PART I
The year of grace, 2002, had arrived and the world had seen many changes. The kingdoms of the earth had gone through great experiences. Nations had risen and fallen; the boundaries of Empires had been modified; for a serious redistribution of territory had taken place.
Petty sovereignties had now become merged into greater ones, having fallen a prey to the strong; for the dominant Powers had divided the spoil by agreement.
Nevertheless, on the whole, peace and contentment reigned; for advanced knowledge, not only taught the inutility, gross inhumanity, and waste of war, but science had made such wonderful progress in the arts of warfare throughout the whole world, that a battle actually meant the complete annihilation of both sides; thus a victory for either became an impossibility.
Along with this enforced peace-keeping the wave of civilisation had spread everywhere carrying its mind-culture, its arts, and handicrafts to the uttermost parts of the earth; until the world had become a huge beehive of active industry, although not necessarily a severe muscle-wearing one.
Through all the generations dating from the close of the nineteenth century the social question relative to the status of woman had been ever uppermost, having been kept to the front by the intense longing of the sex for a wider walk of life, a more extended field of action.
They demanded a great reformation, a complete recast of social economics.
The leading features of their programme being a higher education, which should be recognised by the Universities, Law, and Medical Corporations, in order that more honourable, lucrative, and responsible employments might be opened to them.
They demanded also, political, social, and marital equality between the sexes; for they averred that women were being cramped and crippled by old-time conventionalities, the outcome of the customs and prejudices of mediæval ignorance and tyranny, which had invariably relegated their sex to a lower platform of liberty.
As citizens it placed them in the position of minors and lunatics, they averred, and as wives it gave them but little more authority than what their children possessed from a legal point of view, however talented and cultivated they might be.
Loud and bitter were the railings of the dominant sex against the movement. Men scoffed and derided ‘the new woman,’ as they mockingly termed her.
She became the subject of epigram, pun, and pleasantry generally; the butt of every shallow humorist, and dubbed ‘the new darn on the old bluestocking,’ whatever that might mean. She was told that her aspirations were bold and offensive in the extreme; that they ‘unsexed’ her.
Nor was she spared by her own sex. If a lady novelist had the courage to make a stand for social purity the critics would pounce upon her, condemning her work as ‘improper.’
Mostly those following this calling were males; but there were to be found feminine monstrosities among writers, who to curry favour with the multitude, stooped to the unworthiness of writing down those devoted champions of liberty for their own sex.
It was a long battle and a hard, this struggle for equality. Man’s dominance and woman’s subjugation had not been a healthy influence throughout the ages, for either sex.
Society taught, and the laws of the realm favoured the theory, that the code of morality for the man was widely different to that which should guide the woman.
But the new woman saw whence this incongruity sprang, and showed that it had its birth and continued existence in the coarser instincts of the male, whose desires it tended to foster and encourage.
‘Truly,’ she exclaimed, ‘the arrogance and selfishness of man is not difficult to discover, although veiled by the hypocritical excuse of keeping intact the sweet delicacy and spirituality of woman. Men demand that we should continue to repose a child-like confidence in their goodness; well, we shall be only too ready to grant it as soon as we are assured that they have made themselves worthy of our trust.’
Education and experience had now opened her eyes: impelled by necessity she shook off the bonds that had bound her so long and utilised the talents that had for ages lain dormant, turning them into worthier and more useful channels.
How their first steps in the ways of liberty were derided! Nevertheless, there came forward high-souled men who held out a helping hand to these struggling children, who were laboriously and anxiously stretching and straining to reach the longed-for goal.
The crowning joy came at last. Slowly, and by almost imperceptible degrees, she won one concession, and then another, until by the time the second millenary was reached her great ambition was attained.
Like all wise reforms it benefited equally its adversaries as supporters; and man, who at the outset bitterly opposed the movement, reaped the advantage derived therefrom, to his own comfort and content.
Woman’s position was now assured, and she took her place alongside man on equal terms. If a post of honour, or high emolument were vacant, sex was not taken into consideration in the choice of a candidate, for the person best suited for the position was selected according to his or her proved ability, or past experience.
It frequently happened that a young fellow earning but 100l. a year would woo successfully a young lady filling a position of importance that yielded her 500l. per annum. For it might chance that she had enjoyed the advantage over him of a superior training, or inherited abler ability for that particular employment; and these combined with perhaps, superior family influence exerted on her behalf had given her the better start.
