Among the Grcrmanic peoples, there has al-
ways existed the tradition of a small, excep-
tional group of women dedicated to the intel-
lectual life, either in the form of medieval
learning or ancient mysticism. The earliest
representatives of this class were the priestesses
of the Teutonic tribes. They were succeeded
by the learned nuns of the Middle Ages. The
next incarnation of the type was the nineteenth



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30 SCHOOLS AND THE WOMAN

century bluestocking, who eventually presented
herself at the university and declared her wish
to be made a doctor of philosophy. The oppo-
sition she encountered was tempered by the
consideration that the bluestocking was a tour
de force of nature and didn't matter very much
to women as they go. If she wanted thus to
unsex herself she was supported, after all, by
some tradition in favor of a small class of celi-
bate, intellectual females. And so the univer-
sities gave way, graciously extending their
privileges, — including that of being allowed
to pay exactly the same university fees as the
men, — ^to all women who had, by means of a
very expensive private instruction, managed to
prepare themselves for university study. The
result was the twentieth century doctor of phil-
osophy who is neither a nun nor a bluestocking,
but that most pestiferous and alarming of mod-
em dangers, a woman who wishes to earn her
own living.
n

At present, the Scandinavian and Grerman
Universities are practically all open to women.
