It does not follow that women by themselves can save humanity. Men
must face their own problems, and women are naturally ill-equipped
to create new forms of society. But it is the business of women to
create the creators of social forms, and they cannot escape a certain
responsibility for the present tension in our organised life. Absolute
domination by either sex is no longer necessary; the modern world
needs the creative work of both. Woman by herself loses a sense of
proportion, just as man by himself loses touch with reality. Man’s
intellectual conclusions must be checked by woman’s intuitive knowledge
of the human spirit, and woman’s spontaneous wisdom must be helped by
man’s intellectual vision. Both are creative although they depend upon
each other: there is no room on either side for false pride or humility.
VI
It is now advisable to consider attentively the statement that creative
women need new and independent moral values since conventional morality
expresses a man’s standpoint rather than a woman’s. If the latter
part of this statement can be proved, that conventional morality is
necessarily masculine, then the first part must inevitably be accepted.
It has already been postulated that women derive their greatest
strength from unconscious life and are concerned with growth. Their
energies and interests turn spontaneously towards the living human
beings upon whom their influence is exerted. This influence, because
it is largely unconscious, is not rational but emotional; when it is
directed positively towards other people it is best described as love.
Creative love is the fundamental attribute of womanhood, as perhaps
creative thought is of manhood. Its aim is to foster harmony and
strength in the individual.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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