She leaned closer to me, lowering her voice. “Between ourselves I rather think she sees herself as an expert in diseases of the mind and hopes to be invited to lecture in more academic circles. Some of Dr. Freud’s colleagues in Vienna were clearly impressed by her forward-thinking, you know.”
“Wouldn’t she require some kind of academic credential before she could lecture at a university?”
“Oh, definitely. But where would she find anyone qualified to teach her over here, and who is likely to accept a woman to study as an alienist? If she ever tried to present a thesis it would most likely be rejected. Doctors in this country completely reject the notion that the inner workings of the mind can be unlocked through dreams.”
I thought privately that it was unlikely Gus would study long and hard enough to become a doctor of anything. Sid and Gus usually tired of their latest enthusiasm quite quickly. Wisely I kept quiet. Maybe she really did have a calling to become an alienist. She certainly had a lively enough mind for it.
“It’s a constant struggle for us women to be taken seriously, isn’t it?” Sid said, now speaking in a normal voice again as she put bread on the table. “Yet another state has rejected a woman’s right to vote even in local elections. It seems as if our suffrage movement is making no progress at all. I’ve been trying to get our suffrage sisters back into the saddle after the summer to plan our next campaign. The problem is that most women are either at the mercy of a husband or their family. If the family goes to Newport for the summer, they have to go along. I’ve been trying to round our group up and set them back to work. It’s like herding cats, Molly. They’re all in favor of the idea of women’s suffrage, but they can only dedicate themselves to it when it fits in with their social schedules.”
I recalled that Sid and Gus had abandoned the cause so that Gus could paint in Paris earlier this year and then so that Gus could study with Professor Freud in Vienna. Again I said nothing and nodded agreement as I spread butter on a slice of bread.
“It hasn’t been easy, Molly,” Sid said, aware of my silence.
“No, I’m sure it hasn’t been,” I said. I retrieved Liam’s apple and handed it back to him.
“Sometimes I feel that we’re going nowhere. Do you know there is even a thriving Anti-Suffrage League now?” Sid didn’t look up from slicing a loaf of bread. “Actively working to block our every move. Disgusting, I call it. Our movement will only succeed if we all dedicate ourselves to the cause, not when it suits us, but wholeheartedly. Anyway, I’ve finally managed to round up enough women to hold a meeting here tomorrow night. I hope you’ll attend if you feel up to it.”
“I fully intend to,” I said. “However much my husband is against the idea.”
“Most men are.” Sid sighed. “Many women too, unfortunately. They think we should allow ourselves to be guided by the superior intellect and worldly ways of our menfolk. Utter rot, of course. I’ll put my intellect and worldliness up against that of a man any day.” She looked up, realizing she was waving the bread knife in a dramatic manner and chuckled.
“How convenient that I’ll be here tomorrow night and not have to invent a reason to attend your meeting. However shortsighted Daniel can be, I don’t like to deceive him or go behind his back.” I paused, then added, “Even if he did go behind mine by inviting his mother and buying beds without consulting me.”
Gus joined us and we had a lively discussion over lunch on the frustrations of the suffrage movement and the shortsightedness of most men. Afterward Sid carried Liam upstairs for his nap and insisted I take one too.
“We’re going shopping this afternoon, Molly,” she said. “Is there anything we can get for you?”
“Nothing, thank you,” I replied. “Unless you’d like to pop into Wanamaker’s and buy linens for my house.”
“Of course. Give me the bed sizes and I’ll be happy to do it.”
“I was only joking, Sid,” I said. “Daniel told me to make a list and he’d have Wanamaker’s deliver. I’d rather like to have bed linens in place before his mother arrives or she’ll be buying what she wants.”
“Well, sheets are no problem, are they?” Sid said. “But you’ll need pillows. Feather pillows. And do you have mattresses for the beds? Make sure you get a feather mattress for your bed. Your mother-in-law and the maid can sleep on horsehair.” And she grinned.
“It seems rather overwhelming at the moment,” I said.
“I told you we can lend you enough sheets to start you off. But you should select your own blankets and quilts. Choose your color and then tell Daniel that Wanamaker’s can send over several for you to choose from.”