Evening Star Newspaper, June 7, 1931, Page 76

v " . e . THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, b. €, JORE e ———— Are Women Superi Let a Man Lose His Job and His Whole World Crumbles; but When a Woman Is “Let Out” She Is Philosophical About It as She Sets About Planning the Most Effective Way to Get Another One. BY CAROL BIRD. OMEN are powerfully attracted to weak men. Their very weakness has an appeal, arouses the ma- ternal instinct in woman, draws and holds her. And, oddly enough, the invinei- ble male with the steely eye, iron jaw, the swelling biceps, commanding stature and force- ful personality is no particular hero in her eyes. More often than not he leaves her cold and untouched by emotion. But the mousy man with the timorous mien, the drooping shoulders and the flat chest fre- quently calls forth her tenderness and love. His obvious helplessness touches the very springs of compassion in her nature. This curious viewpoint which lays low the theory that women are always charmed by mas- culine strength and dominance was brought to light during an interview with Vicki Baum, author of the novel “Grand Hotel,” recent literary sensation of Europe and this countrs, which has also been dramatized. RAU BAUM, who is the wife of Richard Lert, one of the composers of the Berlin State Opera, had just arrived in New York from Germany. The discussion which centered around woman's yearning toward the weak male took place in her suite in a fashionable hotel in New York City. Here, too, was setting for drama. Frau Baum, typically the modern eomtinental woman, fairly young. self-reliant, V2 or to Men in COURAGE? L nAnswer From Women seem to bear financial reverses with more fortitude than do the men. They set about to recoup their losses. talented and extraordinarily successful, domi- nated the scene. She was like a prima donna in her boudoir, the courted, feted, sought-after woman. Frau Baum is one of the most discussed wom- en in Germany today. She arrived in the United States fresh from European triumphs. Her latest play, “Pariser Platz 13,” is now a Berlin success. She writes serials for Germany’s most pop- ular weekly and ier literary accomplishments have now made her internationally famous. Her amazing versatility keeps her in the limelight. Bhe began to write in Vienna at the age of 14, contributing poems and stories to a humorous weekly under an assumed name. Before she was 20 she was editing a magazine of her own, for which she wrote all the material under pseudonyms. At the same time she played the harp in the orchestras of the Deutsches Theater and the Vienna State Opera. There is a detached quality about the German writer, a detachment which is said to be char- acteristic of literary people. Characters in her popular book came under discussion. When Kringelein, the pathetic little bookkeeper, cog in a great manufacturing wheel, was mentioned, Frau Baum’s pale blue eyes lighted up. “You liked him, t00?” she asked. “He is my darling. For 10 years or more I carried him arouind in my mind until he at last came to life in a book. I could not forget him. But he is not a strong man, is he? He is weak—very weak—and dying and poor and timorous. But you likke him? Not Preysing, the boss? No? Kringelein the timid, is the one you yearn over, eh?” Vicki Baum, noted German author and playwright, has great faith in the modern women’s ability as wives. Kringelein, the worm who turned after 25 years of being stepped on by his employer and nagged by his wife, hears that he has only a few more weeks to live. He gathers his savings and goes to a gilded hotel, there to take his first and last glorious fling at life, with which he wishes to surfeit himself before he dies. “Yes, Kringelein is the one,” repeated his creator. “I like him best, too. But then, so does Flaemmchen, the typist; and so apparent- ly do you. And why is that, since the Baron and Preysing and the doctor are stronger characters, pbysically and otherwise? Why do we choose the. little drab one, the sickly Kringelein?” Frau Baum, whose writings reveal profound compassion, smiled knowingly as she gave an answer to her own question. “Women are like that,” she said. “Weakness touches their hearts. A weak man is like a clinging child to them. They want to mother him, encourage him, help him. All their maternal instincts are marshaled in his behalf. It is the fallacious belief of many that the strong man, the masterful type, delights most women. This is not so. Perhaps the weak type of woman will look to him, lean on him, take strength from his vitality. “Strong women may admire strong, successful and self-assured men, but love them or yearn tenderly toward them? ' No, I do not think ¢o; at any rate, not so far as the majority of women are concerned. “Most women are drawn toward the weak male. It is gratifying to a woman to feel that she is needed; that her ministrations are im- portant to some human creature. The strong man does not need them. Sometimes he chafes at them, even laughs at woman’s efforts to serve him, make him comfortable, fret about bhim. VICKI BAUM “Men lack courage,” declares Vicki Baum. “In case of fire, notice who is tarrying the furniture from the house and who sits back, moaning over his fate.” “‘You are like a fussy hen,’ he tells her. ‘Let me alone. I am well able to look after myself.’ 11DUT this is not the case with the little Kringeleins of the world. They need a woman’s protective love and tenderly encircling arms to shield them from a cold and cruel world that usually trar-ples on them and crushes them. Yes, we2k men have need of woman's love and compassion and service. But then, so do all men. For all men have a weak spot in their armor, no matter how impregnabie it may seem to be to the superficial gaze. “What are men’'s weaknesses? Well, for one thing, they lack courage. And to live life perfectly one requires a tremendous amount of that. No, men are not nearly as courageous as women are. Observe men under adversity. Let a man lose his job, for example. He is appalled. He can hardly bear up under the blow. He gets nervous, worried, depressed and is pessimistic about the future. His world has crumpled. But take a woman. She gets let out from her job. She is philosophical about it and sets about planning the most effective way to get another one. i “She may be just as dependent upon her earnings to maintain herself and others as a man is, and yet she will not go under as quickly as a man will. She has fortitude. More valor. Better resistance and self-reliance. A better working philosophy to tide her over the rough places. 11 THINK also of the man who sustains sud- den heavy losses In, say, the stock market. He kills bhimself. You read often of such suicides. Women suffer tremen= dous financial losses, too, but they are more sportsmanlike about it. Consider also the mat- ter of serious illness. A man will bemoan his fate and think that he is dying, while a woman will bear up under even a truly fatal sickness with patience.. Women appear to possess an inner strength that buoys them up and keeps them from becoming submerged in disaster when bad luck comes their way. “Perhaps this is because they are mothers or potential mothers of the race, As central figures in the home they are looked to for sustenance, support, strength and guidance. Certainly they are the rocks to which children cling. This age-old dependence of the young on woman may have developed strength in the female of the species, prepared her for stormy situations, worries, disasters, tragedies or losses. The difference in man’s destiny may account for his weaker strain. - “Do men resent it when women detect the flaws in ‘their armor? Not at alll That is, they do not object unless 'a woman shows mockery or taunts a man for his weakness, whatever it may chance to be. But the right sort of woman never does this. Bhe may indulge in & bit of good-natured raillery at his expense, but generally she does not let him know that she has found his basic weakness. She will never even hint at it if she is clever and tactful. “Numbered among men’s weaknesses are also excessive pride, sometimes undue vanity and very often selfishness.” 3 Although Frau Baum was counting off man's frailties, she spoke not so much eritieally as rather tolerantly, just as a mother would re- cite the shortcomings of her children, of whom she is very fond despite their weaknesses, Frau Baum is by no means a man-hater, She likes men, but at the same time she understands them. (Copyright, 1830.)