Fables for the Fair

by One of them, Josephine Daskam Bacon

Excerpt from Fables for the Fair

II. The Woman Who Helped her Husband III. The Woman Who Used her Theory IV. The Woman Who Looked Ahead.

134 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1902

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 2 out of 5]

Subtitle: Cautionary Tales for Damsels Not Yet in Distress

This would have been better as a weekly or monthly column than as a book. The "fables" are so similar in tone, sense of humor, and morals that they very quickly become boringly repetitive, and from that soon pall and irritate. The heavy use of Needless Capitalization adds to their gratingness.

I will relay one example (chosen because it is shortest) in full.

There was once a Woman whose Fiancé Evinced an Interest in Somebody Else. To this she Paid No Attention.
Said she, "I shall Not Place a Straw in his Way! He must Act as his Conscience Dictates."
"He is much More Likely," said her Friends, "to Act as the Other Woman Dictates unless you Take some Trouble to Prevent It. Although he is really Fonder of You."
Then there is No Occasion for my Taking any Trouble," said she. "I rely on my own Fidelity and the Support of a Good Conscience."
Later her Fiancé assured her that He was Unworthy of Her, and Still Later he Married the Other Woman.
Nor did she Win even the Pity of Her Friends, because they Considered that she had Brought it On Herself.

This teaches us that Virtue is its Only Reward.

The morals are all "witty" in that manner: "What is Sauce for the Gander may be Saucy for the Goose," "The Woman who Deliberates is Bossed," etc.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked it up in Haye on Wye - it is a cute little book originally written in 1902. Got a good laugh from many of the fables, but in truth, attitudes seem to have changed little judging from the cover stories of many women's magazines...