Aims and Aids for Girls and Young Women

Aims and Aids for Girls and Young Women, by

George Sumner Weaver This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Aims and Aids for Girls and Young Women On the Various Duties of Life, Physical, Intellectual, And Moral Development; Self-Culture, Improvement, Dress, Beauty, Fashion, Employment, Education, The Home Relations, Their Duties To Young Men, Marriage, Womanhood And Happiness.
Author: George Sumner Weaver
Release Date: March 14, 2007 [EBook #20819]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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AIMS AND AIDS FOR Girls and Young Women,
ON THE
VARIOUS DUTIES OF LIFE,
INCLUDING
PHYSICAL, INTELLECTUAL, AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT; SELF-CULTURE, IMPROVEMENT, DRESS, BEAUTY, FASHION, EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION, THE HOME RELATIONS, THEIR DUTIES TO YOUNG MEN, MARRIAGE, WOMANHOOD AND HAPPINESS.
BY REV. G. S. WEAVER,
AUTHOR OF "HOPES AND HELPS," "MENTAL SCIENCE," "WAYS OF LIFE," ETC.
NEW YORK: FOWLER AND WELLS, PUBLISHERS, 308 BROADWAY. London: William Horsell, 492 Oxford Street. BOSTON: } 1856. { PHILADELPHIA: 142 Washington-st.} { No. 231 Arch-street.
ENTERED, ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1855, BY FOWLER AND WELLS, IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK.
DAVIES AND ROBERTS, STEREOTYPERS, 201 William Street, New York.

PREFACE.
My interest in woman and our common humanity is my only apology for writing this book. I see multitudes of young women about me, whose general training is so deficient in all that pertains to the best ideas of life, and whose aims and efforts are so unworthy of their powers of mind and heart, that I can not make peace with my own conscience without doing something to elevate their aims and quicken their aspirations for the good and pure in thought and life. Our female schools are but poor apologies for the purposes of mind-culture and soul-development. The idea of life they inspire is but a skeleton of custom-service and fashion-worship. It is altogether subservient to what is, not what should be. Society does little else than to teach its girls to be dolls and drudges. The prevailing current of instruction and influence is deplorably low. I feel confident that the best part of society is longing for something better. To obtain it, each one has but to live out, and express to the world his idea of a true life.
In regard to the book I may say, whatever it lacks it has the merit of being in earnest. I hope those who see its deficiencies will make haste to supply them in some form of instruction or encouragement to the class the book addresses. Thinking fathers and mothers and teachers will not complain of this humble effort to serve their daughters and pupils, but will rather add more in a similar direction, and seek to complete what I have endeavored to begin. While life is spared, I hope to work in this field, that my own daughters, as well as those of others, may attain a worthy womanhood.
G. S. W. ST. LOUIS, 1855.

CONTENTS.
Lecture One.
GIRLHOOD.
Angels view Girlhood with Solicitude and Delight--Beauty no perpetual Pledge of Safety--Nothing in Man or Things impels a Provident Regard for it--Blossoming Womanhood an Object of Deep Interest and Pity--Girlhood's first Work is to Form a Character--It should be Pure and Energetic--Woman only a Thing--Her Education progressing--Physical Health should be Preserved--A Woman not Herself without Physical Strength--Woman must be Independent, and Earn her own Livelihood--Character must Embody Itself in an Outward Form to be of Service to the World Page 9-21
Lecture Two.
BEAUTY.
God a Lover of Beauty--Every thing in the Universe Beautiful--The Admirer of Beauty should Reverence its Author--The Love of Beauty elevating in its Tendency--Its Abuses Fearful--Man a Part of Nature, and God in all--Woman the most Perfect Type of Beauty--Youthful Woman exposed to great Temptation--Beauty a Charming, but Dangerous Gift--The most Beautiful should be the most Pious--Beauty of Person Worthless without Loveliness of Character--"Strong-minded" Women not Beautiful--Beauty the Nurse of Vanity--Value of Character depreciates with Increase of Beauty when substituted for Moral Worth--Beauty only Skin-deep--Beauty Two-fold: Inward and Outward--Inward Beauty shines through--Beauty of Soul made Washington, Josephine, and Channing glorious--Every Woman may be Beautiful--Cheerfulness, Agreeable Manners, a Correct Taste, and Kindness should be Cultivated 22-40
Lecture Three.
DRESS.
Religion and Dress--Variety in Nature--Dress should not be Injurious--Present Customs Unhealthy, Slovenly, and Immodest--A Subject of Religious Consideration--Suicide vs. Providence--Foolish Vanity--Taste an Element of Mind--Dress should be