The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. I., No. 12, August, 1835Various
History
The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. I., No. 12, August, 1835
Various
American literature -- 19th century -- Periodicals
Woman therefore cannot make a good politician, because she has too
much feeling, too much sympathy and kindness for her friends; her very
virtues lead to injustice. Let us take, on this subject, the testimony
of a lady who is well acquainted with the whole moral and mental
constitution of her sex. "I never heard," says Mrs. Jameson, "a woman
_talk_ politics, as it is termed, that I could not discern at once the
motive, the affection, the secret bias which swayed her opinions and
inspired her arguments. If it appeared to the Grecian sage so
'difficult for a man not to love himself, nor the things that belong
to him, but justice only,' how much more for a woman." Bulwer, too,
tells us that women always make prejudiced politicians in England. "No
one will assert," says he, "that these soft aspirants have any ardor
for the public--any sympathy with measures that are pure and
unselfish. No one will deny that they are first to laugh at principles
which, it is but just to say, the education we have given precludes
them from comprehending--and to excite the parental emotions of the
husband, by reminding him that the advancement of his sons requires
interest with the minister." Again, he says, "how often has the
worldly tenderness of the mother been the secret cause of the
tarnished character and venal vote of the husband; or to come to a
pettier source of emotion, how often has a wound or an artful
pampering to some feminine vanity, led to the renunciation of one
party, advocating honest measures, or the adherence to another
subsisting upon courtly intrigues." Doctor Johnson is reported by
Boswell to have said, that in these matters no woman stops short of
integrity.
Women, therefore, whose husbands are engaged in political life, ought
ever to recollect their foibles in this respect, and beware of
yielding too much to their sympathies and partialities, lest they ruin
the political reputation of their husbands, or alienate their
affections by too much tampering in matters which do not belong to
them. Madame Junot thinks that the constant interference of Josephine
in politics, her constant, ardent desire to serve her friends,
weakened very much the attachment of Napoleon for her. Nothing so much
tormented Charles II, as the constant intermeddling of his mistresses
in politics; and one reason of his very sincere attachment to Nell
Gwyn was, that she rarely gave herself any concern about the political
squabbles of the day. She never interfered, except on behalf of her
own children and one or two friends.
But although woman is much apter to err in politics than man, we must
ever bear in mind, as some mitigation and justification of her errors,
that they arise in a great measure from those kindly feelings, those
strong sympathies, those family endearments and social ties which,
whilst they mark her unfitness for the ruder arena of political life,
demonstrate unequivocally the goodness of her heart.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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