Mill And Taylor On Equality And Marriage Philosophy Essay

Mill And Taylor On Equality And Marriage Philosophy Essay John Stuart Mills The Subjection of Women is an argument in favor of political equality between the sexes. He claims that no society could hope to approach justice so long as half its people were in subjection and laments that women were deprived of freedom and dignity. In this paper we argue that the perfect equality between the sexes, which Mill calls for in the first paragraph of The Subjection, is vitiated by his views on the position of women in marriage and family. In section I, we show that perfect equality is consonant with his liberal philosophy in On Liberty. In section II, we show that his views on marriage and family make his equality imperfect. If Mills position on perfect equality is correct, and his liberal political philosophy argues that it is, then he drew the wrong consequences for marriage and family. In section III, we show that Harriet Taylor, in The Enfranchisement of Women, drew more egalitarian consequences for family life. I According to Mill happiness is the center of the moral life, the most desirable goal of human conduct. His utilitarian goal, the greatest happiness for the greatest number, cannot be realized apart from the greatest possible moral and intellectual advancement of the human race. Consequently, one of the principal purposes of social and political institutions is to develop human potential to the highest possible stage. Laws and social arrangements should connect the happiness of every individual with the common good. Education and public opinion, which form human character, should be used to establish individual happiness and thereby the good of all. In On Liberty, Mill presents a theory of human nature which stresses individuality and self-development as characteristic traits of a progressive individual, which is what a good society should foster. Individuals ought to derive their views from experience and develop them with reason; they should seek truth, not follow dogma. Only human beings can strive for truth and attain dignity, the ideal and mark of the progressive individual, who epitomizes the dignity of a thinking being, who seeks truth rationally and exercises conscious choice among alternatives, rather then blindly following custom or prejudice. It is such an autonomous individual who expresses individuality, creativity, originality, and self-developmentanything less than truth seeking makes one less than a human person. Machines can reproduce good copies, but this is not true of humans. An individual would not have personal worth if forced to copy a good model, for the notion of conscious choice between alternatives wou ld be lost. This is central to Mill: our ideas and our characters are the products of our own choice. Mills argument for civil and social liberty is firmly based on the notion of utility in the largest sense, grounded on the permanent interests of man as a progressive being. (1) Mill uses man in the generic sense and is concerned throughout with the individual-the person, the human being, the citizen-irrespective of gender. In Chapter 3, he cites Wilhelm von Humbolts view that the end of manà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦is the highest and most harmonious development of his powers to a complete and consistent whole. (2) and for this, freedom and variety of situation are necessary. Early in The Subjection Mill makes it clear that the existing relations between the sexes violate principles of freedom and justice. The principle of subordination of one sex to the other is wrong in itself, (3) and should be replaced by a principle of perfect equality. In Happiness, Freedom, and Justice Fred Berger claims that Mill does not advocate strict equality but rather that there is no basis for differential treatment. Instead, rewards and punishments should be apportioned according to desert. There may be areas where some will exercise power over others, but policy requires that competence be the basis for higher status. What this means is that the system of male domination over females violates a basic principle of justice because regard and advantage are based on birth, not merit or personal exertion. (4) Mill denounces the injustice of denying to women the equal moral right to choose their occupations: Would it be consistent with justice to refuse them their fair Share of honor and distinction, or to deny them the equal Moral right of all human beings to choose their own occupations (short of injury to others) according to their own preference, at their own risks? (5) His expanded utilitarianism stresses that the importance of the change toward sexual equality would benefit individuals and society. By implementing sexual equality, there would be a doubling of mental faculties available for the higher service of humanity. He puts the argument in terms of the waste involved in a society that refuses to use one half of the talent it possesses. It is not only freedom but also the opportunity to do something useful that is required for the development of individuals. Mills conception of the nature and needs of the individual human being emerges clearly: If there is anything vitally important to the happiness of human beings, it is that they should relish their habitual pursuitsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.Few persons are aware of the great amount of unhappiness producedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦by the feeling of wasted lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Every restraint on the freedom of conduct of any of their fellow human creaturesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦dries upà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the principal fountain of human happiness, and leaves the species less richà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦in all that makes life valuable to the individual human being. (6) It is this idealistic conception of the nature and needs of the individual human being, and its integral relation to happiness, that is the ultimate justification of Mills argument