The Bostonians, by Henry James
A Thinking Housewife Book Club Selection

Before there were pick up artists, dark lords of singles bars and beta men studying the fine points of female psychology, there was Basil Ransom, a man who knew how to conquer and reform a feminist.

That’s depressing when you think about it. One hundred and twenty five years ago next month, the first installment of one of the most perceptive books ever written about the cultural decline and fall of Western women, the Henry James novel The Bostonians, was serialized in a magazine. Thirty-five years before female suffrage and long before the birth control pill was in stock, James saw it all. He foresaw the catastrophic shriveling up of the feminine life force into a strained caricature of masculinity. He knew Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem before they ever drew a breath. He could have written the manifesto for NOW (with more eloquence) and delivered Nancy Pelosi’s first speech as Speaker of the House. He warned the world. And no one listened.

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Michael Hegel writes:

I recently discovered your blog and must commend you for not covering day-to-day politics but instead taking the time to address the more interesting social questions that actually impact our daily lives. I can’t say beards are a hot topic, but as your readers appear to have some preference for the look, I’d like to offer a contrary and perhaps ridiculously principled defense of the clean-shaven, Roman way.

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At her wonderful blog, Lydia Sherman promotes modest feminine clothing in a forum of engaging civility. She often recommends lovely, easy-to-make patterns for clothes to wear both at home and on special occasions for the homemaker who is pressed for cash. For this she has been the frequent target of breathakingly vicious hatred.

Yup. You heard me right. A woman who publicly honors home and family, who promotes domestic crafts and home-sewn clothes, who praises the tranquility of a well-kept house, is hated. She is hated with the sort of ferocity typically reserved for kidnappers, axe murderers or cruel, villainous dictators. 

Here is a comment Lydia received today from a feminist reader in Europe:

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Women, or let’s say most women, cannot grow beards. That is a biological fact. The cultural meaning of the beard, this seemingly incontrovertible emblem of masculinity, has undergone a profound and rarely-discussed transformation in recent years.  

Sage McLauglin writes:

Thank you for your lovely and challenging weblog. It is a delight. 

I have only one thing to add to the discussion you’ve begun about “the male with no plumage.” There is another data point which is consistent with your view that the contemporary move toward casual dress is an assault on masculine authority. Notice the difference between the men in the two photos (see below). Yes, all the men in that goofy shot of Bill Gates and his cuddly buddies are clean-shaven, whereas almost all the men in the older photo are wearing at least some part of their beards. In my own work I have noticed a palpable suspicion for men with facial hair. Read More »

Two teenagers, one possibly as young as 12, walked into a bank in suburban Cincinnati last week and demanded cash. They did not have weapons. The bank turned the money over.

There are two interesting aspects to this story: the ease with which unarmed teenagers committed a robbery of a financial institution with surveillance cameras in broad daylight and the fact that the teenagers were girls.

According to this USA Today story about the case, crime among teenage girls has risen 38 percent since 1999. The article states:

Although robbery by females is not as common as robbery by males, the gender gap is narrowing, said James Garbarino, professor of child psychology at Loyola University in Chicago and author of See Jane Hit: Why Girls are Growing More Violent and What We Can Do About It.

“Parents are telling their girls, ‘You can do anything a boy can.’ That makes them now vulnerable” to television violence and other social influences, Garbarino said.

The two girls, who are black, are apparently still at large, anothing astounding facet of this story. There are no news reports stating otherwise.

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Charles W. Eliot

Charles W. Eliot, former president of Harvard, was misidentified in this recent post on men’s clothing. Here is a striking photo of him dressed like a man of his time. He is with his grandson. Notice how he does not look at the camera in the cuddly, I-just-want-to-be-loved manner of the eminent men of our time. (See any photo of Bill Gates for contrast.)

Dale F., who sent the photo, writes:

I was intrigued by the comment from one of your readers on the post “The Male with No Plumage,” about the correct identification of the men in the first row. She was right; the caption in the original had the identifications transposed. 

