.they dignified: the. work, .not./.that' -.it. ...dignified, them;" /-". • A : ;.-p --/V; :< '"'-i/-.-/t-. .-.: ■'.'.'l .am afraid,".- said... the- /typist; , ; "that beautiful though that remark about .'dignity is, \it: -,' a .very /hard'-. saying to; live',up. to, aiidjiby-.tho way, how, many-mistresses ;do you .know', who "could live ,up to' it? They/are , ready, enough .-to/talk of,.the dignity' .of housework 'for.Someone else, for their maids,;at a .pihchV.for their' daughters, :ibut :. for,their daughters' : yp'u .'will., generally ..-find .'■ that the dignity is. oiie that they desire,- them- to, enjoy, only temporarily. ;.. ; Ypu will never- find a' Svpman .who .seriously -wishes...her daughter, to .spend her. whole, life'.-at those dignified ;occu'patibns^'.'.',She,niay .think it ,ivill.'bb. gbod,for che.'gifl ,'tb, accustom <lierself> tp>tho-. cares 'and-'.duties of a'lioiisein her early,-'girlhood, "brV-'in: ;her first years' of/married 'jlifc,..but after, .that':'the. mother -will, bone.-, that: her' : 'daughter "will -carry .her digriity -iiitb other fields.": , ;;:/;.'/, . ",,;;/■ ■- I :'-.;-. A : ' -."Quite true,',': .said' the bachelor girl, ',''■ ari'd besides:this;,same dignity:,is.an .altp;gbtliei'. invisible,.thiri g, and, an iiiy'isible dig-, hify'.is of no'/advantage to anyone. Does the mistress ,; see it?' Have l you ever known a mistress,who. could,refrain from telling her frioildsi:as ; if-it :wcre a-great joke;: th'at.her maid spont.licr little leisure time in studying music or'. painting or languages, or that-her cook went for-bicycle rides, or read poetry ? . Thpyv know: perfectly welly that they would ■ consider -any /interest /in::such, matters.'-in-compatible;:-.with the mind ■ of ai'domestic. worker.' It is quite dignified from one'/point .of -yibw for a maid to bo able' to cook- potatoes'perfectly, but ridiculous for her to.waiit to-share in any of the higher pleasures of the families for. whom she works. .-' The mistress caiiriot conceive of a maid's having any such right. to any such tastes;" ■,:.,, •-.,"For their.own part," said . the typist, i, .'/the nicer maidscomplain. that the best edu- ■ .catcd;.n;en .tlicy know -fail to'..sec much digi .ni.ty-in work that ..is-done'-for- a. : .stranger for pay. It may bo dignified for a . -wifetoiboil potatoes, for her; family,,but they i -say that a. man.would not likoto know that -his .wife had been iir the habit of- ,cooking -Mrs.' Blank's potatoes, -.spending,/her ti.mo ineinwhilo botween Mrs. Blank's';, kitchen, ■ 'and the smallest,, meanest-bedroom, in Mrs. Blank's' house; that a man would rather his wife had come from an office or a shop than %'rom a'strange -kitchen and'scullery.. They .' fail to sec the dignity.'V ■' i ."Talways think,", said the teacher, "that , dignity to be any. good must bo not 'only •'-- visible but very strikingly visible. There arp .-'days'-when the-children in my class play up ■ so badly that- no amount of knowledge on 'i-ray part of the dicnityof toachingas ajjro-.

fossibn will.make mo feel truly dignified. No king couM fool dignified, however fine, he might know his theories of government wore, if ho know that all his-subjects despised him. and said, They'd rather see their sons working in a factory than on a throne.' Dignity, even more than beauty, is', in the eye; of'the beholder, and to be worth having; it must bo worn as a hat, rather than as a halo. I think trip dignity* that belongs inherently to the kitchcnnvaid is a very nebulous sort of halo., indeed." "They are confusing the point when they talk about it," said the typist. "We know perfectly, well that-ovcry sort of work possesses its own dignity, that; ;' theoretically speaking, there is a;', nobility, about : every sort of work that is. well done. ••' Tho-State lias need of workers in every, degree, and: those'who. do the most .ignominious tasks ! are as necessary to the well-being of the community as those who hold its highest offices, but that does not mean that anyone wants to;exchange and lay down the highest offices .for the meanest. In, actual fact, every seaman on a battleship is essential to the well-being of ■ the boat, but you will never find a man who wishes to be captain of the : ship contented with the knowledge that his own little menial task is in itself truly dignified. Ho knows that the officer's work is dignified too, and he is quite willing to bear.tlio higher dignity. As long as there: are deirpes- in dignity, so long will a- New Zealand girl prefer the higher quality.' ' : "That's exactly what I wanted-to say," said the! bachelor girl. "The girl who is told to be'content with kitchen' work because it is truly- dignified kuoivs that she could have even more dignity in an office, and she would at the sarhe. time liave shorter hours," better pay, better accommodation,. and she would find that more people were able to distinguish the. halo of dignity round -her head, and if she went a little.higher up she would, have still more people-to admireit. Dignity is like a lamp, in a lighthouse, the higher up, you go the,more people observe it;. and I don't; think the servant question will ever be solved by making the young, girls see the dignity of domestic work. The problem is to mako the ...older women—the. mistresses —see it,- and it .will be found that"thai is a very hard task. ■■<j,y-.'y. 1 ;-'-;'-'