against the unjust and arbitrary situation of the subjection of women. His conception of the individual is thus the ultimate justification of Mills case for sexual equality. This presupposes that women, as well as men, given better education and more opportunities, will flourish and be happy living a life in which they can freely and usefully exercise their talents. II Subjection is being under the power and control of another in a state of obedience and submissiveness. Mill argues that patriarchy, the subjection of women to men, is a theory unsupported by experience because no other principle has ever been tried. Patriarchy is not the result of fair experiment, trial, and refutation. (7) The adoption of a system of inequality was not the result of any deliberation or forethought but arose from the physical power of men over women. Mill contends that womens smaller degree of muscular strength renders them subject to the principle of force: in less advanced societies it is expressed as might makes right, (8) and in civilized cultures as paternalism. Paternalism is subtler since control by men is based on chivalry and generosity. Bribery and intimidation are used instead of brutality to secure obedience; deference and gratitude for protection render women economically and morally dependent on men. The law completes the intimidation with discriminatory statutes. Like other forms of slavery and domination, patriarchy serves the interests of the dominant. Only one could be king and only a few owned slaves, but every man could dominate women. Power is nice, especially over those closely tied to ones interests, and it is also gratifying when one has so little power over larg er social matters. (We may be powerless over the environment, the economy, or nuclear war, but at least we have some power-over women.) Women are in a peculiarly bad position since, unlike slaves and workers, they are more dispersed and isolated, which makes them more difficult to organize. Further, men want more than mere obedience; they want women to be happy in the process. (9) Not only is the superiority of patriarchy unsupported by experience, but the entire course of human progress provides evidence against a principle of inequality. In past societies people were born to roles, positions, and stations. The salient feature of modern societies is the idea that people should be free to employ their faculties and to choose their roles, positions, and stations. It is not that all processes are supposed to be equally good, or all persons to be equally qualified for everything; but that freedom of individual choice is now known to be the only thing which procures the adoption of the best processes, and throws each operation into the hands of those who are best qualified for it. (10) Even if women are, as a group, less strong than men, there are many exceptional and overlapping cases. Any sex-biased social policy that excluded women is an injustice to those who can perform the task. The subordination of women stands out as a glaring injustice in modern society, a breach of what has become a fundamental rule, a relic of an old-world of thought and practice. Since we have tried only the principle of domination, we cannot argue for it from comparative experience. For the same reason, that we have tried only domination, we cannot argue for it by appealing to the nature of women. Since we have not seen women in different social arrangements, we do not know what their nature is. What is now called the nature of women is an eminently artificial thing-the result of forced repression in some direction, unnatural stimulation in others. (11) Mill insists that nobody is in a position to know anything about womens nature because so far we have not seen anything that we could call natural; all we have seen is manifestations of the altogether understandable desire to conform to a stereotype. We do know a great deal more about psychology today but nowhere near enough to answer with certainty the questions of human nature. However, what we do know suggests that the differences that relate to political equality are largely socially conditioned. But suppose we discover the contrary, that women are fitted by nature for subordinate social roles. Could this be used as an argument to support social policies of domination? Such arguments, although surprisingly common, are incoherent. If women are fitted for those roles by nature, restrictive social policies are unnecessary. This is Mills coup de grace. What he argues for is a society without such restrictions, a society of perfect equality where every individual, regardless of sex, is free to choose his or her own role on the basis of individual talents and exertion. III Though Mill was overtly arguing for womens right to self-development and the assertion of their human capacities, their functions in the household remained unrevised in his thought: he advocates freedom of choice but favors the traditional division of labor within the family. It cannot be casually dismissed as an acceptable tension between advocacy of sexual equality in the area of civil rights for women, and simultaneously an implicit acceptance of traditional sex roles. Mill believes that women ought to have a choice of career or marriage but assumes that the majority of women are likely to continue to prefer marriage and that this choice is the equivalent of choosing a career. Unless equality extends to the family, however, Mills perfect equality between the sexes is limited. Although Mill urges that the shackles of custom be lifted from unmarried women and from women whose children have grown up and left home, he complacently relies on such custom to keep married women in their place. (12) The sex-based division of labor within marriage can be safely trusted to social opinion, which rightly directed will support it; women will by and large continue to prefer the one vocation to which there is no competition; and thus continue to perform those tasks which cannot be filled by others, orà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[which] others do not think worthy of acceptance. (13) If it is customary for