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​Historical Article
Equality of the Sexes
Excerpted from "The Education of Women"
Abbott, Lyman. The Woman’s Book Volume 1. Charles Scribner’s Sons: New York, 1894. pp. 341-342.

"...  What is meant by the phrase "equality of the sexes?"  For that matter, what is meant by the term equality as applied to persons?  The phrase is constantly used, as such phrases often are, without any clear apprehension of any meaning.  Is the poet equal to the man of action?  or the statesman to the soldier?  or the farmer to the lawyer?  It is like asking, Is oxygen equal to hydrogen in the air?  In the one case each is equally necessary to the constitution of the air; in the other each is equally necessary to the constitution of society.  But neither is able to take the place of the other.  Is the eye equal to the ear?  Not when you are listening to an orchestra.  For you close the eyes that you may hear the better.  Are the husband and wife equal?  In nursing the infant he is not equal to her; in fighting the savage she is not equal to him; and which is the more important service depends upon circumstances.  The phrase "equality of the sexes" has two intelligible meanings, and only two.  It may mean that men and women are equally entitled to liberty and the best conceivable development.  That equality, I affirm.  It may mean that their respective services in society are equally essential to its well-being, and equally divine.  That equality I affirm.  But it cannot mean that their services are, or their development is, to be the same.  That is not to affirm equality of character, but identity of function and education, and that is a totally different affirmation.  Life is often, and fitly, compared to a battle-field.  Men and women are engaged in a campaign.  If it were an actual campaign, with a visible foe in the field, the men would learn the manual of arms and go to the front to do the fighting, and the women would take lessons of the doctors and do the nursing in the hospitals.  Some men might nurse better than some women, and some women might fight better than some men.  And if it became necessary for the latter to handle a musket, no one would deny them the right; on the contrary, everyone would admire their heroism.  But on the whole, Joan of Arc is not the type of womanhood.  The world would not be bettered by turning General Grant into a hospital nurse, or Clara Barton into a major-general...
            The reader must... remember that it is not possible to lay down any general laws according to which all women should be educated.  For every individual is different from every other individual, and every life is different from every other life; therefore every education must be different from every other education."

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If you enjoyed this article, you might like these:

A Fortune Found In A Pickle Jar (Fiction—1889)

A Man in the Kitchen: The Difference Between A "Betty" And the Other Kind (1889)

An Old Maid's Paradise (1889)

A Woman Without Cares or Children (1889)

​Miss Ray Frank (1897)

​The Right Sort of Girl (Poem—1889)

Woman's Cycle (1897)

Woman's Exchanges as Training Schools and Markets for Work (1894)   
​
Women Inventors (1897)

Woman's Work for Woman (1889)

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Back to Historical Articles Index

In a seaport town in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest, a group of friends find themselves drawn together —by chance, by love, and by the marvelous changes their world is undergoing.  In the process, they learn that the family we choose can be just as important as the ones we're born into.  Join their adventures in
The Tales of Chetzemoka 
​To read about the exhaustive research that goes into each book, click on their "Learn More" buttons!

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First Wheel in Town:
A Victorian Cycling Club Romance​​
In the summer of 1881, a Pacific Northwest town is buzzing with curiosity over a mysterious package received by handsome young Dr. Brown. Kitty Butler, the town dressmaker, is as curious as anyone else. She only knows one thing about that crate in the post office: everyone else's guesses about its contents are all wrong. 

When Dr. Brown unpacks the crate and reveals the first bicycle the town has ever seen, he wants to share his enthusiasm for this revolutionary new piece of technology —but encounters overwhelming hostility instead of the excitement he'd expected. The only one who seems positively interested is the pretty young widow Kitty Butler, and Dr. Brown soon realizes how much he needs her support…
​

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Love Will Find A Wheel:
A Victorian Cycling Club Romance
"I'm sure he'll be glad you're here —once he gets used to it." 
            When Jacob Simmons arrives in Washington Territory in the summer of 1882 and receives a glacial reception from his uncle Silas, he appreciates Dr. Brown's encouraging prediction but doesn't have much faith in it.  Jacob's not even sure Silas will have time to get used to his presence, let alone consider him welcome.  If the young man can't meet the draconian requirements of a contract with his business investors, he'll face exile and financial ruin, thus fulfilling old Silas' prediction that he would be just as dismal a failure as his father.  His whole future rests on finding a market for a remarkable new machine —and he'll need help selling them.
                                                                                     ***
            Addie Kellam is an incredibly lonely young woman.  She's more comfortable with books than with other people, yet she longs for the sort of romance she reads about in stories.  It's something she fears she'll never experience herself, since even friendship seems elusive.  She envies the cameraderie her brother finds in his cycling club, but the only bicycles in the town of Chetzemoka are specifically designed for men.  There aren't any wheels for women anywhere —are there?
​

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A Rapping At The Door:
A Victorian Cycling Club Suspense Story
         When the delivery of a mysterious letter to Silas Hayes' mansion is followed by the arrival of a beautiful young woman who claims she can communicate with the dead, Nurse McCoy sniffs trouble in the wind. It's obvious to her that the newcomer is after Silas' fortune, but he is helplessly in awe of the medium's eerily intimate knowledge of his past and her seemingly supernatural abilities. Meanwhile, Kitty Brown's yearning to reach out to the departed spirit of her first love is making her push away her new husband, just when she needs him the most. The whole situation is a dreadful mess, and McCoy's got to straighten it all out before Silas' nephew and his bride come back from their honeymoon. Honestly, she doesn't know how any of the fools in this world would get along without her…
​

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Delivery Delayed:
A Victorian Cycling Club Romance
It's obvious to everyone in the Chetzemoka cycling club that Lizzie and Isaac could make each other very happy —but does anyone really listen to their friends about affairs of the heart?  A prim schoolmarm and a stoic steamship captain are hardly the people to discuss their sentiments, especially with each other.  The smallest challenges seem like huge obstacles, even with everyone else trying their best to bring them together.  When progress finally seems possible, a well-intentioned little girl steps in with the kind of help they'd be better off without.  Will the situation be resolved in time, or will Isaac ship out for good?

