German Women and Their Social Condition
IN AN01KNT times the women of the
Germanic tribes enjoyed a degree of
freedom and authority which was a
marked lontrast to the restricted and
narrow sphere of their sucessors to
day. They were leaders ami law givers,
having u voice In all matters pertain
ing to the public wc.il. and It
was Inevllahle that the strong, fearless
sons, Inheriting the strength and daunt
less courage of such mothers, should have
hem tcsistlews when they confronted the
i g,i us of decadent Home. Today, with all
h r military prestige and mateilal powet.
I he woman of (iermany, e.eeit of the very
highest classes, are Utile more than upper
servants, with no real authority In order
ing the alfalrs of their household, every
pfennig of e.xpendltuie, no matter how
much of ll may have been a part of the
wife's own dower, being carefully super
vised by the husband, who Is literally the
major dumo.
A German Kit I Is taught subservience and
humility from the moment she Is able to
understand anything. Ah u child, she must
obey her father; as a wife, her husband Is
her mtibter; and, should he die, the sou
thinks, plans and acts for her. Only in
txccptlomil Instanced Is she supposed to b
capable of thinking and acting for herself.
Her property i lulus are nominal; tn.in
birth to death she Is a minor In the ee
of the law.
Until very loeuitiy then' was a ureal
difference In the education if boys and girls.
Buys were icqiiltcil to study with the ut
most luilustiy, with little relaxation and
few holidays, that lhe might stand llrst
In the examination, which are tic open
sehanie to advancement in every Held, t du
catlumil, civil or military. The girls, with
no hucIi incentive, hail a much less varied
course, l.atlu having been forbidden them In
the public sch: ids, on the ground that their
mental powets were not equal to so great
a tax, .Mathematics was also cut tailed on
the same giouud, and an undue length of
time was devoted to instttictlon in hewing
ami knittlng-nrts in which girls nre so
well drilled at home that It would seem
haiilly worth while to carry It Into thu
precious study brail's', which arc notiu too
many.
ItiiMle Trjiliilnu.
A girl's In. me training Is Indeed the main
t oiisldorntli n. A domestic denture above
all else, the Is gioiir.ded ill the art of cook
ing, In making the queer soups and sausages
anil 'nh s in which the German menu
abiiinds Compared to her brolh r. she
Is of little consequence. Hvcry sacrifice
must be made to establish him In life, and
all the economics, therefore, fall upon the
feminine members of the household
The moft Important event of early girl
hood Is the coiillrinatlon, for which the
candidate Is prepared by being placed
under the Instruction of the pastor, unless
the family should be Catholics, when the
priest perfoms this duty. After weeks of
laborious catechising the candidate Is In
icadiness, and, with hundreds of others, pre
se'lts herself III white gwn, gloves, veil
and wreath at the chancel, where she Is
formally received Into the communion of
the church. The coulirmatioiis begin on
1'alui Sunday, and the chinch Is usually
a bov i r of llowers and greenery on the Im
portant occasion. At home there are cou
giatulatious, feasting and vlHitlng, the
newly-made ei.nimunlc.int being the celner
of Interest.
There Is very little social Intercourse
between men and women; nothing, Indeed,
of that pleasant comradeship which obtains
In our own country, which so enriches life,
iitiil Is full of benefit for both sexes. What
ever Intellectual training German women
may have, few in the middle class the
bone and sinew of the empire make any
use of It. AlH-nthul In "the three Us."
In accordance with the behest of the
present rule, they could not be Intellectual
lompaulotis to their belter educated hus
band and brothers. If they wished to be.
Social limi'ilons.
Husbands and sous take themselves on to
the kuuipe- the German sulistltiite far the
clubwhere, over Ihelr mugs of beer and In
clouds of tobacco, puffed from Ihelr huge
iiieeischaums, th y discuss affairs of state
and all other questions of general interest.
They do not talk of such matters to wife
and daughter, as Americans and Kiigllihnien
are wunt to do a means of liberal edu
cation In Itself. Christmas, Master and
Whitsuntide 'l'llngsten" are the three
great annual festivals ami to these are
added the family birthdays, all of which
make much work for the women folk In the
additional baking ami brewing which they
necessitate. Not only must the cakes pe
culiar to each stated season be prepared,
but thu gifts also, which are very often of
home manufacture.
