Dissertation on the Characteristic Differences between the Sexes, and on the Position and Influence of Woman in Society, No. III [pp. 672-691]

SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER.
For the Southern Literary Messenger.
DISSERTATION
On the Characteristic Differences between the Sexes, and on the
Position and Influence of Woman in Society.
No. IIIlL
Resignation-Fortitude.
In my first number I described woman as modest and
timid, and man as bold and courageous, and endeavored
to explain the causes of this characteristic difference between them. In the same number, however, I showed
that so strong are the humane feelings of woman, so
powerful are her kindly sympathies, that under peculiar circumstances she will sometimes conquer all the
weaknesses of her nature, triumph over all opposing
obstacles, and finally carry consolation and relief to
man, when overwhelmed by misfortunes of so appalling
a character as even to intimidate the hardier sex, and
keep them at a distance. In my last I pointed out the
religious differences between the sexes together with
their causes, and the subject naturally invites me to
compare them together in relation to their fortitude and
resignation under calamities and misfortunes.
I think there can be no doubt that woman is generally more resigned than man under any very severe infliction which cannot be avoided. Her calm resignation
under the severest strokes of fortune, has been the
theme of eulogy for the poet, and the puzzle for the
philosopher, from the earliest times to the present.
She who in her "hours of ease" is so timid, so shrinking, so fearful of even a shadow, has always been found
in the dark hour of adversity to bear up with more fortitude and resignation against the tide of woe than
man. This character belongs to woman even in the
most savage state. She supports, in that state, misfortunes both physical and moral with more resignation
than man. Ask, says Gisborne in his "Duties of Woman," among barbarians in the ancient and the modern
world who is the best daughter and wife, and the answer is "she who bears with superior perseverance the
vicissitudes of the seasons, the fervor of the sun, the
dews of night." In fine, she who is most resigned and
meek under the heavy and intolerable burthen which is
ever placed upon her.
Physicians tell us that woman supports sickness,
pain and suffering, much better than man. We are
told that in the great earthquake in Calabria, in 1783,
which destroyed 40,000 persons, there was a very noted
difference between the men and women in regard to
their resignation. The very bodies of the sexes dug
from the ruins marked the difference in this respect between them-those of the women exhibited calmness
and resignation in the hour of death-their arms were
generally found hanging by their sides, or calmly folded
over their breasts; all struggle seemed to have ceased
before death, and they quietly submitted to their fate.
Not so with the men. Their bodies when dug from the
ruins exhibited a mortal struggle to the last-a leg
thrust out here, an arm protruded there, and the whole
body thrown into an agonizing contortion, but too
clearly marked the fearful conflict which endured till
the moment of dissolution, and the great reluctance
with which they let go their hold on life.
Let us then inquire into the causes of this difference
between the sexes, and we shall find them to spring out
of circumstances already pointed out and explained. I
shall therefore be very brief on this point.
I have already said that woman is physically weaker
and consequently less capable of laborious and constant
exertion than man. The latter, therefore, occupies the
front station, whilst the former takes possession of the
back ground in the picture of human society. The
former is more self reliant, more bold, more confident
and active-the latter more modest, more timid, more
dependent and passive. Man depends onr his activity,
his energy and his strength, for the mastery of all
around him. Woman depends on her modesty, grace,
beauty, in fine upon her fascinations to command those
energies which she finds not within herself. dctivity is
eminently the character of the one, passivity of the other.
Now I have already pointed out the effect of this dependence of woman on her feelings of devotion and religion. A similar effect is produced on her resignation
when visited by some remediless calamity. Her weakness and dependence, at an early period of her life admonish her of the hopelessness of all conflicts with the
mightier powers around her. When visited by any
great misfortune, therefore, whether the work of nature
or of man, she is more resigned and patient under her
suffering, whilst man in the vain confidence of his
powers is disposed to battle and struggle with fate even
to the last.
Her religion, her superior devotional feelings, have
likewise a mighty influence in the production of that
calm resignation which woman so often exhibits amid
the storms and calamities of this world. She has a
more abiding and implicit faith in the protection of
heaven-her trust, her reliance is greater; and whether
she be overtaken by calamity upon the land, or on the
sea, she at once throws herself into the arms of the
divinity and quietly awaits the result. Man is like the
mariner aboard the ship-he must be always on the
alert-he must trim the sails, watch the midnight blast,
and steer the ship on her way over the rolling billows
Woman is like the passenger in the vessel. She is carried forward by powers that are not hers, by energies
that she is unable to control. When then the tempest
comes, and the sea is lashed into the mountain wavewhile every sailor is on the deck at his post, battling
against the storm, she is calm and quiet within-she
knows full well that all her efforts will be in vain-she
therefore looks to heaven for aid and protection: she
trusts in God whose arm alone is mighty, and able to
save, and in the full devotion of a confiding and trusting heart, she can truly exclaim:
"Secure I rest upon the wave
For thou, my God, hast power to save,
I know thou wilt not slight my call,
For thou dost mark the sparrow's fall;
And calm and peaceful is my sleep,
Rock'd in the cradle of the deep."*
There is certainly nothing which contrasts so beautifully with the restless activity and feverish impatience
of man, as the calm and subdued countenance of woman
in the hour of resignation, amid the stern powers that
are at workl around her. How beautiful, how transcendently lovely does the Thekla of Schiller's Wallen
* These beautiful lines are taken from the Ocean Hymn, published in the 10th number of the Messenger, from the pen of
Mrs. Emma Willard.
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