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Show KATHLEEN NORRIS This Mother Needs Self-Study for many a hastily parted young couple have discovered, the hard way, that even a somewhat difficult diffi-cult marriage has its immense compensations. But let me remind you of what you have told me of yourself, and then ask yourself if any man would be wise to put himself in your power again. You are hot-tempered at an age when outbursts of temper occur only on-ly in undisciplined characters. You are doing your own work, "which is an impossibility anyway," you say. But the care of a man, a house, and two children is far from being that. The overwhelming overwhelm-ing majority of our American housewives are doing that, and doing do-ing it beautifully. Yes, and enjoying enjoy-ing it. You speak of jealously of some girl who took Billy away from you, but apparently that was all in your own mind. You've never taken the trouble to meet his sister, who is evidently a pleasant, hospitable person. In the 10 years of your marriage you never said, "Let's have your people in for a Simrfav dinner." "WILLY AND I were divorced J three years ago," writes Elsa Marvin from Reno. "At that time our children were Junior, 6, and Marilyn, 8. Billy had always said he was devoted to them. But he certainly cer-tainly did not prove it. He was critical, crit-ical, irritable, exacting, and as I am naturally hot-tempered, was doing all my own work without help, which is an impossibility anyway; any-way; nervous, not sleeping, and generally run down, it seemed wisest to us both to divorce. "However, the divorce only brought fresh problems and unhap-piness, unhap-piness, as you yourself predicted in a recent article it often would. Billy went to live with his mother, and for awhile ran around with the girl who had originally taken his affection and care away from us. "However, that did not last, and when his mother died, he had her old home made into two apartments, apart-ments, and offered them to me in place of $150 a month alimony. The children and I moved into the lower low-er one, renting the upper. However, the place was run down, and for a year I have been unable to rent my upper floor, as plumbing, roofing roof-ing and rehabilitating are beyond my means. His Mother's Will "Billy's mother and I were not on speaking terms, and she deliberate- You were nervous and you didn't sleep; two conditions in a complaining complain-ing wife that drive a man to the aforementioned critical, irritated, exacting mood. You aren't smart enough to win Marilyn's affection and obedience, and there's a strong suggestion that you spoil the boy. No, I wouldn't advise you to remarry re-marry under these circumstances. Or rather I wouldn't advise Billy to marry you. You're still an untrained, un-trained, spoiled woman, and Billy's best chance for happiness, and the children's, is to wait a few years, when they can spend more and more time with him, without having to put up with your exactions. ly leit ner silver, lurniture ana other possessions to an old friend; leaving Marilyn her piano, Junior, a useless lot far out of town, and myself, $10. The injustice of this angered me naturally, and I sent for Billy and we talked it over. But he is unwilling to break his mother's will. "This talk led to other meetings, when the children immediately re- was ". . . ran around with the gtrU . turned to their old affection for their father. Last summer we took adjoining cottages at the same beach place, and they swam and fished with him through vacation. This was a good arrangement for me, for I could leave them in his care, and occasionally go back to the city to see my friends or take in a show. "Since we came back .to town he . has seen the children constantly, taking them off sometimes to his sister for a Saturday night, and giving giv-ing me a much-needed rest. Now comes the gist of this letter, and my problem. Billy wants me to remarry re-marry him. Would you ever advise this? His sister wrote me about it, warmly urging it, but making me feel it was mostly for the children's sake. Although she lives only 30 miles out of the city we have never met, as I have a horror of interfering 'things-in-Iaw.' However, I have been lonely, and Marilyn is sometimes some-times unmanageable. So I would be glad to have a man about the house again, and, of course, I was once in love with Billy. Other men have sometimes been attentive to me, but I have never felt that I wished to marry them. Please advise me definitely, yes or no." Advice Is "No!" Ordinarily. Elsa, I would say an enthusiastic "yes" to this idea, |