THE 'ECONOMICS' 301woman had to face the music although it was no fault of hers in as
much as women are accustomed to demand the impossible. Naturally
she had no idea of what I wrote but her own reflexion could have told
her what the outcome would be. Women are funny creatures - even
those endowed with much intelligence.^14 ''The children were also a cause of much concern to Marx and Jenny.
In i860, the year of Jenny's smallpox, the three girls were aged sixteen,
fifteen and four years old. Jenny found their poverty all the harder to
bear as 'the sweet girls, now blooming so lovelily, have to suffer it as
well'.^150 At the beginning of 1863 Jenny gave the following description
of her daughters to one of her friends:
Even if the word 'beautiful' is not fitting for them, I must still say,
even at the risk of being laughed at for my maternal pride, that all
three of them look very neat and interesting. Jennychen is strikingly
dark in hair, eyes and complexion and, with her childishly rosy cheeks
and deep, sweet eyes, has a very attractive appearance. Laura, who is
in everything a few degrees lighter and clearer, is in fact prettier than
the eldest sister as her features are more regular and her green eyes
under her dark brows and long lashes shine with a continual fire of
joy.... We have made every effort we could towards their education.
Unfortunately we could not do so much for them in music as we would
have hoped, and their musical accomplishments are not distinguished,
although they both have particularly pleasant voices and sing with a
very pretty expressiveness. But Jenny's real strong point is elocution;
and because the child has a very beautiful voice, low and sweet, and
from childhood had studied Shakespeare with fanaticism, she would in
fact long ago have been on the stage had not regard for the family etc.
held her back.. .. Neither would we have placed any obstacle in her
way if her health were sounder.... The third one, the baby, is a true
bundle of sweetness, charm and childish frenzy. She is the light and
life of the house. All three children are attached body and soul to
London and have become fully English in customs, manners, tastes,
needs and habits, - and nothing frightens them more than the thought
of having to exchange England for Germany.... and I myself would
find the prospect frightening.. .. Above all London is so colossal that
one can disappear into nothing....^151But things were not always so sunny. Marx had to ask Engels urgently
to spend some days with them as 'it is absolutely necessary that my
daughters see a "man" again in the house. The poor children have been
shaken too early by the bourgeois shit.'^152 Jenny's health was particularly
bad as she suffered continually from chest ailments. This, too, Marx
considered was attributable to their poverty: 'Jenny is now old enough to