women to be child-rearers, and if, on the basis of their nature, society assigns this role to women, then it seems that being born female does affect their opportunities and prescribes choices throughout a considerable part of their lives. Their education, for example, will be affected by this customary destiny. Hence, demands for sexual equality become problematic. Mill falls prey to the same argument from nature that he criticizes. Mill argues in favor of equal property rights for married women, rights to property inherited or earned by the woman herself, not rights to equal shares in family income. According to Mill, The rule is simple; whatever would be the husbands or wifes if they were not married, should be under their exclusive control during marriage. (14) Hence, the income of the male earner is his, as much after marriage as before; Mill does not seem to recognize that since womens work in the home is unpaid labor, their freedom of choice is severely restricted and equality becomes a sham. (15) Harriet Taylors Enfranchisement of Women takes a stronger stand: women must earn a living because if they do, their position in society and the family would improve significantly. (16) Mill agrees that married women must be able to support themselves, but he explicitly rejects the idea that they should actually do so because it is liable to lead to the neglect of the household and children. Consequently, Taylors view is more attuned to present day feminism than Mills. She recognizes, as he does not, the importance to women of continuous economic independence, both within the marriage and in case of its disintegration. The Enfranchisement is more radical and speaks more strongly than the Subjection in favor of the married womens need to have a life and career of their own and be more than a mere appendage of a man, attached to him for the purpose of bringing up his children and making his home pleasant. Liberals such as Mill proposed that each individual should be able to rise in society just as far as her or his talents permit, unhindered by restraints of law or custom. What qualities should count as talents and how they should be regarded is to be determined by the support of and demand for those talents within the market economy. In order to guarantee that the most genuinely talented individuals are identified, it is necessary to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to develop his or her talents. Women discover self-respect and equality of standing with men only if they earn an income. This seems much more important to a sound relationship between the sexes than mere economic improvement in the family. Mills timid assertion that women should draw self-respect from an ability to earn, of which in fact they make no use, when married is sentimental; Taylor is more aware of the realities of power. If women as wives will largely be confined to the small circle of family, they will find it hard to use their vote to protect their interests. Women will not be able to learn what their interests are without experience outside domestic life. For Mill it is unthinkable that men would want to manage their households and care for their children. Yet the jobs need doing. Since women who bear children and live in the household will have a natural interest in doing the job well, they will do a better job than uninterested hired hands. The solution, according to Mill, is to keep up the public opinion that teaches women that if they marry, they are freely choosing the duties of the family mistress. Mills defense of traditional sex roles within the family amounts to a denial of freedom of opportunity and individual expression of talents to the majority of women who he assumes would always choose to marry. Mill is aware that care of a household is an incessantly preoccupying duty, and that this is a major reason why, comparatively, women lack achievement in the arts and sciences; in fact, he condones the continuance of this barrier for most women. Mill refuses to concede that the tiresome details of domestic life should be shared by both sexes, and his failure to question the social institutions that make such sharing practically impossible is interesting because he recognizes that the principal means by which the world recognizes equals is by success in fields monopolized by men. The only way of dispelling prejudicial beliefs about womens inferiority is proof by examples. If a majority of women are going to remain practically, if not legally barred from such achievements, how wi ll deep-seated prejudices change? The Enfranchisement is both frank and clear about the claim that liberation will lead to greater happiness for women. Even if women in general do not experience frustration or feel that their position is intolerable, this cannot be used to argue for the status quo. Taylor claims, for example, that Asian women do not mind being in purdah and that they find the thought of going about freely shocking. However, this does not mean that they should not be liberated from seclusion, or that they would not appreciate freedom once they had it. Custom hardens people: it prompts them to adhere to situations by deadening that part of their nature that would resist it. How does the objector know that women do not desire equality and freedom? (17) It would be overly simple to suppose that if they do desire it, they would say so. Taylor claims their position is like that of the tenants or labourers who vote against their own political interests to please their landlords or employers; with the unique addition, that submission [for women] is inculcated in them from childhood, as the peculiar grace and attraction of their character. (18) Taylor is not committing the brutal political fallacy of discounting peoples expressed desires in favor of those they would have if their natural selves (according to the privileged ideology) had not been corrupted. (19) She is not suggesting that any restrictions be imposed; she is arguing that restrictions be lifted so that people can pursue and satisfy their desires. It is because of his assumptions and convictions about the family and its traditional