Who Is the Captivating Woman?

"And what reward does a wife hope for, more than to hear her husband say in a voice full of contentment: How delightful the atmosphere of home is! So how do you make the atmosphere of the home delightful??"

Who is the captivating woman:

She is one on whom the eye rests with pleasure when it turns toward her. Whether she is beautiful or not, she always appears in an elegant guise that bespeaks sound taste and care.

Second—she has confidence in herself to the point that she no longer needs to concern herself with watching herself; the faculty of conduct and comportment is so firmly rooted in her that all her movements are natural.

Third—she takes a special interest in others, which makes her company delightful.

Fourth—she is full of life—all activity.

Fifth—her thinking renews itself with the years.

The attractive mind renews itself with the years: it has something of the qualities of youth, many of the qualities of maturity, and a few of those qualities most often found in the elderly—a blend hard to attain, but worthy of attention.

How can we keep our thoughts renewed? We must keep away from the qualities that make the mind old, and they are:

First—self-sufficiency. Being convinced that our opinions and our ways in life are the best of ways.

Second—indifference to what happens to others, especially in matters of universal value; and, on the other hand, taking pleasure in the feeling of calamities and in recounting private misfortunes.

Third—an increasing pleasure in material things: food, money, possessions, and bodily comfort, which cast darkness over the spiritual and moral side of life.

Fourth—vitality too weak to accept new habits, in the belief that the old habits are best.

Fifth—arbitrary prejudice—hating a thing without any justification. Let us analyze a little our prejudices, which mostly arise from trifles we turn away from and reject merely because they are new to us.

Sixth—resentment is a trait that every person must fight constantly. Youth and young years pay no heed to catastrophes, because youth lives in the future as it lives in the present, and very little in the past.

On the other hand, we must hold fast to certain qualities found in young minds if we wish to be captivating, and they are:

First—the youthful woman is not content with what she has attained at some limit or age; rather, she is always ready to accept new ideas, useful and beautiful.

After a short time has passed since their marriage, a husband no longer sees in his wife anything but her personality, her character, and her spirit. So be captivating in your personality, your character, and your spirit.

And she desires to go on improving the ways of living. This readiness brings with it many attractive qualities: some make a person listen to what others say with pleasure and with the intent to profit; some make her a companion easy to get along with, because changing her opinions toward what is right pleases her instead of vexing her. Then the spirit of modesty that comes with the qualities mentioned keeps a person from talking much about herself and her personal affairs, just as a spirit of wit in conversation preserves it from tedium.

Second—it is not in the nature of youth and charm to talk much about the necessities of living, for youthful life has better and sweeter things than that to speak of.

Third—the mature lady does not count habits unfamiliar to her as objectionable, for in the makeup of the attractive woman there is no room for reckless prejudice.

Fourth—bear no grudge against life. The captivating lady, because she retains the mentality of youth, forgets her grudges, and especially her grudges against life itself. She resolves to live for the future, and builds for herself a philosophy of life far more precious and deeper than the pure optimism that is natural in the young.

How to be a captivating wife:

After a short time has passed since her marriage, a husband no longer sees in his wife anything but her personality, her character, and her spirit. No beauty attracts him but the inner beauty that issues from the depths of her soul; nothing captivates him but a blend of the smile of a bright face, forgiving conduct, a tolerant, merry disposition, an ample heart, and a soul that looks with pleasure and sincerity upon the problems of his life and tries to help and support him as far as she is able—a true appreciation of all the efforts he expends in achieving his aims and goals; a sensitive friend who stands by him in all life's situations and hardships, who sacrifices without any concern for or reckoning of the value of the sacrifice, and who enjoys life feeling that life is a great special privilege granted to her. She is all of that, with nothing ever before her eyes but to be the realization of his highest ideal. This is an ordinary plan of life for the woman who has made the beauty of her own soul her aim. It is an easy, joyful plan, and it is in itself the best reward. And what reward does a wife hope for more than to hear her husband say, in a voice full of contentment and delight: How delightful the atmosphere of home is!

When he says that, she knows that he keeps her in his thoughts the whole day long, knowing that whatever weariness or tedium there may be in his work, and whatever difficulties confront him, he bears them with long patience and breadth of spirit, knowing they are but a few passing hours, after which he returns to that deep affection which withstands all shocks, which understands and appreciates his gifts, warming his heart and refreshing his spirit. Where she is, there exists—for him and for everyone who enters it—an atmosphere of security and ease that wipes away the day's difficulties and trials, and in which nothing grows but happiness and peace of mind, for it is a glimpse of heaven on earth.