g, that to hold
unqualified motherhood before every girl's eyes as her highest ideal is
to play the traitor to our race and to humanity.' . . . 'English Head
Mistresses--though often unmarried themselves--still consider it their
pious duty to tell their pupils that motherhood is woman's highest
destiny, and the pupils . . . make marriage their first aim, and other
success in life has consequently to take a second place.' . . . 'Some
very good women in England are still telling our young girls that
motherhood is, for every woman, the worthiest goal, without suspecting
that the doctrine they preach is dangerously conducive to that legal
prostitution euphemistically known as loveless marriage, if not to
greater evils.' . . . 'How can any girl who has been taught that
maternity is woman's only destiny dare to run the risk of losing it?'

In answer to these objections: of course no sane person would hold
_unqualified_ motherhood up to girls as their noblest ideal. Nor does
any thoughtful individual believe that maternity is woman's _only_
destiny. But as to _highest_ (_i.e._ most noble) destiny--if worthy
motherhood (and by the word worthy I wish to imply all the fine
qualities of body and mind that go to produce healthy, intelligent, and
well-trained children) does not fulfil it, I should like to know what
does? In answer to this question that naturally springs to the mind of
every reader, Miss Meakin contents herself with the statement: 'In
Finland and Australia, as in America and Norway, the young girl is
taught that woman's highest destiny is within the reach of every woman;
that her highest destiny and her highest ideals depend, not on some man
who may or may not come her way, but on herself; and that the highest
ideal of womanhood is to be a true woman.' This is well enough, but it
is far too vague to be held up as woman's standard. We want a more
definite ideal than this to aim at. What, for instance, _is_ a 'true
woman' specifically? I should have thought the most essential part of
such a one's outfit was her potentialities for wifehood and motherhood.

Miss Meakin blames teachers for inculcating the importance of motherhood
into their pupils' minds with the result that 'other success in life has
to take a second place.' What then does this writer consider ought to
take the first place? Does she seriously think the success of women in
business or politics, as municipal councillors, as writers, artists,
thinkers, is