Woman's Club Work and Programs Part 28

5. _Description of Plays Seen_--Brief statements by the club members of the Shakespearean representations they have witnessed, with an a.n.a.lysis of their impressions of plays and of actors.

BOOKS TO CONSULT--Sidney Lee: Shakespeare and the Modern Stage. Percy Fitzgerald: Shakespearean Representation: Its Laws and Limits. Percy Fitzgerald: Romance of the English Stage. C. E. L. Wingate: Shakespeare's Heroes on the Stage. Also, Heroines.

Prepare in advance of this meeting a screen with old play-bills and photographs of famous actors, Forrest, Kean, Booth and others. Read from newspaper files the dramatic criticisms of the plays presented.

Describe some of the famous theaters of America in past and present times. Close with a discussion of the personal att.i.tude of the club members toward Shakespeare's plays as compared with those written to-day. Is there a Shakespearean affectation?

CHAPTER XIX

THE EMPLOYMENTS OF WOMEN

In arranging a year's program from this outline, have several meetings on the older occupations of women before bringing the study down to present times, when the work becomes more varied. The first five topics may be made very interesting if there are readings from histories of the Middle Ages on the work of women at that time. Where possible, clubs should make trips to museums or libraries and examine work exhibited there.

I--POTTERY

Making clay pots for household use is one of the first things women did.

They took ordinary earth, moulded it roughly, and baked it in their domestic fires until it would hold water and food. Such pots are found everywhere where there are ancient remains, among the lake dwellers in Switzerland, among Egyptians and Greeks, and in the ruins in Mexico.

Later, men took this work largely to themselves, and kept it until our own day, when women have begun to make beautiful pottery, glazed and decorated. Show pictures from catalogues of such potteries as the Rookwood and others, and mention also the good work that is done privately and fired in small kilns.

II--SPINNING AND WEAVING

Begin the study of this delightful topic back in the earliest times, and show how step by step it advanced. Woolen and linen fabrics were made by the ancients, and dyed with vegetable colors, for clothing and for hangings. Notice the tapestries of later days, especially those first woven in Flanders and Arras, which were so valuable they were used only by royalty or in churches. Have a paper on tapestry made at home, in castles, and even in royal residences, by the household of women. Speak also of the work done in Colonial days by our grandmothers, of the linen sheets and blankets spun and woven, and of the beautiful blue-and-white coverlets of the period. Show some of the latter, if possible. Read from the book called Tapestry and Embroidery, by Cole.

III--EMBROIDERY

Almost as soon as skins were made into garments the art of decoration was discovered, and feathers and sh.e.l.ls were sewed to them in patterns, and st.i.tches taken with colored fibers, gra.s.ses, and shreds of wool. The primitive tribes of Indians, especially in South America, use exactly the same methods to-day. Embroidery was always distinctly women's work, men never sharing in it as they did in making pottery. In Egypt, a.s.syria, and among the Jews it became much more elaborate and artistic.

Tyre and Sidon were noted for their beautiful work. Homer describes embroidered garments among the Greeks; Roman women wore showy colored borders on their skirts and scarfs.

In the early Middle Ages ecclesiastical embroidery, done largely in gold and silver threads, was known in Europe, and much exquisite work of the kind was done in the convents. Matilda, the wife of William the Conqueror, and her women made the famous Bayeux tapestry, which was really embroidery.

The embroidery of the Orient, especially that of China and India, is famous, though this is not done exclusively by women. Mention the originality of the patterns used, the brilliance of the silk, and the permanence of the colors. Note also the lovely white embroidery done by the French and other nations.

IV--LACE-MAKING

This art grew out of that of embroidery, for the thin parts of the latter were cut out, leaving the effect of heavy, colored lace. A book was published in 1527, called The New and Subtile Book Concerning the Art and Science of Embroidery, Fringes, and Tapestries, as Well as Other Crafts Done with the Needle, and in this book there are patterns for lace. The Venetians first mastered the making of white lace with the needle, and produced heavy, effective designs. Under Louis XIV. delicate lace was made in France, especially that called Valencon. Pillow-lace made with bobbins was invented by a woman in Saxony about the middle of the sixteenth century.