In the course of confirming that, I came upon this photo that fits rather well with the topic of the post. Read More »

Mary Daly. who died earlier this week, was a gnostic prophet. If you have any doubt on this score, read Gloria Steinem’s words upon news of Miss Daly’s death:

“She was a great trained philosopher, theologian, and poet, and she used all of those tools to demolish patriarchy — or any idea that domination is natural — in its most defended place, which is religion.”[emphasis mine]

Gnosticism is ….. well, it is the air we breathe, the sun on our faces, the water we drink. It is the ersatz religions that have changed our lives: feminism,  Marxism, homosexualism, environmentalism, Darwinism, etc. In short, liberalism is gnostic.

For excellent discussion of gnosticism, see Lawrence Auster here and here. In his Science, Politics and Gnosticism, Eric Voegelin gives six characteristics of the gnostic. In summary, these are:

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In comments on the post Every Day is Dress-Down Day, James P. nicely sums up what others have expressed regarding the pervasive rejection of traditional business attire for men:

Men in suits and ties radiate power and prestige, but women cannot gain such an appearance of power and prestige, because women who wear suits and ties simply look ridiculous. Therefore, the solution, from the feminist standpoint, is to reduce the male appearance of power and prestige by discouraging them from wearing suits and by encouraging them to look as slovenly as possible. In this, as in so many other realms, if liberalism cannot build up the “underprivileged,” it seeks to tear down the “privileged.”  

THE 1937 movie Victoria the Great is a moving portrayal of the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. It illustrates how the most powerful woman in the world managed to retain her husband’s love and express her tender submission to him.

It is not important if all the details of this dramatic account are accurate. The movie, which is based on Laurence Housman’s 1935 play Victoria Regina, works as an inspirational love story and is clearly accurate enough. Few women in history have so publicly expressed devotion to their husbands as Victoria and it is doubtful anyone loved her man more.

In one scene, Victoria, played by the outstanding Anna Neagle, is outraged at what appears to be Albert’s flirtation with other women at court. The truth is, he has deliberately tried to anger her because she has refused to allow him to help with matters of state. His point is that if she won’t allow him to be more than a loafer, he will express his masculinity in other ways.

Anton Walbrook is excellent as the German prince, who goes to his chambers in a huff after Victoria displays her anger at him in front of others. Victoria follows.

She bangs on his locked door.

“Who is it?” Albert asks.

“It is the queen,” she says proudly.

He refuses to let her in.

“Who is it?” he calls out when she bangs on the door again.

“It is Victoria,” she says imperiously.

There is no answer.

She is desperate and almost gives up. Finally, she gently knocks.

“Who is it?” he asks.

“It is your wife,” she says, softly.

He unlocks the door.

—-   Comments —-

Alex A. writes from England:

A drama series shown on British television some years ago (Edward the Seventh) is well made and historically accurate. It depicts the relationship between Victoria and Albert as being sometimes tempestuous, and has notable performances by Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria, Roberty Hardy as Prince Albert, and Timothy West as “Bertie” the Prince of Wales.

Although Victoria undoubtedly loved him, Albert was a foolish man in many ways. A more critical wife would have have counselled her husband not to subject their eldest son to a very severe and formidable plan of education that was completely unsuited to his disposition. Albert’s harebrained insistence on preventing the young Prince of Wales – the future Edward VII – from mixing even with aristocratic youths during his formative years, produced a self-centred philistine whose adult life was peppered by scandals.

I don’t know whether this excellent made-for-TV movie (in 13 parts) has appeared on American networks, but it’s available on DVD.

Michael S. writes:

Your story about Victoria knocking on Albert’s door reminded me of this:

The late Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, the great Catholic Liberal historian and polymath, would tell of the funerals of Habsburg kings. The procession, after the funeral Mass, would arrive at the mausoleum and a high court official would knock with his staff on the bronze doors. Who goes there? said a monk from inside. His Imperial Majesty Francis Joseph II, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and so on through all the grand names and titles. Silence. Again, the knock, again the inquiry, again the long and proud recitation. Silence. The third time, in response, the official would say, Francis Joseph, a poor sinner. And the huge bronze doors would swing open.