role that Mills feminism falls short of advocating true equality and freedom for married women. Although he does reject the legalized inequalities of its patriarchal form, he regards the family itself as essential for humanity and assures his readers that the family has nothing to lose, but much to gain, from the complete political and civil equality of the sexes. Mill attempts to apply the principle of liberalism to women. He eschews patriarchy within the family and views the legal and political subordination of women as anachronisms in the modern age, a gross violations of liberty and justice. However, although Mill is a forward-looking feminist in many ways, he fails to perceive the injustice involved in situations and practices which allow a man to have a career and economic independence, and a home life and children, but which force women to choose between the two. It is Mills failure to questi on the traditional family and its demands on women which limits his liberal feminism. Mill thought equalizing access to the vote, to property, to education, and to public occupations was enough, but he underestimated the importance of economic power, as well as revisions of the roles in the family. Merely providing more equal opportunities for women outside the family would not suffice, without revision of the underlying structures-both private and public-that reinforced and perpetuated the very subjection of women that the essay was denouncing. In the Subjection Mill is genuinely concerned about the harm caused by men to women behind the closed doors of the family home. The government could act, not to restrict the behavior of individuals, but to promote the development of progressive individuality. If one takes liberty seriously, however, state intervention may well be required to secure its conditions. This would be a matter of justice, for it would be wrong to deprive women of the necessary conditions of freedom, of independence, of equal opportunity. Genuine equality of opportunity requires radical change in the way women are raised and educated and in social opinion about their proper place. If women are to have equal freedom of opportunity, they cannot be channeled by education, public opinion, and the economic structure into the belief that they have but one useful vocation in life-dutiful mother and obedient wife. We must instead restructure our social institutions for the free development of originality in women as well as in men. It may seem a bit unfair to criticize Mill. He wrote the Subjection over a hundred years ago and his views and personal behavior were far in advance of his time. He also made it poignantly clear in his Autobiography that his intellectual debt to both his wife and daughter was great. But in the Enfranchisement Taylor shows that she was aware of the shortcomings: with respect to the place of women in marriage and the family Mill held views far less liberal than what follows from his general political position. Feminists have ranged far into biology and psychology, history and anthropology, religion and literature. They have offered a myriad of alternative lifestyles and social systems. But with the exception of his discussion on marriage and the family, no one has articulated the fundamental feminist case as clearly or argued it as well as John Stuart Mill: The object of this Essay is to explain as clearly as I am able, the grounds of an opinion which I have held from the very earliest period when I formed any opinions at all on social or political matters, and which, instead of being weakened or modified, had been constantly growing stronger by the progress of reflection and the experience of life: That the principle which regulates the existing social relations between the two sexes-the legal subordination of one sex to the other-is wrong in itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement; and that it ought to be replaced by a principle of perfect equality, admitting no power or privilege on the one side, nor disability on the other. (20) [Emphasis added.] Lynn Gordon and David Louzecky University of Wisconsin Colleges NOTES Mill. On Liberty, 70. In On Rawls On Mill On Liberty and so on, Marcus Singer claims that the views presented in On Liberty are so strongly influenced by Harriet Taylor that they are fundamentally different from Mills own views in Utilitarianism. This is an interesting idea that we would like to pursue at another time. In the Subjection, also influenced by Taylor, Mill often appeals to justice in ways that seem to be uncharacteristic of utilitarianism. Fred Berger also discussed this point at some length in Happiness, Freedom, and Justice. Nevertheless, Mill moved some distance from Bentham and, in Chapter V of Utilitarianism, did account for justice in terms of utility. As he says, he is appealing to utility in the largest sense. Still, the question remains whether utilitarianism can justify absolute equality between the sexes in all circumstances-which is what justice would require. Mill, On Liberty, 121. Mill, Subjection, 1. Berger, 197. Mill, Subjection, 77. Mill, Subjection, 186. Mill, Subjection, 8. Mill, Subjection, 10-17; Taylor, 12-13. Mill, Subjection, 26. Mill, Subjection, 32. Mill, Subjection, 38. For Mill, the actual position of married women in his day resembled that of slaves in several ways: the economic and social system gave women little alternative to marriage; once married, the legal personality of women was subsumed in that of their husbands and the abuses of human dignity permitted by custom and law within the marriage were egregious. Mill, Subjection, 172. Mill, Subjection, 86. Goldstein, 319-34. We have referred to Harriet Taylor as the author of Enfranchisement of Women, although it was first published anonymously (see page iii, New Introduction in Mills Subjection, Virago Press). Although there is some uncertainty about who the author is, in the introduction to the Subjection Mill says it is Harriet Taylors work. However, we do not wish here to engage in a complicated debate about the extent of Taylors contribution of Mills work. Taylor, 19. Taylor, 39. Taylor, 40. Mill, Subjection, 1.