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Anthologies

Love's Messenger
A Choice Collection of 
Victorian Love Poetry
The verses embraced within these pages have been kissed awake after a long slumber.  Copied from the fragile pages of nineteenth-century books and magazines, they are the whispers of lovers long entranced.  In this beautifully diverse collection of Victorian love poetry high-born ladies and their eloquent beaux keep company with simple maids whose sweethearts pledge their love in simpler —and often much funnier— terms.  Prepare for your happy sighs to be joined by occasional giggles while you hold this book close to your heart.
 
Compiled, edited and introduced by Sarah A. Chrisman, author of the charming Tales of Chetzemoka historical fiction series, This Victorian Life, Victorian Secrets, and others.
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The Wheelman's Joy
Victorian Cycling Poetry and Words About Wheels
There is something inherently romantic about cycling, and there has been since the first riders set their wheels to the road. This collection of nineteenth-century poetry, prose quotes and bon-mots about cycling reflects both the ardent passion and the innocent affection cycling inspires. From the glory days of high-wheel cycling through the boom of the safety bicycle, riders were falling in love with their wheels, with new-found freedoms, and above all with each other. This delightful little collection tells of those days in their own words, and evokes sentiments which every cyclist will find timeless. Compiled edited and introduced by Sarah A. Chrisman, author of the charming Tales of Chetzemoka cycling club series, This Victorian Life, Victorian Secrets, and others.
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Quotations of Quality
A Commonplace Book of Victorian Advice, Wit, and Observations on Life
Eloquent statements are like the seeds of beautiful flowers: in the fertile garden of the mind they grow and blossom into inspiration, reflection, and rewarding conversations. The Victorian era was a time when people expressed themselves skillfully and beautifully, and the writings of that age are a rich legacy from the past. This little volume is a collection of sentiments on an array of subjects, among them:

Books: "A minute's reading often provokes a day's thinking." —W.H. Venable, 1872. "Books are those faithful mirrors that reflect to our minds the minds of sages and heroes. A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit treasured up on a purpose for a life beyond." —J.F. Spaunhurst, 1896.
Writing: "Every new book must have, in the consciousness of its author, a private history that, like the mysteries of romance, would if unfolded have an interest for the reader, and by unveiling the inner life of the volume show its character and tendencies." —Sarah Josepha Hale, 1866.
Language: "The [Ancient] Greeks said that barbarians did not speak, they twittered." —Charles DeKay, 1898.
The Sexes: "It is better for men, it is better for women, that each somewhat idealize the other." —Gail Hamilton, 1872.
Love: "True love is that which ennobles the personality, fortifies the heart, and sanctifies the existence. And the being we love must not be mysterious and sphinx-like, but clear and limpid as a diamond; so that admiration and attachment may grow with knowledge." —Henry Frédéric Amiel, 1880.
Optimism: "Refuse to dwell among shadows when there is so much sunshine in the world." —Hester M. Poole, 1888.
History: "The past is our wisest and best instructor. In its dim and shadowy outlines we may, if we will, discern in some measure those elements of wisdom which should guide the present and secure the welfare of the future." —Frederick Douglass, 1889.
Work: "Make the most of your brain and your eyes, and let no one dare tell you that you are devoting yourself to a low sphere of action." —Anonymous, late 19th-century

Keep this book in a place where its wisdom can refresh your spare moments, or buy a copy for a friend to brighten their day. May the flowers of thought thus planted bear rich fruit for you.

​Compiled and edited by Sarah A. Chrisman, author of The Tales of Chetzemoka, This Victorian Life, and others.
​

Words For Parting
Victorian Poetry on Death and Mourning
Love and grief and the two most private, and at the same time the most universal of all human emotions. It is for love that we remember the dead: love of their spirits, love of their vibrancy, love of the good deeds which they did and which live on after them. The poems in this collection were all written by grieving hearts who have now themselves passed over into that great mystery. We can not truly know what death is, yet we know it will come to all of us. In ancient times when a friend told the philosopher Socrates that his judges had sentenced him to death he responded, "And has not Nature passed the same sentence on them?"
          Inasmuch as there can ever be any comfort for those left behind, part of it lies in knowing that death is a reflection of life. When it comes we cry, then we take our first faltering steps towards understanding. In time we become accustomed to this manifold enigma which nature has given us, and then ultimately we look towards the future with hope.
          If this little book of poems may be of some help to those in sorrow by reminding them they are not alone, then it will have done its work.
​
          Compiled and edited by Sarah A. Chrisman, author of the Tales of Chetzemoka series, This Victorian Life, and others.

True Ladies
and Proper Gentlemen

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Non-fiction

Victorian
Secrets

This
Victorian Life

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