Personal hygiene and physical training for women

by Anna M. Galbraith

Literature.—Not one of the least of the great molding influences on the mind and the social life of to-day is its literature, and the form of this which reaches the greatest masses of the people are the daily press, the literary magazines, and the modern novel. It is scarcely possible for the young to conceive the great impression which is made on the mind and character by the kind of books which they read. Carlyle said, “We cannot look however imperfectly upon a great man without gaining something from him.” And to this statement might well be added, it is impossible for the mind to be brought into intimate contact with the lives of dissolute men and women, so vividly portrayed in many of the novels of the day, without being smirched by it. It is no more safe to read such a class of books, hoping to escape contamination, than it would be to live in the malarial districts of Africa, and hope to escape contracting that insidious disease.

However limited the geniuses may be in our immediate circle of friends, each of us may have for her most intimate friends the greatest geniuses the world has ever known, and have them at their best.

Two axioms should always be kept in mind—a real love for books is formed in early life or not at all, and to have books for friends one must own them, have them on her own shelves, to take down and put up at will, to mark, to compare, and study. So whatever else one lacks, she should always have her own library, even if it is a limited one.

Next in importance to the recognition of good reading must necessarily be a recognition of the limitations of one’s reading. Whether in the capacity of student, housewife, mother, or business woman, the time that can be devoted to general literature is very limited.

A careful study of history and biography should always precede fiction. It is a fundamental part of a liberal education to know something of the world’s history, and the history of the English nation, as well as the biographies of the men and women who were such important factors in making its various epochs.

This should be followed by a study of the classics, and that education has not been liberal which has not included a study of the modern classics. German literature opens up a new and delightful world. A study of the classics forms the taste, elevates the mind, broadens the vision and the power of judgment, and it is a profound help in the formation of character. After such reading as this, who would be willing to spend her time on the cheap and trashy novels of the day.

Good modern fiction should be taken up as a recreation by the woman whose life is laborious, its questions perplexing, and its complications tiresome; in other words, after the woman has left the high-school or college and has entered on her life’s vocation. For young girls, not only is too much time apt to be given to fiction which should be devoted to other and more important matters, but it is apt to do much harm by giving them a wrong impression of life.

The Power of the Will or Inhibition.—The conduct of mankind is chiefly governed by the emotions, instincts, and impulses. Spencer traces all human action to the desire for pleasure in the large and philosophic sense of the term. If this be so, then the education and hygiene of the emotions and impulses must be of the very highest importance in the life of each individual and in the social world. The question arises, and it is all important, can those inhibitory centers be so developed in youth, and so cultivated in life, that they can act as antagonists to what is morbid? Can they be used as direct preventive and curative agencies against tendencies and impulses which are foolish and hurtful? And the answer of educators, as the result of large experience and observation, is emphatically, yes.

But the training, to be efficient, has to be systematic, persistent, and along well-defined lines. The first step in this training must be the strict avoidance of all that has a tendency to lower the standards of morality, whether this is in the line of companions, literature, the stage, music, or art. To do otherwise is not brave, but as foolhardy as it would be for a weak army to advance against a powerful foe; it means annihilation or to be taken prisoners of war.

To overcome obsessions and delusional beliefs by volitional effort, the effort should be made to direct the mind to other subjects which have nothing whatever to do with the obsession, rather than to make a direct stand of the will against it, since the will may put forth its utmost strength in the way of direct repression of the temptation to any immoral action, and may entirely fail, while, by directing the same amount of force in changing the direction of thought, complete success may be attained.