第1章

HowellsMyfriendcameintheotherday，beforewehadlefttown，andlookedroundattheappointmentsoftheroomintheirsummershrouds，andsaid，withafaintsigh，"Iseeyouhavehadtheeternal—womanlywithyou，too."

I.

"Isn"ttheeternal—womanlyeverywhere？Whathashappenedtoyou？"

Iasked.

"Iwishyouwouldcometomyhouseandsee.Everyrughasbeenupforamonth，andwehavebeenlivingonbarefloors.Everythingthatcouldbetieduphasbeentiedup，everythingthatcouldbeseweduphasbeensewedup.Everythingthatcouldbemoth—balledandputawayinchestshasbeenmoth—balledandputaway.Everythingthatcouldbetakendownhasbeentakendown.Bagswithdraw—stringsattheirneckshavebeenpulledoverthechandeliersandtied.Thepictureshavebeenhiddenincheese—cloth，andthemirrorsveiledingauzesothatIcannotseemyownmiserablefaceanywhere."

"Come！That"ssomething."

"Yes，it"ssomething.ButIhavebeenthinkingthismatteroververyseriously，andIbelieveitisgoingfrombadtoworse.Ihaveheardpraisesofthethoroughhousekeepingofourgrandmothers，butthehousekeepingoftheirgranddaughtersisathousandtimesmoreintense."

"Doyoureallybelievethat？"Iasked."Andifyoudo，whatofit？"

"Simplythis，thatifwedon"tputastoptoit，atthegaitit"sgoing，itwillputastoptotheeternal—womanly."

"Isupposeweshouldhatethat."

"Yes，itwouldbebad.Itwouldbeverybad;andIhavebeenturningthematteroverinmymind，andstudyingoutaremedy."

"Thehighesttypeofphilosopherturnsathingoverinhismindandletssomeoneelsestudyoutaremedy."

"Yes，Iknow.IfeelthatImaybewronginmyprocesses，butIamsurethatIamrightinmyresults.Thereasonwhyourgrandmotherscouldbesuchgoodhousekeeperswithoutdangerofputtingastoptotheeternal—

womanlywasthattheyhadsofewthingstolookafterintheirhouses.

Lifewasindefinitelysimplerwiththem.Butthemodernimprovements，aswecallthem，havemultipliedthecaresofhousekeepingwithoutsubtractingitsburdens，astheywereexpectedtodo.Everynovelconvenienceandcomfort，everyarticleofbeautyandluxury，everymeansofrefinementandenjoymentinourhouses，hasbeensomuchaddedtotheburdensofhousekeeping，andthegranddaughtershaveinheritedfromthegrandmothersanundiminishedconscienceagainstrustandthemoth，whichwillnotsufferthemtoforgettheleastdutytheyowetothenaughtiestoftheirsuperfluities."

"Yes，Iseewhatyoumean，"Isaid.Thisiswhatoneusuallysayswhenonedoesnotquiteknowwhatanotherisdrivingat;butinthiscaseI

reallydidknow，orthoughtIdid."Thatsurvivaloftheconscienceisaverycuriousthing，especiallyinoureternal—womanly.IsupposethattheNorthAmericanconsciencewasevolvedfromtherudimentalEuropeanconscienceduringthefirstcenturiesofstrugglehere，andwasmoreorlessreligiousandeconomicalinitsorigin.Butwiththeadvanceofwealthandthedecayoffaithamongus，theconscienceseemstobesimplyconscientious，or，ifitisotherwise，itissocial.Theeternal—womanlycontinuesalongtheoldlinesofhousekeepingfromanatavisticimpulse，andnoonewomancanstopbecausealltheotherwomenaregoingon.Itissomethingintheair，orsomethingintheblood.Perhapsitissomethinginboth."

"Yes，"saidmyfriend，quiteasIhadsaidalready，"Iseewhatyoumean.