Kach bride Is suppos d to be furnished
with a supply of linen clothing, naper
nild bed linen- wl'h'h wll last a lifetime,
and which Is aihhd to gradually until the
dower chest Is ft.ll This generous sim
ply has led to lb" establishment uf quar
terly wash days lu n there Is a general
cleansing and leiinvatllig with the odors
I KM IIKItS (Jl- I'lU.MGUi: COl'NTV NKIIHASKA WHO ATTMNDIID Till': INSTITI
of tho laundry lining the house fot a
week. Well-to-do residents of titles send
the linen to the country, and when it
must be done at home It is a suit of
penitential season, lu which the whole
family suffers and the halts fruit's temo 't
is sorely tired. Dread baking being elim
inated from German housekeeping lessoiw
the work very materially, and simply liv
ing, the absence of unnecessary display,
Is the almost universal rule.
The two solemn social functions are the
Kaltee Klatseh literally, the coffee tight
and the formal dinner. At all such cere
monials precedence Is accorded the Im
portance of a sacied edict. I'pou no con
sideration would the hostess v leld to the
guest of a lower station In life the place
and honor that belongs to her superior,
nor would she slim ten the grand pci-miii
ages' brevet title by so much est a jltmle
consonant. To the l'.celena the Plan
Generallu Is nsslgned the plu.o of honor
on the st 111 -backed sofa lief in e which Is
planted the small l,u e-eovered table. When
she enters all tic. the I'rau lluiiptmaiin
the wife of the captain the I'rau I'rofes
sorln, tho I'rau Kaufmanti. and. no matter
their graces, wealth and virtue, ihev re
main standing until the gieat lady H
scaled. All have brought their work, sewing
or knitting, In pretty work-bags; coffee
and cakes are served and the time Is de
voted to talk or, rather, the discussion of
the servant question, the price of veal or
In ef. with any pcrmlssnhlc scandal, which,
however, must be dealt with dlscreellv.
since young girls are present. Men aie not
invited. Invitations to a Kalfee Klatseh
are usually from fi to S.
Stlll'lllll Ol'l'llxitlll,
Dinner is a much more si leiiiu occasion
and upon the at rival of the guests Hie hus
bands betake tlieinsclvi s to a sciiar.ne
apai tmcnt. where they smoke and talk
polities- guardedly lu these davs. with 111'
fear of lese majeste ever piesenl while
il.elr wives in the drawing r. inn gossip and
knit the knitting occupying tliem on almost
all occasions. I'rellmiiiarv tea and caU"s
serve to ameliorate the pangs of walling
for the more formal feast to follow, lu
the drawing loom and al table the frail
generallu lakes her proper place. the
humblest of tlie gin sis llcd bv her hus
band's vocation bringing up the rear of the
pri ce'slon, and being assigned an unob
trusive seat.
Theie are few oppnrtuii.t les for Giim.in
women to engage in hii-lntss independently,
the law of tho land, as in Krance an I else
where giving the husband entire cmtiol
of the wife's earnings Women cum on
small shops and. lu the coituti tit mil
work lu dallies but In the ariMi I.tbiir or
tilling the soil, sowing the gram .iml g.ith
cling the harvests lu the v m, growmi:
districts they also form an tun 'Hum In
dusttial factor lu the cultivation of the
vines and through every stage of the vin
tage In the cites they sell their gulden
pliHltifo III the matkets nml uie frcqueiith
emplo.ved as hod-carrlc rs and in. ssengeis
lalor neci ssltated by the abscn. e of men
a large prop! it Inn of whom .ue -eivlnc
lu the army
Mldwlves and trained nurse are em
plo.ved the former In every town and city
In the empire and are earefullv trained
for their calling Women pli.v m. laus have
made their wav for some time. io of ctnl
nonce, ir. Siebel and 1'rauleiii lliiiothe.i
Christiana Krcvichcn, having distinguished
themselves so lung ago as the reign of
I'redeilek Hie Great. l'ruulctii llrevlehcn
obtained permission to piaiiiee after hav
ing received the dnctorale dcgt.e from the
t'nlverslly of Untie.
Two olheis of note pioneers in these, lat
ter days were I'raulelu I'lnm urn iiber
tlus, Hie daughter of a farmer en the Island
Ulcus, and Dr. lOtnlly heliums. Hie daughter
' a licigvman In Purih lint i -eitleil In
lieiilu, where they found Hi llenil It.i
lllrshlleld, a deilltsl, alleadv luhllshcl.
She had studied her piofesslou in Philadel
phia, received her degree and i turned to
practice in Geimany.
