Ask Whatever You Wish

Q: I am not pleased with my complexion, whose clearness is marred by those hateful freckles which I cannot bear to see on my face. What is to be done... to remove them? I beg your help, and many thanks to you.
Bahija Abu Khudud

A: In many cases freckles are among the things that add to the charm of a face yet another charm, and make a girl beautiful in a striking way.
Still, you can remove them from your face entirely.
A little lemon juice is enough to remove them at the start.

And there is another method, namely:
One measure of glycerin, half a measure of hydrogen peroxide, which is sold at the pharmacies, a little rose water, and some eau de cologne. Mix all these things well, and apply a little of this mixture to each freckle with a fine brush of soft camel's hair.

Q: May a young man of eighteen think of marriage? — “A Youth”

A: For a young man to think of marriage at that age shows immaturity and unfitness for marriage. It is better not to think of marriage at so early an age.

Q: How is one to console oneself for a failed love?

A: Do not grieve, sir — or madam — over your state.
Resist your weakness.
Pluck the memory of your love from your mind.
Occupy yourself with other things.
Avoid the places where you see your beloved.
Change the surroundings in which you lived with him.
Make the acquaintance of new people and new friends of the other sex.
And finally, do not suppose that you can be happy only with the beloved you have lost.
That is a false illusion.

Q: I have a boy nearly five years old, and he still wets his bed time after time. What am I to do so that he gives up this habit?
“Habbouba S.”

A: We published something in the July issue about the child who wets his bed; consult our article.
And we have one more piece of advice for you: do not be anxious over this, madam, and take care never to scold him for it. Leave him until he gives it up of himself and of his own nature.

Q: Can a person love two people at one and the same time?

A: There are persons of “multiple personality,” and it is rare to find a person whose personality is completely dual... but such cases are not unknown.
The possessor of a “dual personality” can love two people at one time. That does not mean that he loves them both together “in a single minute”; it means that when he is in the company of one of them, he feels that he loves that one and no other.
And it is quite natural — say the psychologists — that a person of complete personality should not consume himself in the love of one single creature to the point where no other creature can stir his interest or his admiration...

Q: Would it not be possible to print “The Woman's Voice” on glossy paper and in many colors, as “Bint al-Nil” does?
Radio Lebanon

A: That is all but impossible at present, for many reasons, the chief of them being the difficulty of importing paper, its high price, and the costliness of printing charges compared with Egypt.
The resources of “The Woman's Voice” are slender beside the resources “Bint al-Nil” enjoys; it appears that behind “Bint al-Nil” stands a very large capital, enabling it to appear in that form.
In any case, the paper on which “The Woman's Voice” appears is good paper, and the magazine is anxious to make up for the colors with articles that concern woman in every walk of her life.

Q: I promised a young man marriage, and I did not ask my heart whether I loved him or not. After a time a great difference appeared between my personality and his, and I fear this marriage will be a heavy yoke about my neck... My promise binds me to him, yet my heart does not love him — what am I to do? And he loves me and respects me greatly...
“A Certain Girl”

A: You made a grave mistake when you promised — and you ought to keep your promise. You had no right to leave your heart unasked all this time.
We do not quite know what you mean by the word “personality.” Is he beneath you in station, or less cultivated, and is your social position higher than his?
What exactly do you mean??
If he loves you and respects you, as you say, then why not marry him? You will come to love him afterward, in the natural course of things. It is better for a woman to find a husband who loves and respects her than to search for a man she loves who may not love her.