Virginia Penny

“ It has been to me a matter of surprise that some one has not presented the subject in a practical way, that would serve as an index to the opening of new occupations, and present the feasibility of women engaging in many from which they are now debarred. It is strange there is no book on the subject, in any language, for it is a world-wide subject. Its roots are in the very basis of society—its ramifications as numerous as the nations of the earth—yes, as the individual members of the human family. The welfare of every man, woman, and child is involved in the subject. ”

“ Other subjects than those of medicine are often discussed, and the advice of a physician sought on matters of vital importance to those interested. The free, unembarrassed entrance of a physician into the sanctum of home, gives an opportunity of learning much that should be sacredly preserved in their own hearts. A lady physician needs firmness and dignity in the maintenance of her rights and opinions. When a woman is weak both in body and mind, timid and fearful, how much better can one of her own sex soothe her! It may be the nurse has not time, in a charitable, or even in a pay institution. ”

“ In looking over the census of Great Britain, for 1850, we are surprised to find that in some of those occupations most suitable for women, as physicians, music composers, teachers of mathematics, macaroni packers, mask makers, honey dealers, lecturers, reporters, and spice merchants, not one female is reported; while, in occupations altogether unsuitable, many women are employed—in some, even hundreds. No doubt many of these women, perhaps a majority, and in some occupations it may be all, are the widows of men who have been engaged in the business, and who employ others to do the work. ”

“ Many of the most learned and talented men in the profession approve of women devoting themselves to the practice of medicine on their own sex and children. The mildness and amiability of woman, her modesty, her delicacy and refinement, all tend to make her acceptable at the bedside. Her quick insight into the ailments of others and her promptness in offering a remedy enhance her value. Some think the modesty and delicacy that should characterize a physician are lost to a lady in acquiring a knowledge of the profession. We would think not any more than by a gentleman. ”

“ The rearing of flowers has ever been a charming pastime to many of our sex. When the pleasure can be combined with profit, it is well. The cultivation of flowers is a taste whose beneficial results are not sufficiently appreciated. When the cares and troubles of life begin to press upon men and women, they are apt to neglect the cultivation of flowers, when it might absorb some of the cares that burden their hearts. Vines, roses, and ornamental fruit trees cost but a small sum, and yet how much they add to the beauty and comfort of a place! ”

“ The publicity attending the life of an actress makes it repulsive to many, and the egotism that the profession engenders is an objectionable feature. That there are good and virtuous people connected with the theatre we cannot for a moment question; but some of the men are worthless and dissipated, and many of the girls and women engage in it because they see no other way of earning their bread. Many a ballet girl has danced to support an infirm mother or orphan brothers and sisters. The roving life of an actress and want of home influences are not conducive to the growth of domestic virtues. ”

“ There is probably as much diversity in the abilities of individual men to acquire a trade, as in those of women. We doubt not but women, generally, are as capable of acquiring a knowledge of any vocation as men, if they spend as much time and application in doing so. Could not women learn those occupations quite as thoroughly that require of men an apprenticeship of three, five, or seven years, if they could give the same time? We are confident the majority of women could, particularly those who have had equal advantages in the way of education and society with men engaged in the same pursuit. ”

“ The employment in general is healthy; but lettering, and indeed fine chiselling of any sort, requiring the eye to be brought near to the work, raises a dust, which is breathed into the lungs—though the injury is not very apparent till the lapse of years reveals it. The qualifications desirable are a good judgment, and eye for form, and a certain slight of hand. The prospect for marble workers is good in all departments." On the other hand, another writes: "Sculpture is too laborious for women, and if women practise the art, they hire all the work done." ”

“ Death is fearful, even in its mildest forms. And yet how we yearn for rest—how we long for quiet! How we pant for that glorious freedom from anxiety and care, that awaits the just in heaven! The change of the chrysalis to the butterfly, of the seed to the plant, of the earth beneath our feet, and the heavens above—the very consciousness within us, all proclaim unmistakably the truth that the spirit will not die—that it is immortal. ”

