Article December 31, 1932 Issue

It is disappointing to read in magazine devoted to the...

Orwell Bradley Towne, Committee on Publication for the State of New York,—New York

Independent Woman

It is disappointing to read in magazine devoted to the defense of women such unkind and untrue statements about Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, as those which appear in a book review in your March issue.

It is evident that the reviewer has received an erroneous impression of Mrs. Eddy from unfriendly sources when she says that through "sheer egotistical determination" and "without education, health, beauty, charm or intellect," Mrs. Eddy became the "head of a vast and powerful organization, and an object of reverence to thousands of devotees." Mrs. Eddy received a good education. Early in life she was busy with her pen, and her writings found a ready market in the magazines of this country.

Mr. William Dana Orcutt of the University Press had many occasions to observe the demeanor of Mrs. Eddy. In his work, "In Quest of the Perfect Book," he says, "The characteristic about Mrs. Eddy that impressed me the first time I met her was her motherliness. She gave everyone the impression of deepest interest and concern in what he said, and was sympathetic in everything that touched on his personal affairs. ... To many her name suggests a great religious movement, but when I think of her I seem to see acres of green grass, a placid lake, a silver strip of river, and a boundary line of hills; and within the unpretentious house a slight, unassuming woman,—very real, very human, very appealing, supremely content in the self-knowledge that, no matter what others might think, she was delivering her message to the world."

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