A foolish, ignorant young woman may be pleasant enough to look
at, but she is like a white, pink-eyed rabbit--ornamental, but a
poor companion.
RESPECTABLE WOMEN WHO LISTEN TO "FAUST"
You know what happens in Gounod's great opera, "Faust," which is
based on Goethe's work.
An old man--his name is Faust--yearns for youth. He gets the
youth, makes the devil's acquaintance, sells his soul to the
devil for the devil's help. In the opera the devil is politely
called Mephistopheles. Everybody is beautifully dressed, from
the devil and Faust, the peasant girls and the ballet dancers, to
the old grandmothers, with their diamonds and pearls, in the
boxes.
If you want to study human nature, you ought to look at the
respectable old and young women at the opera while "Faust" is
sung.
The centre of the whole thing is a young woman named Marguerite.
When the curtain goes up she has the best of intentions, the best
character, the prettiest of faces, and two long, yellow braids
down her back. She is dressed very prettily indeed, and in the
opera house she has a high-sounding name, like Melba, Nordica,
Calve or Patti.
Every night that "Faust" is sung this young woman goes to the
bad.
Every night that "Faust" is sung every woman in the audience
sympathizes with Marguerite, who behaves so badly.
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