In such a case as this, with their united incomes, the young couple were in a position to set up housekeeping in a fairly respectable style; the bridegroom’s good luck might be envied by his companions, but no one thought the worse of either.
Moreover it worked beneficially for the male in other ways. If accident, or sickness deprived a man of the capability of following his employment, he and his family, were not reduced to want, for the wife became the bread-winner, leaving him in charge of the housekeeping.
This arrangement was considered no hardship by the wife; for she was relieved of domestic cares, and control of domestic servants, which, as a rule, the husband discharged with great success. It was frequently found that a master obtained readier obedience and more faithful service than a mistress. Whether this was owing to his requirements being less exacting than those of a mistress, or to that indefinable influence which one sex holds over the other, cannot be determined; doubtless it was a combination of the two that gave the man greater empire over the woman-servant.
It is not to be supposed that a domestic servant occupied the humble position she held in previous times; for a well-appointed household requiring at least four servants, in the nineteenth century would at this period need but one. The vast amount of mechanical contrivances worked by electricity minimised labour to such an extent that it raised the position of a domestic servant to that of a working electrician of the nineteenth century; which period saw the birth of the practical use of electric energy. In fact, a thoroughly good domestic servant who knew her work, that is to say, a woman who understood, and successfully conducted the various machines, keeping them in working order, could readily command her two pounds a week, and run a home, husband, and children on her own account.
The social economy of this time was entirely different to that of any previous period. Marriage in no way incapacitated a woman-servant from keeping her situation. Indeed, it had a contrary effect; most people preferring a steady-going married woman with responsibilities, to a flirty inexperienced maiden who might use her position in the household to wile away a heedless son, or a somewhat lonesome husband. As a rule, however, such an occurrence happened rarely; the marriage state was mostly a very happy one, and faithfully kept on both sides, for a high standard of morality ruled supreme.
Other factors supported this beneficent condition; for all being equal as breadwinners, and the number of the sexes equally balanced, a man deemed himself fortunate when he secured a good wife and did his utmost to please her.
On her side affection alone prompted her to marry; the unworthy motive of making marriage the means of obtaining a home of her own, no longer existed, as every parent trained his daughter equally as his son to hold a position of independence, by giving her a trade, or profession to follow.
Both humble and high-born possessed more or less practical knowledge of physiology; especially those branches dealing directly with health, and the functions of reproduction, which enabled women to fill more intelligently the positions of wife and mother.
It was appointed by Government that all persons should be taught the more important branches of this science in the public schools, as soon as they reached the age of twelve years together with the principles of social economy. It was considered a gross immorality on the part of parents to bring into existence a large family of children, whom they could not possibly rear with comfort to themselves, or with any degree of justice to their offspring.
But over and above the personal inconvenience of poor people being overburdened with children, the disadvantage of giving birth to large families was recognised by all from an economic point of view: for the world was becoming so thickly populated that it appeared obvious a difficulty would arise in providing foodstuffs for so many millions of human beings, notwithstanding the very material assistance the science of chemistry afforded in feeding the multitude.
All persons, therefore recognised the necessity of supporting legislative authority on this point, for being an intellectual people they saw it worked to their advantage from every point of view.
Inordinate reproduction interfered with a wife’s ability to supplement her husband’s income by following her own profession, and thereby making a very narrow income into an easy one.
In bygone days if the mistress of a public school entered the marriage state she entered the schoolroom no more; custom decreed that with marriage all bread winning ceased on her side, and her husband’s small income must suffice.
Of course the raison d’être of this custom was not far to seek, for her child-bearing duties, to which no limit was placed, would considerably interfere with those of her situation.
But at this advanced period public opinion decreed that such a course was the outcome of brute ignorance; for physiological and psychological science taught that the position of parent was the most responsible in all creation, and to bring any number of children into the world until Nature refused to do more, was a condition of life in its wildest state; for man in every other form of life controls the exuberance of Nature, for wise purposes.
As soon as a wife decided on becoming a mother,—and most women looked forward to that position with keen interest, for the love of children is ever paramount in the female breast,—she would brace herself to the fulfilment of the duties of this great responsibility.