Now that housing prices are relatively stagnant, is there any purpose to home ownership? The men interviewed for this New York Times article view houses as burdens unless they make them rich. A single man who has no intention of marrying wonders why he cannot find any satisfaction in his 3,300-square-foot home. And a couple who work a combined 150 hours a week at their jobs give up on ownership.

Michael S., who sent the article, writes:

Since when is it a “fairy-tale” to regard the house you own as a place to live in? Isn’t that what houses are for? Seems to me that, in light of the past decade or so, it’s a “fairy tale” to suppose that buying a house is going to make you financially rich. Seems to me that the purpose of “owning” the house in which you live is to create wealth of another, more lasting, kind.

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In 2007, Mia Sardella, then an 18-year-old honor student at Drexel University, secretly gave birth and left the infant to die in the trunk of a car. No one – not even her friends or her divorced parents – knew she was pregnant. Sardella, the granddaughter of a prominent financial executive, may seem an evil woman, but I think she was temporarily insane, a victim of profound cultural dissonance.

Young women today are fed the constant message that sex is natural and simple. They inhabit an intensely erotic world. Despite the widespread availability of contraceptives, adolescents are careless and no matter how enlightened sex education is, this carelessness is quite normal in a young virgin. Some of these deceived girls suddenly face the fact that sex is not so simple; it is all too natural. A small percentage enter a state of such strong denial that they do not tell anyone that they are pregnant and even appear to deny the obvious to themselves. They move through life like automatons. They are the living embodiment of cognitive dissonance on a mass level.

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Unknown to the youthful Emmies of the world, many thousands of women have suffered post-abortion trauma. They have experienced depression, guilt and shame even when they’re lives assumed outward normalcy. One reader writes in with her own experience.

Kathleen writes:

I rarely talk about my past with strangers, but I feel compelled to speak about Emmie, her choice and her parents. If my past helps someone, then it will be worth my time in writing and your time in reading. 

Emmie is me, only it was 1984 and I was about to turn 21 years old. I was attending college and became pregnant.

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Why would a healthy, affluent, college-educated 22-year-old woman decide to abort her child when there are thousands of infertile couples clamoring for newborns and adoption agencies offering to pay all expenses during pregnancy and birth?

There are three major reasons:

1. Childbirth, even when it entails no further responsibilities, awakens femininity. Two people are born at birth: the mother and the child. This awakening threatens the single-minded obsession with the masculine pursuit of career. 

2. Pregnancy and childbirth, even in an age of sexual freedom, are shameful for unmarried women of a certain class. They are low-status events when not surrounded by the trappings of marriage, baby showers, the painstakingly decorated nursery, comfortable living conditions, etc.

3. Childbirth is contrary to an ethic of self-fulfillment. This radical change means confusion and ostracism in a culture of youthful narcissists.

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Not long ago, I wrote about hiking in the mountains and of coming across lesbian couples who had an air of toughness and lonely vulnerability. In comments regarding the recent entry on modesty and shame, a reader describes an experience that eerily echoes my own.

Charles writes:

Laura wrote: “There is one other important thing to remember. Many people are deeply unhappy. They are begging for normalcy and don’t know where to find it. Loneliness and the absence of piety, reverence and beauty in their lives is killing them from the inside.” 

Well stated. I see this frequently. I observed it several weeks ago while my wife and I were taking a day hike up the side of a mountain in the Appalachians. We encountered numerous groups of people enjoying this sparkling autumn day. However, the group that stood out to us was a group of four young women, probably late 20s to early 30s; all attractive and fit. Although, they were not profane in their choice of words, they were – at one point on the trail – very openly berating and insulting each other in front of everyone else. It was supposed to be all in fun, of course. It was a show and I concluded they must be showing off. I was repulsed by it and I did not want to listen to people tear each other up with their words – even if it was supposedly in jest. 

