Poor -- New York (State) -- New York; Social settlements
The story crept out. The "problem" felt the loss of prestige. Clothes had
satisfied her ambition; she had through them enjoyed a sense of power. The
experience of that evening doubtless opened her eyes to things in life to
which she had been blind. Again and again she was seen during that evening
reception to look at her mother searchingly. She seemed to see her in a new
light, and by its reflection, herself. The mother was afraid of her and
showed it. The daughter, it was evident, discovered that fear for the first
time and sought to overcome it. It was determined to hold fast to the
"problem" and help her solve herself. Great progress was made. Her dress no
longer astonished; her mother came to the club receptions comfortably and
suitably dressed. Out of consideration for her mother, she remained in the
wretched tenement, because the mother and the house had grown old together;
but the rooms were now furnished. The new member had supplanted the
"problem" as an influence in the club. The "problem" became engaged, and
the club lost her. The man was a store-keeper in a town not far from New
York. The girl married and forgot to take her mother to her new home. The
mother remained a club legacy for two years, when she died. The daughter
sent the money to bury her, but did not come to the funeral. Her husband is
successful, and she is a social power in the Church to-day; a devoted
mother and wife, strange as it may seem.
The centering of experience, the revelations of character inevitable in a
working-girls' club, are the largest factors in educating the members. As
the years go on, emphasis is laid on the right things. Harmony results,
because a sense of proportion is gained. Girls who have had the benefit of
a public school education that enables them to fill positions that prove
they have had such opportunities, often in the beginning of their club life
will manifest a feeling of superiority over the girl who works with her
hands. But eventually some experience will reveal to them the pettiness of
their estimate, and a readjustment of values is made.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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