Aunt Polly from the first refused. “Dorothy is a wonderful girl,” she said, “and she has wonderful gifts. I shall certainly not stand in the way of their development.”
“But let me remind you, Cousin Polly,” answered Peyton, “that Dorothy’s life is marked out for her. Don’t you think it would be a distinct injustice to her to unfit her as this trip cannot fail to do, for the life that she must lead? Will not that tend to render her unhappy?”
“Happiness is not a matter of circumstance, Madison. It is a matter of character. But that isn’t what I meant to say. You want me to keep Dorothy here in order that she may not grow, or develop, or whatever else you choose to call it. You want to keep her as ignorant as you can, simply because you know she is already the superior of the young man whom you and Dr. South, in your ignorant assumption of the attributes of Divine Providence, have selected to be her husband. You are afraid that she will outgrow him. Isn’t that what you mean, Madison?”
“Well, yes, in a way. You put it very baldly, but——”
“But that’s the truth, isn’t it? That’s what you’re afraid of?”
“Well, the fact is I don’t believe in educating girls above their station in life.”
“How can anything be above Dorothy’s station, Madison? She is the daughter and sole heir of one of the oldest and best families in Virginia. I have never heard of anything higher than that.”
“Oh, certainly. But that isn’t what I mean. You see Dorothy has been permitted to read a lot of books that young women don’t usually read, and study a lot of subjects that young women don’t usually study. She has got her head full of notions, and this trip will make the matter worse. I think women should look up to their husbands and not down upon them, and how can Dorothy——”
“How would it do, Madison, for the young men to make an effort on their own account, to improve their minds and build up their characters so that their wives might look up to them without an effort? There are some men to whom the most highly cultivated women can look up in real respect, and it is quite natural that the best of the young women should choose these for their husbands. Many young men refuse to make themselves worthy in that way, or fail in such efforts as they may make to accomplish it. If I understand you properly, you would forbid the girls to cultivate what is best in them lest they grow superior to their coming husbands.”
“That’s it, Cousin Polly. The happy women are those who feel the superiority of their husbands and find pleasure in bowing to it.”