“ In the large cities of the North, most working women are acquainted with others engaged in different occupations, and so may learn of places to be filled in them. In the South, a smaller number of women have been dependent on their own exertions, owing to the existence of slave-labor, and the comparative smallness of immigration.
I strongly advocate the plan of every female having a practical knowledge of some occupation by which to earn a livelihood. How do men fare that are raised without being fitted for any trade or profession, particularly those in the humbler walks of life? ”

“ Add to these, ability to discriminate, perfect command of temper, unwearied perseverance, patience that never flags, and tact for imparting knowledge, and you have the desiderata for a most excellent teacher. If there is any office in life that calls for the exercise of every virtue, it is that of a teacher. It is the most responsible office in life except that of parent. Teaching is a vocation peculiarly fitted to women, and will ever be open to women of superior talents and extensive attainments. In worth and dignity it is inferior to none of the professions of men. ”

“ But the way in which most of our first-class artists live, that are prudent and steady in their habits, and possess any business qualifications, contradicts the opinion, quite common, that an artist's life must always be one of self denial and poverty. We think artists fare as well as most people, and we do think it a life very inviting to the young ladies of our country. Those that have the time, the means, and the talents, will find it an absorbing, a fascinating employment. Women succeed best in painting pictures of their own sex, and of children. ”

“ No reproach should be cast upon any honest employment. The dignity and value of labor in the most menial occupation is superior to idleness or dependence upon others for the requirements of life. What destitute but industrious woman would not be glad to earn for herself a snug little cottage, to which she may resort in her old age, from the cares and conflicts of life; to enjoy the independence of a competency, earned by remunerative and well-applied labor? ”

“ Many a sad spirit, many a broken heart is concealed under the glittering tinsel. We are not among those who denounce the theatre as a school of vice and infamy—nor could we conscientiously laud it as a school of virtue. We think the influence and effects depend very greatly upon the character of the plays; much, too, depends upon the individuals of the audience. There is no amusement that may not suffer in the abuse. ”

“ Women have not devoted their time and talents to mechanical arts, except to a very limited extent, and only within fifty years. How then could they be expected to equal men in proficiency, who have from the creation of the world been so employed, and who have had the advantage not only of their own exertions, but the experience of their fathers and forefathers to profit by? The superior mechanical talent of the United States is becoming known throughout the civilized world, and some of the work dictated by that talent is executed by women. ”

“ The strength and energy of people, in northern climates, have led them to excel in the rearing of fruit—not in imparting a more delicious flavor, but in the quantity, the fulness, and the size of the fruit. In the balmy air and under the sunny sky of the South, vegetation develops more rapidly and more luxuriantly. He who adds to the list of beautiful and fragrant flowers, or improves some variety of fruit, enlarging, or rendering it more luscious, will be remembered as a benefactor. Gardening is a pleasant and healthy occupation to those that love outdoor life. ”

“ My work may not accomplish, by a great deal, the end proposed, but I hope it may be the means of securing, by honest industry, a livelihood to many now dependent and desponding. If it does not in itself accomplish any visible good, it may be the means of bringing forward some better method by which the desired end may be effected. It may perhaps impart information by which the philanthropic may best employ their time and means in advancing the welfare of others, by pointing out the wants of dependent women, and how best to meet those wants. ”

“ While we would not encourage women to act publicly as counsellors at law, we would claim for them the privilege of acting as attorneys. Writing out deeds, mortgages, wills, and indentures, would be a pleasant occupation for such women as are qualified and fond of sedentary life. We know that the hearts of most women would prompt them to relieve the poor and oppressed: but might they not do it in some other way as efficiently as by pleading at the bar? If the weak seek their aid, let them bestow the benefit of their legal lore. ”

