You Mustn't Ask to Vote
by L. Case Russel

You may be our close companion
     Share our trouble, ease our pain.
You may bear the servant's burden
     (But without the servant's gain;)
You may scrub and cook and iron
     Sew the buttons on our coat,
But as men we must protect you -
     You are far too frail to vote.

You may toil behind our counters,
     In our factories you may slave
You are welcome in the sweatshop
     From the cradle to the grave.
If you err, altho' a woman
     You may dangle from the throat
But our chivalry is outraged
     If you soil your hands to vote.

This poem was printed in the Globe and Mail on September 28, 1912. Do you think the writer was a man or a woman? Why do you think she or he wrote the poem?

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If you want to read more about Nellie look for:
Her Story: Women from Canada's Past by Susan Merritt
Voices From Canada's Past: Book One edited by Gladys Neale

Women Worth Writing About

1. What do these three women have in common?

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2. Do you think you share anything with these women?

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3. Which woman do you feel most strongly about? Why?

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4. In what ways are you like that woman?

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5. What would it take for you to do what she did?

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6. If you did one thing that would make you famous, what would it be?

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