Have papers on the laces peculiar to different countries, and show examples or pictures of them. English thread in white and black; Spanish silk, hand-run; Irish crochet; Valenciennes, and others. See Palliser's History of Lace for description and ill.u.s.trations. If possible, visit a museum which has a collection of laces; there is an excellent one in the Metropolitan, of New York. Study also the conditions under which the laces are made, the lives of lace-workers, and the prices received by them for their work.

V--BASKET-WEAVING

Like the making of pottery, the weaving of baskets goes back to the very earliest times. Women soon learned how to twist together osiers or twigs and make them into receptacles for household use. As time went on, baskets became more beautiful and artistic, and all nations, but particularly those of the Orient, made them in delicate materials and lovely designs. Often savage peoples will be found who excel in basketry. Notice especially the baskets made by the North American Indian women, and see the book on Basketry, by G. W. James, which is full of ill.u.s.trations.

VI--MODERN HANDICRAFT FOR WOMEN

Have club members make as many programs from the subjects following as they desire, and ill.u.s.trate them as far as possible with examples of the work. Take up also the schools where designing is taught, and tell what is done there. Note the growth of all designing work for women; bookbinding; jewelry-making; stenciling; making of furniture; bead-work; knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting, and patchwork; rug-making; work in leather and wood; china-painting; work in plaster.

VII--WOMEN IN THE PROFESSIONS AND ARTS

Clubs should have papers on each one of the following representative women, showing what they accomplished. In addition there might be a study of the women of to-day who are doing good work on similar lines.

In astronomy, Caroline Herschel; in music, f.a.n.n.y Mendelssohn; in philanthropy, Elizabeth Fry or Florence Nightingale; in painting, Rosa Bonheur or Elizabeth Thompson Butler; in sculpture, Harriet Hosmer; in education, Mary Lyon; in the lecture field, Mary A. Livermore; on the stage, Charlotte Cushman or Rachel; as poet, Mrs. Browning; as novelist, George Eliot.

Add to this list some names of women who are doctors, lawyers, ministers, editors, teachers, and nurses. See Lives of Girls Who Became Famous Women, by Sarah K. Bolton.

VIII--WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Have one or more practical papers showing what women have done and can do in the field of every-day work. The Trained Mother might come first, and then Woman as Housekeeper. After that take her as teacher, governess, stenographer, saleswoman, dressmaker and milliner, caterer, landscape-gardener, architect, dairy-woman, real-estate dealer, house-decorator, and buyer. Follow with a paper or talk showing what can be done in unusual ways to earn one's living; keeping a tea-room, shopping, caring for children, mending, packing, preserving, and embroidering.

IX--SUMMARY

Close the year with a broad view of the whole subject. What about woman's work in general? Is it well done and well paid? What of factory work, domestic service, and work in shops? Under what conditions is such work done? What of the question of equal pay? What of the "living wage"? What is being done for working girls? Do settlements, vacation homes, and the like meet their needs? Read Olive Schreiner's Woman and Labor.

CHAPTER XX

IMPORTANT MOVEMENTS OF OUR TIMES

Sufficient material is given under each of the following ten heads for clubs to divide into two or more meetings.

I--THE PEACE MOVEMENT

The first Peace Society was founded in New York, in 1815. A second was organized six months later in Boston and the following year a third in London. The first International Peace Congress was held in 1843, in London. From that time till the present, many congresses have been held all over the world, and Peace Societies exist everywhere, forty in America alone.

The object of all societies is to so establish an orderly state of affairs that war shall be impossible. The consular and diplomatic services work along these lines, and advocate treaties between nations.

The gradual reduction of standing armies and navies is also one of the aims of the movement.

The Hague Tribunal was established in 1899, to adjust differences between nations who cannot settle them for themselves. Between that year and 1912 one hundred and sixty-seven such settlements were made.

The gift of $10,000,000 by Andrew Carnegie and the bestowal of the n.o.bel Prize have put the Peace Movement on so secure a financial basis that its future is a.s.sured.

Read the reports of the great Peace Conference in New York in 1907, and select readings from its addresses. See also Chittenden's book, Peace or War.

Clubs will find it worth while to preface this study with one meeting on War. Speak of the cost of standing armies and navies, of loss of life in great battles, of military schools, of compulsory military service.