AUTHOR'S PREFACE. IF I succeed in accomplishing the plan I have proposed to myself, the picture of the course of woman's life presented in the following pages will form both a complete work in itself, and an appropriate conclusion to the preceding volumes. It is desirable to state at the outset what our ideas are with respect to the destination and faculties of woman, and the obstacles she encounters as she advances towards perfection; as well as to declare our opinion on various points, the discussion of which hereafter would only impede our progress. The preliminary chapter will therefore be devoted to the consideration of the present condition of women in society, of the obligations imposed on them by education, and of the much higher qualities with which we think they ought to be imbued. In the first book the education of girls between the ages of ten and fifteen will be considered. |