Page:The Art of Helping People Out of Trouble (1924).pdf/29

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think that there is a questioning in the minds of her friends, and in so thinking she may become supersensitive in her relations with other people.

Far more serious and more difficult of adjustment than either the feeling of uncertainty or that of ineffectiveness is the lack of an emotional outlet. That part of the single woman's nature which in marriage would be directed toward lover, husband, and child has not this trinity of the affections. In its place she must find a medium for expression. The quality of her relationship with her parents and the other members of the family becomes therefore of greater importance to her than to her married sister. This is true of all her friendships, particularly of her friendships with women. As she grows older, she probably finds her association with men increasingly casual and infrequent. She must replace this with other interests, taking care to avoid the dangers of an ingrowing existence that expresses itself in a frigidity in personal relationships or in a parasitic emotion for some other woman.

To chart a straight course through the shoals and reefs of single life, to attain to the happiness of dignified and affectionate friendships, to keep a sense of proportion and balance, to maintain a