Page:The Feminist Movement - Snowden - 1912.djvu/42

 But let it be remembered that where this has been true in the days that are gone, it has either been true of exceptional women, whose genius and capacity would not be repressed, and who frequently had to pay with their lives for flying in the face of the conventions of their times; or it will be found that they fought by the side of men in a struggle for their common freedom. In times of peace and plenty, throughout the world and in all the ages, the position of the average normal woman has been lower than that of the average normal man.

The fact that needs to be emphasised is that, for most of them, this position was a satisfactory one; or, at least, they seldom, even as individuals, rebelled against what they believed to be a divinely ordered state of being; and never, before comparatively modern times, did they organise themselves in great numbers with the exclusive object of securing equality with men. What, then, is the reason for this?

It matters very little for the purposes of this recital when and by whom the discovery of the power of steam was made. As a matter of simple fact the man to make the discovery known in this country was James Watt, who, by watching the movement of the lid of a kettle of boiling water, came to the knowledge which has since revolutionised the whole of