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4 The Flapper Wife Shortly after sh e married Lorin Thompson in 1924, writer Winifred Wil lis cam e t o believ e tha t sh e was fundamentall y unsuite d t o marriage . Although sh e loved he r husband passionately , sh e found tha t th e har mony and intimacy of their courtship and first weeks of marriage quickly gave way to periods o f emotional estrangement . Sh e attributed virtuall y all of their problem s t o her own personality an d vowed t o remake her self . "Alread y I a m strugglin g t o conque r myself, " sh e wrot e severa l months afte r he r wedding ; "m y nerves , m y habits, m y selfishness , m y irritable instincts of the recluse, just for his sake. . . . Many times a day I whisper 'For bim^ an d so succeed i n conquering som e meanness in myself ."1 Two year s late r th e tone o f her diary hadn' t changed . Winifre d stil l loved he r husban d passionately , yearne d t o b e hi s perfec t mate , an d struggled t o overcom e he r shortcoming s a s a wife . Th e characteristic s that mad e he r happ y a s a singl e woma n (independen t an d solitude loving ) an d that contribute d t o her success a s a writer an d poet (intro spective , sensitive ) hindere d he r in her efforts t o emulate th e models of modern marrie d happines s tha t sh e believed woul d satisf y he r husband. "He wants a home, children, friends, socia l activities, popularity, success . . . I hav e bee n a dra g o n him , pulling hi m down , discouragin g him , communicating to him the slow poison of my own inevitable philosophy, which gnaw s forever , destructively , a t the healthy tissue s of my being." Willis felt i t necessary t o take radica l step s toward savin g her marriage, which sh e deemed mor e valuabl e tha n selfhood . "I f I am to change all this, to be glad and happy, to bear children, there is only one course for 87 88 The Flapper Wife me—I must deny my very self. I must no t onl y lear n rigi d surfac e con trol ; I must suffer a complete inner negation." 2 Following Worl d Wa r I , on e o f th e mos t widesprea d image s o f th e new role s fo r wome n wa s tha t o f th e flappe r wife . Althoug h Willi s di d not conside r hersel f a flapper , th e crisi s sh e experience d a s a ne w wif e mirrored th e difficultie s tha t popula r expert s predicted woul d challeng e a generatio n o f youn g women . Glori a Gregory , th e heroin e o f Beatric e Burton's 192 5 novel , The Flapper Wife, als o suffere d i n a marriage sh e considered a mismatch . Glori a believe d tha t a woma n i n marriag e ha d the choic e o f becomin g eithe r a slav e o r a doll . Unlike he r mothe r an d grandmother, sh e was determined no t to become a slave. On her honey moon wit h Dick , sh e spen t heroi c sum s o n clothe s an d perfume , an d when the y returne d t o thei r ne w home , sh e insiste d o n havin g a house keeper . "Sh e woul d neve r b e a househol d drudge , he r hand s shrivele d with washing dishes. Her nails broken. Her dresses smudged with pastry flour." Whe n Dic k insiste d tha t h e didn' t mak e enoug h mone y t o hir e servants, Gloria becam e hysterical, and i n the end she got her way . This marriage, begun with such contrasting expectations, deteriorated rapidly. Dick wanted children ; Glori a foun d th e idea repulsive . She preferred t o spen d he r day s shoppin g an d he r night s dancin g o r...

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