Aside from the condition produced by "change of life", the
so-called involution period, there is a reaction of the "time of life"
that is found very commonly. For old age is no longer far off on the
horizon; it is close at hand, around the corner, and the looking-glass
proclaims its coming. The woman wonders whether her husband will long be
able to keep up,--and then "what will become of us?"

To be thrown on the benevolence of children is a sad ending to
independent natures, to people of experience. Crudely put, those who
have been dependents are now sustainers; those who have been led now
guide; the inferiors are the superiors. This is not cynicism, for with
the best intentions in the world, if the children are also poor, the
care of the parents is a burden that they cannot help showing, sooner or
later.

Looking forward to such an ending to the hard work and struggle of a
lifetime is part of the worry of poverty, to be classed with the fear of
sickness and unemployment.

We may loudly proclaim that one honest man is as good as another, that
character is the measure of worth, that success cannot be measured by
money. These things are true; the difficulty is not to make people
believe it, it is to make people _feel_ it. Deeply ingrained in poverty
is not alone to be deprived of things desired; more important is the
feeling of inferiority that goes with the condition. Only in the
Bohemia of the novelists do the poor feel equal to the rich.

One of the fundamental strivings of the human being is the enlargement
of the self-feeling, which fundamentally is the wish to be superior, to
have the admiration and homage of others. All daydreaming builds this
air castle; all ambition has this as its goal. No matter how we disguise
it to ourselves and others, the main ends of purpose are power and
place. True, we may wish for power and place so as to help others; we
may wish them as the result of constructive work and achievement, but
the enlargement of self-feeling is the end result of the striving.

To be poor is to be inferior in feeling and applies equally to men and
women. Man is a competitive-social animal and competes in everything,
from the cleverness and beauty of his children to the excellence of his
taste in hats. Money has the advantage of being the symbol of value, of
being concrete and definite, and of having the inestimable property of
purchasing power.

Now woman is as competitive as her mate. A housewife vie