** Silent Observer **

"'She must be enduringly, incorruptibly good,' advised Ruskin, 'instinctively, infallibly wise - wise, not for self-development, but for self-renunciation; wise, not that she may set herself above her husband, but that she may never fall from his side.' (Arnold LXVII).

Men were the driving force in a woman's life.  Her very future depended on them.  If she were betrayed by a male relative or a lover, her world would crash down because it was built upon that support.  Because so much dependence was built into the social system, their suppressed desires, personalities, rights, and successes were only released among other women.  This sheltered environment provided for many instances of shared trials and sympathy.  Women would often use their only ways of release at men in whole.