Page:The Truth about Marriage.djvu/47

 It is the rule for many of us, because of our imperfect human nature, however, to treat people who are not so well-off or as cultured as ourselves with a certain degree of condescension. In a marriage the man must respect deeply the woman he marries, or else not even he can be truly happy, and of course the woman in such a case would live miserably.

Therefore we see how delightful it is of the Divine that He implants in the heart of the lover a feeling of unworthiness in the presence of so sweet and wonderful a creature as his beloved. And it is up to the woman to see that she is always wonderful to the man she marries. If she gives way to her temper or to her nagging habits or to other infirmities of her nature, she will surely lose the love of her husband.

Women ought to try to keep sweet and lovable, but above all else to maintain their dignity. A man ought to feel that he cannot go as far as he likes in his careless treatment of her. I do not advocate having women go around with a chip on the shoulder bristling for a fight at the first show of careless treatment, but there ought to be a certain withdrawal if the husband tries to treat her badly, the dignity of self-respect.

And it follows that a woman who does not respect her husband is apt to lose her love for him. It