W omen In Hie I'l ori'sNlons.
The objection to German woimii entering
professions hcciim to be largel.v i lieoiel leal
u prejudice agalusl a i lass, nut the lu
dividual, since these women, and otlieis
who succeeded them, nun lied Geimaiis of
high profes'iloual position.
Nolw Itlistatidlng the general policy of n
plession thai has discoiiiaged women fioiii
engaging lu professional work or seeking
hroadi r intellectual culture, Gcimnnv bin
produced women of notable fei.e and lu
lelllgetae. The Giiijiiihs Augii-la, glalld
motlier of the pie-ent empiroi. il iife.-scl
an luteiest, as became tier raid, lu litera
ture, ait and science. The present em
piess. who was the Princess Augusta Vic
It rla of Schleswlg, while by no means lull
limit . postcsses those sterling viiliies which
are the German Ideal of tin wife nml
in 1 1 1 1n r. It has been said I li.it she lacks
amiability, hut this Is Hie verliet of en.i
tnles for even an empless b - tier de
tiactois. At the same lime, b i limplliity
ami modesty and devotion to k. r husband
are fully acknowledged
Hut II Is to the Kmpress I' tcink ib
'IK HWHNTI.Y IIIII.D AT fii:NH
i lili si daiitiitei ol IJui en Victoria, thai
lorm.uiv is indebted for Innovation that
no Gel man woman would have bad Hie
hatdiheod to siiggisl. I lining the llle-Iliiie
of William II. iih the wife of the clown
prince, the piopecHve empnss, she wielded
an Immense lulliieiice; an liillueiiee appioved
b) tier IiiisIkiiiiI, who adoied her, and which
bad for Us paramount aim the advancement
of German women. She heiself a woman
of tinturnll strong mind had been llmr
ouglily well educated She has been ealb'd
"a woman of unlvets.il attainments." fa
miliar with Inlet uat lunul politics, inter
esled In art and science, and. like her sister
Lntihe, now the dm hiss of AirvIc, she be
gulled (he time with liiusli. pee ami pcin II
and kept up a voluminous correi. nden .
with the eminent men ami women of iviiv
eoiiu.rv In Gurope. It Is due In her thai tin
Tllli'tgillit n. ollie a phnsure git nml for III'
aristocracy, was Ihlowii open to I he pcopl"
and shi' was also insliuiiieiital III establish
lug pln.vginiitiiM for chlldieti lu vailoa-.
o en squares about lluiin. Il r elilef momi
incut, howevir one destined lo have a ill
led elfei t u poll tin' flit ill t ilevelopllient of
Get main was H staldlsliuienl of Hie Vic
t ii I In 1 . ' 1 1 1 1 1 for the higher edueiil Ion of
volllell. nild lo which not nulv Germanv
but those of other tialliilialll es are ad
milled. The liiltloti. whl, li Is the bent thu
the empire ntfords, Is rice, mni the limine
I'leilei Ick gnvi lo It llbetallv of her own
pllvale meailH.
Among women below the rank of lovnl'v.
George Glint. In her earlier letters ntioiii
IS.'i'i writes of I'lauliiii Solmat. whose
salon lu lieiilu was tannins for liiaiiv vent
At tluil lime she was between ."ii and i:n
ami galhi'ied nbout her nil the great people
in the i.'ipilal. speaking I'lemii, GnglMi
Italian ami Geiinan with equal faeilltv
"ihele was mi," wiole the gnat Kugll-di
woman, "Hie slightest watmlli of manner
or expiessioii in her. but uIwiivh the same
even eheci fulness and Intelligence " The
Countess Siiileliill also wlebbd gnat lu
lluencc, and her sahui was eiowded with
seivnnts, in tint.' and lllerateuis, who its
-embli'd every evening iiulll lllsiiiarck. who
wait llieu clianciilor, Intel posed, iimv met
siibseqiienllv mire a week
Several Amelleall women have nciirl l
Germans of high rank, the mosl 1 1 1 1 1 . 1 1 i -of
whom l Hie Ceiintess von Wahids e
Without noil -ally dlsluihlng the eslab
llshed onlcr of tilings I In have uniloilbi
ullv iiunle Ihelr pies n , ;. H and ale do
lug their pun to m a nmie lip, 1
1 1 eogllll loll of the I It'll - of plogle.sl.i
le I lllllll WOllli 11
M '. Il II M't I i
