Broken Homes: A Study of Family Desertion and its Social TreatmentColcord, Joanna C. (Joanna Carver)
General
Broken Homes: A Study of Family Desertion and its Social Treatment
Colcord, Joanna C. (Joanna Carver)
Desertion and non-support
She encourages man and wife, separately, to talk out their grievances
thoroughly and get everything out of their systems. She then proceeds
(with a lavish expenditure of time, as indicated in her phrase) to
convince each that she is a friend, but an impartial friend. She does
not push for an immediate reconciliation, is much more likely to
recommend a temporary separation until tempers cool down and the true
facts appear. She always advises strongly against "argument" and
"casting up" the past, and tells the couple to come back to her if they
want to discuss their grievances further. Above all, they are not to
retail their troubles to relatives and friends. If either or both are
out of the city during their separation she keeps in close touch with
them by letter. She is quick to utilize their interest in their children
as a means of reawakening their interest in each other. The following
letters illustrate her method. The first was written to a young man who
was serving a six months' sentence for desertion; the others to the same
young man after he had begun a manful struggle to "come back," working
in a munitions plant in another state and later sending money regularly
to the wife, who still obdurately refused to forgive him. (The letters
are part of a series of 27 which were written to him during a ten
months' period.)
_My dear Mr. Andrews:_
I was ever so glad to get your letter this week and I am sorry that
no one has been over [to the workhouse] to see you recently. I will
surely be over within the next two weeks. I know you are anxious and
you should have had a letter telling you about the children. They
are both all right now and the baby is out of the hospital.
We have had a nice talk with your aunt and she is very anxious to
come over and see you. We will all get together and try and plan
what is the right thing to do when you come out. I will arrange it
so we can have a little longer talk this time if possible.
Very truly yours,
DISTRICT SECRETARY.
_My dear Mr. Andrews:_
Your long letter has just arrived. I read it with a great deal of
interest and pleasure. It is fine to know you have already arrived
and have started out to make good on your promises.
I got your cards during the week, which brought the news of your
journey. Also on Tuesday morning came your last letter, expressing
your appreciation for all we had tried to do for you and enclosing
two more thrift stamps for the children. I put these in their books.
Yesterday I had a nice long letter from your father, enclosing one
for me to give to you. I am sending it on just as it is. I was very
much tempted to read it but have not done so. The reason I was
tempted was that I know it must be full of happiness to think you
have made such a good start. At least that was the tone of the
letter he wrote to me.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account