第3章

"Atfirst，yes，theremightbesomesuchmechanicalactioninher;butitwouldbepurelymechanical，anditwouldsooncease.WhentheStandardHousehold—EffectCompanycamedownonthetemporal—manlywithapenaltyforviolationofthelease，theeternal—womanlywouldseethefollyofherwaysandstop;fortheeternal—womanlyisessentiallyeconomical，whateverwesayaboutthedressmaker"sbills;andtheveryfutilitiesofputtingawayandtakingout，thatshenowwearsherselftoathreadwith，arefoundedintheinstinctofsaving."

"But，"Iasked，"wouldn"tourhouseholdbelongingsloseagooddealofcharacteriftheydidn"tbelongtous？Wouldn"tourdomesticinteriorsbecomedreadfullyimpersonal？"

"Howmanyhousesnowhavecharacter—personality？Mostpeopleletthedifferentdealerschooseforthem，asitis.WhynotlettheStandardHousehold—EffectCompany，andfinallythestate？Iamsurethateitherwouldchoosemuchmorewiselythanpeoplechooseforthemselves，inthefewcaseswheretheyevenseemtochooseforthemselves.Inmostinteriorstheappointmentsarewithoutfitness，taste，orsense;theyarethemereaccretionsofaccidentinthegreaternumberofcases;wheretheyaretheresultofdesign，theyareworse.Iseewhatyoumeanbycharacterandpersonalityinthem.Youmeanthesortofmadnessthatletitselflooseafewyearsagoinwhatwascalledhouseholdart，andhassincegonetomakethejunk—shopshideous.Eachoftheeternal—womanlywassupposedsuddenlytohaveacquiredatalentfordecorationandagiftfortheselectionandarrangementoffurniture，andeachbegantostampherselfuponourinteriors.Onepaintedahigh—shoulderedstonebottlewithastorkandstooditattherightcornerofthemantelonascarf;

anothergildedthebottleandstooditattheleftcorner，andtiedthescarfthroughitshandle.Oneknottedaribbonaroundthearmofachair;anotherknotteditaroundtheleg.Inaday，anhour，amoment，thechairssuddenlybecameangular，cushionless，springless;andthesofaswerestoodacrosscorners，orparallelwiththefireplace，inslantsexpressiveofthepersonalityofthepresidinggenius.Thewallsbecameallfriezeanddado;andinsteadofthesimpleanddignifieduglinessoftheimpersonalperiodourinteriorsabandonedthemselvestoahystericalchaos，fullofcharacter.Somepeoplehadtheirdoorspaintedblack，andthedaughterormotherofthehousethendecoratedthemwithmorning—glories.IsawsuchadoorinahouseIlookedattheotherday，thinkingImighthireit.Thesightofthatblackdooranditsmorning—

gloriesmademewishtoturnasideandlivewiththecattle，asWaltWhitmansays.No，thelesswetrytogetpersonalityandcharacterintoourhouseholdeffectsthemorebeautifulandinterestingtheywillbe.

AssoonasweputtheStandardHousehold—EffectCompanyinpossessionandrenderitarelentlessmonopoly，itwillcorruptacompetentarchitectanddecoratorineachofourlargetownsandcities，andwhenyouhireanewhousethesewillbesenttoadvisewiththeeternal—womanlyconcerningitsappointments，andtellherwhatshewants，andwhatshewilllike;foratpresenttheeternalwomanly，assoonasshehasgotathingshewants，beginstohateit.Thecompany"sagentswillbeginbyconvincingherthatshedoesnotneedhalfthethingsshehaslumberedupherhousewith，andthateveryuselessthingisanuglything，evenintheregionofpureaesthetics.IonceaskedanItalianpainterifhedidnotthinkacertainnoblyimagineddrawing—roomwasfine，andhesaid"SI.Matropparoba."Thereweretoomanyrugs，tables，chairs，sofas，pictures;vases，statues，chandeliers."Tropparoba"istheviceofallourhouseholdfurnishing，anditwillbethedeathoftheeternal—womanlyifitisnotstopped.Butthecorruptagentsofagiantmonopolywillteachtheeternal—womanlysomethingofthewisesimplicityoftheSouth，andshewillendbyreturningtotheidealofhousekeepingasitprevailsamongtheLatinraces，whomitbeganwith，whomcivilizationbeganwith.

Whatofaharmless，necessarymothortwo，orevenafewfleas？"

"Thatmightbeallverywellasfarasfurnitureandcarpetsandcurtainsareconcerned，"Isaid，"butsurelyyouwouldn"tapplyittopicturesandobjectsofart？"

"Iwouldapplyittothemfirstofallandaboveall，"rejoinedmyfriend，hardily."Amongallthepeoplewhobuyandownsuchthingsthereisnotoneinathousandwhohasanyrealtasteorfeelingforthem，andtheobjectstheychoosearegenerallysuchascanonlydepraveanddegradethemfurther.Thepictures，statues，andvasessuppliedbytheStandardHousehold—EffectCompanywouldbeselectedbyagentswitharealsenseofart，andaknowledgeofit.Whenthehouse—lettingandhouse—

furnishingfinallypassedintothehandsofthestate，thesethingswouldbelentfromthepublicgalleries，orfromimmensemunicipalstoresforthepurpose."

"AndIsupposeyouwouldhaveancestralportraitssuppliedalongwiththeotherpictures？"Isneered.

"Ancestralportraits，ofcourse，"saidmyfriend，withunruffledtemper.

"Sofewpeoplehaveancestorsoftheirownthattheywillbeverygladtohaveancestralportraitschosenforthemoutofthecollectionsofthecompanyorthestate.Theagentsoftheone，ortheofficersoftheother，willstudytheexistingtypeoffamilyface，andwillselectancestorsandancestresseswhosemodelling，coloring，andexpressionagreewithit，andwillkeepinviewtheraceandnationalityofthefamilywhoseancestralportraitsaretobesupplied，sothatthereshallbenochanceofthegrosslyimprobableeffectwhichancestralportraitsnowhaveinmanycases.Yes，Iseenoflawinthescheme，"myfriendconcluded，"andnodifficultythatcan"tbeeasilyovercome.Wemustalienateourhouseholdfurniture，andmakeitsosensitivelyandexclusivelythepropertyofsomeimpersonalagency——companyorcommunity，Idon"tcarewhich——thatanycareofitshallbeasortofcrime;anysenseofresponsibilityforitspreservationaspeciesofincivismpunishablebyfineorimprisonment.This，andnothingshortofit，willbethesalvationoftheeternal—womanly."

"Andtheperditionofsomethingevenmorepreciousthanthat！"

"Whatcanbemoreprecious？"

"Individuality."

"Mydearfriend，"demandedmyvisitor，whohadrisen，andwhomIwasgraduallyedgingtothedoor，"doyoumeantosaythereisanyindividualityinsuchthingsnow？Whathavewebeensayingaboutcharacter？"

"Ah，Iseewhatyoumean，"Isaid.