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A reader reports that he has lost a staggering 75 pounds in eight months on a low-carb diet. His experience confirms comments in the entry Carbs Kill that the real cause of obesity in America is high-carbohydrate diets and the misleading medical advice that focuses on fats instead. Bad science has made America fat.

James H. writes:

I’ve just lost 75 pounds restricting sugars and carbs and feel like I’m in my 30s again. My wife cooks wonderful meals making my weight loss challenge considerably easier. The reason I mention this is because of your posts on obesity. I am absolutely convinced from my own experience that people like Taubes, Eades, Atkins and Kendrick are zeroing in on dietary truths. 

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In this entry on modesty, shame and the future of resistance, a reader who has experienced the crass power plays of feminists at work wonders whether traditional women aren’t insulated from the worst of it. I reply:

Every committed housewife in America, unless she is Amish, Mormon, or an Orthodox Jew, lives in the heart of the beast. No one is more despised by our culture than the homemaker who believes in her vocation and does not support either outright careerism or non-committal, do-as-you-like, don’t-rock-the-boat feminism. Servant couldn’t be more wrong about traditional women being insulated from what he has seen and experienced. The only homemakers who have any kind of status are those who are wealthy, in which case people are generally willing to overlook their betrayal of feminism. Most women in my position experience serious passive aggression by other women and men, a thousand slights and cuts meant to marginalize them. Women who are powerful, who are callous to children and husbands, who neglect their homes, and who glorify their girlfriend gangs are openly celebrated both by popular culture and by family and friends. 

You couldn’t be more wrong about not understanding what you say. A housewife lives on the frontlines of this culture war. Only the strongest survive.

The summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire has some of the most extreme weather on the planet. The peak is situated in the path of dramatic clashes of air masses, as if it stood between warring gods hurling ice and blocks of frigid air. At 6,288 feet, Washington is higher than the surrounding mountains, unprotected by the sort of frictional interference that would modify conditions on a smaller peak. The other day the wind chill was – 82 Fahrenheit with winds gusting up to 100 miles per hour.

The observers on the summit, who take continuous readings of wind, temperature, barometric pressure and humidity, are envied by weather junkies everywhere. But their lives include many tedious chores. For one, they have to frequently remove rime ice from the instruments. Earlier this week, there was a seven-inch glaze of ice on the anemometer and wind vane.

Staff meteorologist Mike Carmon wrote in the daily journal on December 28:

Temperatures rose through the 20s throughout Saturday night and the wee hours of Sunday, and a southeast flow fed plentiful moisture into the region. As a result, glaze ice began to form around 10 p.m. At first, the accumulation was nothing out of the ordinary-about 1-2″ per hour. Then, when I went to the tower for the midnight observation, I could not believe my eyes! There was nearly 7″ of glaze ice coating the posts that I had de-iced approximately one hour before! It was by far the fastest accrual of glaze ice I had seen in my lifetime. The pitot-static anemometer and wind vane were encased in this thick coating. It took many, many whacks of the crowbar to get rid of all of this ice.

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In the previous entry on the low-cut, low-rise, low class clothes of modern women, clothes that leave a man feeling insulted or in a constant state of  distraction or alienated from his normal male responses, Clark Coleman argued that men should shame women for their appearance. I said I thought it was unlikely that they would.

Perhaps I was too pessimistic. Maybe it could happen. Certainly it would be a great development.

But would men have the courage to criticize women who are powerful and attractive or even those who are their friendly co-workers? Can they afford to criticize women who are powerful and attractive?  There are effective ways to go about it. No woman likes to be called a slut. It’s a word that retains its power, unplugging the secret, stoppered spring of modesty and shame in even the most uninhibited and sexually practiced of women. Men have used this word often in reference to women with little social status, those who are not beautiful and who are sexually loose. They risk nothing in doing this. Could they use it against someone successful, in a position of influence, surrounded by admirers and yet dressed in lingerie at work?

As another reader comments below, the situation is serious for men. They sometimes risk financial and social ruin in criticizing women.

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