| OCR Text |
Show Chapter 10 THE PRINCIPLE The plural marriage phenomenon so profoundly affected its participants that no treatment of the life of Ellis Reynolds Shipp would be adequate without consideration of the impact it had not only on her life but upon some others of her time. A period piece from the first issue of Woman's Exponent demonstrates that the phenomenon of plural marriage was not without its humorous side. A gentleman being in conversation with a lady of this city, upon the "insoluble question," remarked that the men of Utah pretend to consider that women should hold equal rights with men so far as they are capable; but that he saw no fairness in the matrimonial proceedings here; for while the woman has but one choice, the man may have a change to suit himself even should he be disappointed in his first, second, or other choice. The lady maintained that the woman held an advantage to equal that, and upon being interrogated as to what it was, said, in vindication of her argument, that a man, married or single, has no business to fall in love with another man's wife, but an unmarried woman may fall in love with and marry whom she pleases, whether he has a wife or not. That was styled even weights.1 Time after time, throughout the seven years of her diary, we see Ellis transcending her natural impulses on behalf of the "Principle." We see her faith transmute her feeling for Milford into a high and holy passion akin to worship, and we marvel. By what combination of experience and personal integrity could this woman have maintained, over such a long period of time, such lofty emotions? |