ButIthinkitisintheairmorethanintheblood.IwasinParis，aboutthistimelastyear，perhapsbecauseIwastheonlythinginmyhousethathadnotbeenswathedincheese—cloth，ortiedupinabagwithdrawstrings，orrolledupwithmoth—ballsandputawayinchests.Atanyrate，Iwasthere.OnedayIleftmywifeinNewYorkcarefullytaggingthreeworn—outfeatherdusters，andputtingthemintoapillow—case，andtaggingit，andputtingthepillow—caseintoacamphoratedself—sealingpapersack，andtaggingit;andanotherdayIwasinParis，diningatthehouseofaladywhomIaskedhowshemanagedwiththethingsinherhousewhenshewentintothecountryforthesummer."Leavethemjustastheyare，"shesaid."Butwhataboutthedustandthemoths，andtherustandthetarnish？"Shesaid，"Why，thethingswouldhavetobeallgoneoverwhenIcamebackintheautumn，anyway，andwhyshouldIgivemyselfdoubletrouble？"Iaskedherifshedidn"tevenrollanythingupandputitawayinclosets，andshesaid："Oh，youmeanthatoldAmericanhorrorofgettingreadytogoaway.Iusedtogothroughallthatathome，too，butIshouldn"tdreamofithere.Inthefirstplace，therearenoclosetsinthehouse，andIcouldn"tputanythingawayifIwantedto.

Andreallynothinghappens.IscattersomePersianpowderalongtheedgesofthings，andunderthelowershelves，andinthedimcorners，andIpulldowntheshades.WhenIcomebackinthefallIhavethepowdersweptout，andtheshadespulledup，andbeginlivingagain.Supposealittledusthasgotin，andthemothshavenibbledalittlehereandthere？Thewholedamagewouldnotamounttohalfthecostofputtingeverythingawayandtakingeverythingout，nottospeakoftheweeksofdiscomfort，andthewearandtearofspirit.No，thankgoodness——IleftAmericanhousekeepinginAmerica."Iaskedher："Butifyouwentback？"

andshegaveasigh，andsaid：

"IsupposeIshouldgobacktothat，alongwithalltherest.Everybodydoesitthere."Soyousee，"myfriendconcluded，"it"sintheair，ratherthantheblood."

"Thenyourfamousspecificisthatoureternal—womanlyshouldgoandliveinParis？"

"Oh，dear，not"saidmyfriend."Nothingsodrasticasallthat.Merelytheextinctionofhouseholdproperty."

"Iseewhatyoumean，"Isaid."But——whatdoyoumean？"

"Simplythathiredhouses，suchasmostofuslivein，shallallbefurnishedhouses，andthatthelandlordshallowneverystickinthem，andeveryappliancedowntothelastspoonandultimatetowel.Theremustbenocompromise，bywhichthetenantagreestoprovidehisownlinenandsilver;thatwouldneutralizetheeffectIintendbytheexpropriationofthepersonalproprietor，ifthatsayswhatImean.Itmustbeinthelease，withseverepenaltiesagainstthetenantincaseofviolation，thatthelandlordintofurnisheverythinginperfectorderwhenthetenantcomesin，andistoputeverythinginperfectorderwhenthetenantgoesout，andthetenantisnottotouchanything，tocleanit，ordustit，orrollitupinmoth—ballsandputitawayinchests.

Allistobesosacredlyandinalienablythepropertyofthelandlordthatitshallconstituteakindoftrespassifthetenantattemptstoclosethehouseforthesummerortoopenitforthewinterintheusualwaythathousesarenowclosedandopened.Otherwisemyschemewouldbemeasurablyvitiated."

"Iseewhatyoumean，"Imurmured."Well？"

"Someyearsago，"myfriendwenton，"whenwecamehomefromEurope，weleftourfurnitureinstorageforatime，whileweratherdriftedabout，anddidnotsettleanywhereinparticular.Duringthatintervalmywifeopenedandclosedfivefurnishedhousesintwoyears."

"Andshehaslivedtotellthetale？"