Dere ain’t nothin’ dull in bein’ married, and dere ain’t no sameness ’bout havin’, a husband which I reckon is de main reason dat most of us wants one. Hits de ole maids an’ de ole bachelors what ain’t got nobody to boss ’em an’ dispute ’em, an’ rile ’em, an’ fight wid ’em, dat gets dull an’ lonesome lak. Not married folks.... Life in one of dese ole bachelor clubs, or spinsters’ retreats makes me think of my batter puddin’s. Hit sets well on a weak stomach, but hit aint got no flavor to hit. Matrimony, hits lak one of de fruit cakes what I bakes at Christmas. Hits full of ginger an’ spice, an’ plums, an’ raisins, an’ hits mighty apt to give dem a night mare what partakes of hit, but hit sho has got taste to hit.
Marriage Not an Assurance of Support
By Alice Henry
(From “The Trade Union Woman.”[11])
It often happens that marriage in course of time proves to be anything but an assurance of support. Early widowed, the young mother herself may have to earn her children’s bread. Or the husband may become crippled, or an invalid, or he may turn out a drunkard or spendthrift. In any of these circumstances, the responsibility and burden of supporting the family usually falls upon the wife. Is it strange that the group so often drifts into undeserved pauperism, sickness and misery, perhaps later on even into those depths of social maladjustment that bring about crime?
[11] Henry Holt Publishing Co.
The Price of Love
By Mary Austin
(From “Love and the Soul Maker.”[12])