Today these special clothes are indeed in use, but they are meant only to beautify the appearance of the expectant lady. What I wish to affirm is this: that despite the vast difference between the biological function of each of the sexes, they are not different but complementary to each other. The greatest example of that is marriage. The function of each of the two spouses in the home may differ, but each of them is as necessary to the other as the anesthetic is necessary to the surgeon. In sexual relations, for example, the task of each of them differs; and in fatherhood and motherhood, the mother becomes responsible for feeding the children and the father and caring for them all, while the father strives to protect his family and provide for it.
In their friendship, however, the husband does not differ from the wife, nor the man from the woman. The care of each for the other's good, and their sincerity in
their devotion — all these qualities spring from a love built upon the spirit of equality. This is happiness... and this is the ideal life. And at these two things aim all young couples who meet, fall in love, and agree to live together... under the shade of matrimony. But many of them do so without understanding the spirit of marriage and its true meaning... If you asked them the true aim of marriage, what would they answer?
The aim of marriage has differed down the centuries and across the many classes of society. It began with sexual appetite: man's need of a woman... and woman's of a man... and then the necessity of increasing the number of children, which leads to the importance of building society's foundation stone... I mean the family, in our present day.
People differ in their sexual inclinations, not only from one time to another in the same person, but among different individuals. It is nothing strange to me to
1 — Does he like talking with you? 2 — Does he consult you on general matters? 3 — Is he courteous to you in front of people? 4 — Does he respect you in private as if you were before people? 5 — Is he punctual in his appointments with you? 6 — Does he tell you how you ought to manage your affairs? 7 — Can he laugh at himself? 8 — Does he compare you with other girls — his sister, for instance? 9 — Does he mind when you are right and he is wrong in some discussion? 10 — Does he care about what you wear?
Mark yes or no against each of these numbers. If you have marked no to three questions other than 6, 8, and 9, try to win his admiration more; otherwise this man is not right for you.
1 — Are you a sincere lover, without jealousy? 2 — Can the two of you discuss an important matter without turning it into a personal affair between you? 3 — Are you prepared to take his temperament into account and go along with it? 4 — Are you patient with his tiresome relatives? 5 — Do you receive his friends cheerfully and become their friend? 6 — Do you praise his work? 7 — Do you still adorn yourself as if you two were sweethearts for the first time? 8 — Do you come when he needs you, even if it means a sacrifice? 9 — Have you begun preparing yourself for married life by adding to your household knowledge? 10 — Do you two spend money on pleasure, or do you think of saving it for your home?
If you have marked yes to all the questions, that is hard to believe — for if you merge yourself into his personality beyond the proper limit, you two will come to a parting. So a no, once or twice, is desirable.
1 — Has your companionship been through good times and bad? 2 — Does the family of each of you love their son's or daughter's intended? 3 — Do you two put aside a little money now and then? 4 — Does your husband have a respectable position that can give you both a comfortable life? 5 — Is each of you truly at ease in the other's company? 6 — Are you willing to go to any place where he finds work? 7 — Are you two agreed on the subject of children? 8 — Does your husband gamble or drink wine sometimes? 9 — Do your family and friends call him a grumbler? 10 — Is he jealous of your meeting other young men?
The first seven answers should be yes, and the remaining three no — although a yes more or less is found in many families of the future. And beware of unreasonable jealousy, if you please!