She realised that on herself alone rested, not only the building up of the physical frame of her unborn child, but also the formation of the pre-natal mind, with all its mental and moral capacities.
She knew that every thought, impulse, and action of hers would leave their impress upon the brain of her child; for a stimulus would be given to the development of the faculties in those directions, according to the degree in which she exercised her own.
In order, therefore to ensure herself the possession of a child perfect in physique, and intellect; and endowed with such faculties of mind as formed her beau ideal of a beautiful character, she underwent a course of self-denial and watchfulness throughout the whole period of pregnancy.
During this important period, the greatest in her life, she took heed that no emotion, thought, or action was indulged in on her part that she would object to seeing reproduced in her child, however modified these might be by the new individuality.
To ensure this she followed a system of wholesome and healthy employment, which served the two-fold purpose of keeping her mind pure, and her muscle-power in practice. By experience it was found that the most beautiful characters had been given to the world by parents noted for their industry, morality and unselfishness.
Then there were the intellectual powers of the child’s mind to consider, for it was not left to chance the arrangement of his talents, or capabilities for a profession.
Expectant parents took time by the forelock, for instead of waiting for the period when their son’s schooling would be completed for the choice of a profession, they carefully considered the question long before he put in an appearance, and made their plans regarding his future with twentieth-century forethought.
If it so happened that the ambition of a couple was to see their son a professor of music then the mother-that-was-to-be took her rôle accordingly.
During this interesting time she would devote herself almost exclusively to the pursuit of music; daily practising on the instruments she wished him to excel in; studying the theory of music, attending high-class musical entertainments; encouraging lovers of music at her house, and in fact, neglecting nothing that lay in her power to foster and encourage the growth of that group of faculties, whose possession makes the perfect musician.
Indeed, the friends of a lady enceinte would suspect her condition, not from seeing her lying about on the couch, or other indolent indulgences, but from her increased activities in a regular and definite direction.
‘It’s easy to see,’ a neighbour would remark in fireside parlance, ‘that Mistress Woodward is expecting a son; evidently they are going to make him a civil engineer. Mark, how she is slaving over mathematics and reading up every work on engineering she can lay her hands on. Why, her boudoir is filled with mechanical drawings: you would think she was about building all the suspension bridges, and electrometers in the Empire. It is a son, you may be sure; she would hardly put a daughter to such a profession, seeing that when one comes she will be an heiress. Yes, the grandmother left all her property to the grand-daughter, when she arrives. I suppose they will have one; it goes without saying that they will, under the circumstances.’
Or this might be the gossip.
‘It’s coming off at last! They’re going to give themselves a baby—poor things! ’Twas a silly love match, thou remembers, and their united incomes were as nothing compared with their ideas, brought up as they were in every luxury. However, the wife got a good appointment last October owing to the influence of her friends; result—she is going to have a baby—a girl, I am told. It is plain enough to see what trade the child is to follow, for the expectant mother is now running a laboratory and slaves in it nightly, besides attending the Government lectures on chemistry held weekly in the large hall of the Science Schools. Well, it is a useful profession, and will do equally well for a boy; it’s just possible they may have made a mistake and the baby will prove to be a boy after all. I never thought either of them over intelligent—they are sure to blunder—but what matters it? They can have a girl next time. Of course they will treat themselves to two children—they can now afford it.’
Still another sample of twentieth-century table talk.
Mr. Brown. ‘Hast thou seen Smithers lately? It is a long time since I set eyes on him; what is he doing?’
Mr. White. ‘Oh, all his spare time is taken up showing Mistress Smithers how to manufacture flying machines. He takes her into his workshop daily, explaining the uses of this, that and the other. She has a lathe of her own, run by electricity, and she makes the parts and fits them together. Of course as soon as the baby is born she will drop it, for Smithers is well off now; capital business that flying machine one, especially with that new patent of his—it almost goes like the wind, and a lot steadier.’
Mr. Brown. ‘Bless my life! why she went through all that fag four years ago, I remember very well I could never get a minute with him. As soon as ever his workmen were gone, in went the wife for her lessons, and mighty quick she was too, in taking it all in. Are they going to have two sons?’