“ Few women compose songs. A musician leads a different life from an artist, who lives in her studio and has few expenses. A musician must face the crowd, and hear its dissatisfaction, and smile at its applause. A cantatrice, or songstress, often travels from town to town like an actress." Some persons think none of the arts can be purely religious except music. "Mozart in music, and Raphael in colors, have taught us the spiritual ministry of the senses." A comparatively small quantity of music has been composed in the United States. The study of a lifetime is bestowed by very few on music. ”

“ Sewing-Machine Instructors. In many of the stores of New York, where sewing machines are sold, we notice that many of those who give instructions to buyers of machines are men. Shame on the men that teach women to sew! When such is the case, to what may not a woman resort for earning a livelihood? Shame on the man that engages in such an effeminate employment, save he who is deformed and cannot engage in harder work! Shame, I say, on the man seen at a sewing machine, or with a needle in his hand! ”

“ An extensive manufacturer, a Jew, in New York, complained to me that women do not stick to one trade. He has often had women who have been sempstresses, cap makers, &c. Some, too, will not remain long at this work—they want to go at something else. Now, I would ask what a woman is to do, when her trade gives her work but part of the year, and her wages for that are merely enough to keep her alive during that time? ”

“ I believe ladies in practice here generally make the charges common among men physicians; and several of them realize a handsome competence, and are gladdened by seeing, year by year, that prejudice is passing away, and that medicine is proving a fitting and glorious sphere for the exercise of woman's best powers." There are several regularly educated female physicians engaged in the practice of medicine in Philadelphia, some in New York, and some in Boston, with a few in other cities of the North, South, and West, and here and there scattered through towns, villages, and the country. ”

“ So few ladies are employed in that way, that they might feel timid about assuming the responsibilities of a drug store in a city. Yet, after they had spent two or three years in a store of others, where they were properly instructed, why need they feel any more responsibility in a drug store of their own? I was told that no drug broker and no retail druggist employs women. When employed, it is by those in the wholesale business. I called on a German widow keeping a retail drug store, but who employed a young man to attend the store. ”

“ A third branch is architectural drawing. I know of but one instance of a woman pursuing this branch, which is both delightful, useful, and very profitable. Perhaps there is not any department of the fine arts to which woman might more successfully devote herself than to this. Such a devotion of woman's power would tend to abolish the gross deformities we so often see paraded before our eyes in the streets, in the form of buildings presenting every possible incongruity of shape and every perversion of the beauty of form. ”

“ In sculpture, we closely imitate the parent, nature. The most superior specimens of statuary are said to be modelled after nature, as seen in the unlaced, unpinched, unaltered original—just as nature's own hand has chiselled. In sculpture, modelling is the inventive part of the work, and requires taste and genius; copying is a merely mechanical operation. ”

“ A great deal depends, also, on the talent of the individual. Wood engraving is a business adapted to women, as it requires mostly patience and application, and but little physical strength. Mechanical skill is the most that is requisite, yet, as in everything else, it bespeaks the soul and taste of the originator. "Women's nimble fingers, accustomed to wield the needle, lend themselves quite easily to minute operations in the use of small instruments and the almost imperceptible shades of manipulation that wood engraving exacts." ”

“ The true poet is a gifted person; a heaven-born talent does he or she possess. If you have good descriptive talents, you can write stories, laying the scenes in far-away countries that are not much known, and yet eliciting some interest. And as to the subjects of a moral caste, their name is legion. Magazine writing furnishes a palatable way of drawing attention to individual foibles, or furnishing a satire on the inconsistencies and exactions of society in general. If you attempt to write natural stories, let your scenes and events be such as occur in every-day life. ”

“ Numbers of women have been lost to society from the want of a systematic organization for their employment, and by a deficiency in the number of remunerative pursuits open to them. The destinies of thousands are daily perilled, mentally, morally, and physically, by the same cause. The disease has raised a great and turbulent cry; but, strange to say, few means, and they limited and inefficient, have been used as a cure. Indeed, a remedy has scarcely been devised. To open new and suitable occupations to women, and secure for them fair wages, would, I believe, be an effectual mode of relief. ”