“Are Women Fit Companions?”

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 118, 9 August 1927, Page 7

“Are Women Fit Companions?”

Decay of Manners A LIVELY DEBATE Manners have gone to pieces since ‘women gave up domesticity for the vote and other worldly activities. This was the contention of Mr. St. John Ervine. the wellknown playwright, in the course of a debate at the London School of Economics. Some amusing views were exchanged on a recent evening, when Lady Rhondda and Mr. St. John Ervine, with Miss Edith Evans, London’s leading emotional actress, as their not too impartial chairman, argued the point, ‘'Are Women Fit Companions for Men?” Mr. Ervine, who boldly assumed the role of challenger, declared (according to a report in the London “Daily Telegraph”) that ever since women had been enfranchised men’s manners had gone to pieces. Until women began to smoke no man ever dreamed of smoking in a theatre. (Laughter.) Another disgusting habit entirely due to women was the cocktail habit. In his view cocktails were only for women and Americans. (Laughter.) The great days of the English theatre were those when worrmn were allowed neither in the auditorium nor on the stage. The moment women were admitted indecency became rampant. The Restorationdrama coincided with the advent of women on the stage, and when they were first seen there they were hissed by the indignant and virtuous men. (Laughter.) When women went into the audience tragedy was abolished from the stage. The simple reason was that women wanted to see something at which they could giggle, could giggle. BEAUTY OF THE MALE When Shakespeare was produced at the Old Vic. and elsewhere the men predominated in the queues, but when a lecherous play was given anywhere it was the women who thronged there. (Laughter.) What men were entitled to demand of women was comradeship. They must no longer trade on their sex, which was what they always did, but what men never did—(laughter)—and they must be prepared to take their stand with men on terms of friendship and equality. It was a foul libel that women were finer and more beautiful creatures than men. Let them go to the Zoo, and there they would see that the male was always the more beautiful animal of the species. (Laughter.) Women had to realise that in beauty of mind, body and character men were their superiors. (Laughter.) Man was a creature full of romance and with a burning desire for adventure. He aspired to contend with danger and death, and it was the woman who lured him into the cities, which he hated, because she herself loved life and gaiety. What she said was, “Come and be comfortable.” (Laughter.) It was because women liked crowds and doing the same things as other women did in such a convention-ridden way that the world was getting into such a pitiful plight. (Laughter.) Lady Rhondda, far from taking a defensive standpoint, retorted with the question, “Are Men Fit Companions for Women?” (Laughter.) Like all men, Mr. Ervine blamed women for everything. Perhaps his most amazing suggestion was that the decadence of the drama was due to them. In theatrical matters the tastes of nine men out of ten was simply deplorable. (Laughter.) Whenever women tried to get theatre parties together they always said: “We shall have to go to a musical comedy: the men will be bored if we go to anything else.” (Lau liter.) BLOODTH RISTY TASTES As to the statement that the abolition of tragedy was due to women, she had often thought that perhaps the reason why there was such an enormous number of murders and suicides in Shakespeare was because he had to appeal to the bloodthirsty tastes of his masculine audiences. (Laughter.) She admitted that men did succeed “fairly well” in their endeavours to be fit companions, but their one noticeable and serious drawback, especially in Englishmen, was that they could not talk or listen to a woman’s “shop.” On the other hand one of the salient qualities of women was their ability to take an intelligent and sympathetic interest in man’s “shop.” Miss Edith Evans, in closing the debate, touched on the suggestion that women predominated in the queues at unpleasant plays. At the end of one of Mr. Bernard Shaw’s works there was the sentence. “God gave one great gift to women—curiosity.” (Laughter.) So they went with open, expectant eyes to hear of these things of the great world which were unknown to men, but well known to women. (Laughter.)