Mr. White. ‘Not if they know it! They made a mistake last time; it appears ’twas an order for a daughter that went, while they thought it was for a son, so Mistress Smithers has to go through all her exercises de novo; it is to be hoped they have made no blunder this time, for it is no joke after all, for the poor woman.’
Mr. Brown. ‘The boy should be a genius when he comes, seeing that both parents are adepts in the business. Occasionally we have freaks of nature,—now, haven’t we? Rememberest thou those Percys, they were going to have a poet, forsooth! but, ha, ha, ha, he turned out a simpleton!! He now takes the pence for the man who lends out his flying machine to boys. So much for manufacturing poets beforehand.’
Mr. White. ‘It was a maxim of the ancients that poets must be born not made, and it still holds good in these days of light: for a great poet only comes once in an epoch. He is an intellectual giant, as it were, and the conditions under which he is formed are not yet fathomed. It is comparatively easy for a woman to take up any ordinary employment with a view of giving a certain bias to the child’s faculties, but how in the name of goodness can a person all at once simulate the poet, and expect her child to come into the world a ready-made bard—why it is preposterous!’
Mr. Brown. ‘We cannot limit the possibilities of the future: only a hundred years ago the possibility of arranging the sex of a child was laughed at as a simple absurdity. Now we arrange not only the number of our children but their sex also; and very properly too, for we can do greater justice to our progeny when we know what we are about, than if they came by blind chance, merely.’
Mr. White. ‘We are twenty-first century people, now—let us remember that fact, two thousand and two! Yea, verily, the world is growing very old and that blessed millennium hasn’t come yet!’
Mr. Brown. ‘This is the millennium. We shall get no better. Is not the prophecy fulfilled of the ancient poets—“The wolf and the lamb shall lie down together?” Where is war? It has ceased to exist. Civilisation and science have worked out the miracle, and given to war its quietus.’
It is necessary to explain that by this time such a perfect knowledge of physiology was attained that the sex of the desired offspring could be regulated by parents. As soon as the discovery was made, and fully and completely tested, it was not locked up as a professional secret, but was given to the people by order of the Government in a handbook of health that was issued yearly at a nominal cost, which contained up-to-date information on hygiene, or general management of Health, and Home. By this means at least two-thirds of the children born were males, which kept the balance fairly even of the sexes. For notwithstanding the fact that Nature had at all times given the predominance of number to the masculine sex, yet owing to the numerous accidents that befell men while in the pursuit of their calling; and also to the severer strain on their constitution as the breadwinners, the mortality was consequently greater. From these causes mainly the nations found themselves mostly, with a redundance of adult females.
But a complete metamorphosis had now set in, for the people had eagerly taken advantage of the information afforded them, availing themselves of it to such an extent that the succeeding generation of males found themselves with a very inadequate supply of wives.
This awkward dilemma was, however, remedied in course of time, and eventually a fairly even number of the sexes was obtained.
But there was still another factor that assisted in maintaining the balance—the opening of trades and professions to women, which custom had kept so long closed against them, causing parents to hesitate in sending their daughters to learn trades and professions. ‘Better have no daughters at all,’ thought many susceptible ones, ‘if they must toil for their living like men.’ But time works wonders: the day came when a daughter brought as much honour and credit to her family as ever a son could possibly have achieved.
What men in the first instance regarded as an invasion of their rights, proved in the end an inestimable blessing. A wife ceased to be a kind of encumbrance upon a struggling man, and became a helpmate in a very substantial sense; for marriage no longer incapacitating a woman from continuing her employment, the income of a couple was doubled: by this means the two were enabled to live in greater comfort and with less strain and worry to the husband. Thus the longevity of the male was increased by the more equal distribution of labour between the sexes, for the wear and tear to the nervous system in the battle of life being reduced, had its share in prolonging masculine life and sustaining an equality of number of the sexes.
As every person loved his profession, or trade, ‘being born to it,’ in a most literal sense, his enthusiasm and interest in it never slackened, consequently, no woman deemed it a hardship to follow the calling her parents had designed for her, even when marriage made it no longer a necessity. When the duties of her situation were discharged each day, supposing she filled one, for few women ever thought of throwing up a good post on account of getting married—she would return to her home, whose appointments denoted the presence of the greatest refinement and comfort, and finish the day, for the hours of labour were short, in the society of her husband and children, varied by the enjoyment of social pleasures, or intellectual pursuits.