Women’s Views

From The Illustrated London News, 15th December 1917.

LADIES' PAGE

Both Canadian and Australian women have been voting in London for the respective Parliaments of their own countries.  The one subject upon which the women, as well as the men, are being called upon to pronounce their opinion as voters is the employment of conscription to maintain the respective Colonial forces at the front in adequate numbers.  Australian women have had full and equal Parliamentary suffrage for a good many years; the Canadian women's vote is new, a recognition of the value of the patriotic services that they have rendered to the defence of their country, as English-women's coming franchise is also to be regarded.  As the Colonial women voters in this country are those who have come over to serve as Army nurses, there can be little doubt that their votes will be cast in favour of the cause to which they are giving their lives.

There is, however, a great fallacy in assuming, as is often done, that in a general way there is a sex-cleavage of opinion.  Women differ amongst themselves on all possible subjects of debate, precisely as men do; and the reasons for the differences are the same in kind. Our family training and tendencies — that is to say, the kind of views expressed, while the youthful mind is pliable and responsive, by those whom we are trained to respect and by nature love and desire to please; the company into which we are thrown; the character of our own organisation, whether robust, active and daring, or the reverse — all the conditions of life, in short — mould our minds and modify our opinions, whether we be men or women. Sex, very probably, is one factor, but not one that over-rides all others in the formation of opinions. Every day we may see illustrations of the great differences of opinion amongst women, even about what may be called specially women's questions.  Such a diversity is now being displayed over the new law proposed about the remarriage of separated persons: after they have been parted for three years, it is suggested, either of them shall be able to claim a full divorce without needing the consent of the other. There are in this country several hundreds of thousands of such separated husbands and wives, some apart under voluntary deeds, many more by magistrates' orders. Though their marriages are practically at an end permanently, and all the purposes of marriage as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer are abrogated, these people can never marry again in each other's lifetime as the law now stands.

A strong committee has been formed to press this alteration on Parliament; but an equally ardent and vigorous objecting committee has also been constituted under Church of England auspices; and on both these committees there are many women of light and leading.  It is obviously one of those perplexing cases where the most just and personally unprejudiced mind may find something to be urged on both sides.  But the Church-woman, regarding marriage as a sacrament—or at least an inalienable, a necessarily life-long tie — can admit of no excuse for the proposal; while the more worldly woman's mind sees nothing but the cruel disadvantage to a woman of being legally tied to a man who is no longer really a husband and protector, yet whose name of husband prevents the chance of the unfortunate wife finding happiness in another marriage.  Even the women concerned do not agree upon the proposal.  "I feel that nobody has any right to make me a divorced woman when I have been true to my marriage vow in letter and spirit," says one separated wife; while another bemoans in agony of soul the cruel state of the law that certainly makes it difficult for her to get employment, perhaps shuts her out from accepting another husband, and so debars her, though faultless, from having the joys of motherhood and settled social position.  On the other hand, if a man may so behave as to force his wife to separate from him, and then he may divorce her after three years, where are we?  So even on such a subject there is no "woman's party."