Cooking with Your Children Essay

How many parents take the time to cook with their children? How many of you were taught to cook by your parents or someone else in your family? I actually started cooking with my mother when I was 6 years old rolling out bread dough to make crescent rolls (homemade, of course). Due to my childhood experience, I now cook with my children at least twice a week. Since I am normally only home on the weekends to see my children, I use this time for bonding; as well as for teaching them skills that they will need in order to survive in today’s world, better known as life skills. Cooking with your children is great way to strengthen family bonds, while enforcing math and life skills. First, cooking with your children can create strong family bonds. This provides the opportunity for spending quality time with your children. While preparing meals, daily discussions regarding current topics in and about their lives are abound (â€Å"How was your day†, â€Å"What did you do in class†, â€Å"Have you spoken to your grandmother†). These discussions during meal preparation can lead to enjoyable moments that children tend to remember as they grow older. They then share these experiences and moments with their children [ (Eisenhower) ]. In the words of my favorite T. V. Cook, Alton Brown of â€Å"Good Eats†, â€Å"Cooking with children is just plain fun†. How can you not have fun in the kitchen while cooking with your children? Yes, it can be messy; yes, it can be time consuming; but that is what makes it a fun learning environment. Make mistakes, get messy, have fun. Secondly, cooking with your children will teach them a necessary life skill, a required skill that they will need in order to survive on their own. Cooking not only teaches food preparation, but also educates them on making healthy food choices [ (Eisenhower; Ryan) ]. By allowing them to cook for themselves, they are not dependent on fast food or constant dining out. It also teaches the principles of time management. For example, if for dinner we are having a roast that requires four hours of cooking then they need to consider that the additional sides or â€Å"fixings† should be prepared in a sequence that would allow them all to be ready at the same time as the roast. These basic life skills of cooking and time management are important for your child and are necessary for them to survive. Third, cooking with your children helps to reinforce their math skills. Having your child count the beans or carrot sticks gives them a reason to count. It makes counting fun & purposeful or â€Å"Purposeful Counting† [ (Marinelli) ]. Employing your children in the kitchen can be fun and will reinforce their measuring skills. Using the volume method of measuring, such as one-quarter cup of flour or two cups of sugar, helps children to visualize the actual measurement. In my household, we also use ruler measurements when baking. When making cinnamon rolls we measure the length and width of the rolled dough for proper sizing. In the case of the cinnamon roll dough, we are looking for a perfect rectangle. In other baking situations, we will use other geometric shapes including circles, triangles, squares, cones. Cooking also teaches and reinforces their skills at telling time, which will assist with proper time management. Such as with the aforementioned roast, if you put it in the oven at 4 P. M. and it takes one and half-hours to cook, you can ask, at what time does the roast have to be taken out of the oven? Having your children count, measure and tell time can reinforces those skills with â€Å"Purposeful Counting†. These activities conducted in a fun atmosphere and used in â€Å"real world† situations reinforce the basic life skills that are important. In conclusion, Cooking with your children can create a naturally fun environment for family bonding. It gives them some of the skills, cooking and time management, they will need to survive. As well, cooking reinforces their math skills by letting them use what they have learned in a â€Å"real world† situation. Taking the time to cook with your children will create stronger family bonds, teach them basic life skills that they will need as they grow older and reinforces many math skills that they will not only be able to utilize at home but in school too. Works Cited Brown, Alton. â€Å"Apple Family Values† Foodnetwork. com, Food Network Season 2 Episode EA1B03 Video. Eisenhower, Julie. â€Å"Cooking With Children. † The Saturday Evening Post , Curtis Publishing August 1975, 94-110 Print. Marinelli, Noel. â€Å"Count & Cook. † Scholastic Parent & Child, Scholastic Publishing March 2006, 73 Print. Ryan, Kelley & Andrea. â€Å"Cooking With Kids. Nebraska Kitchens, Nebraska Life Publishing June 20088, 37-39 Print.

Vampire Academy Chapter 9

NINE I SNAPPED INTO HER MIND, once again seeing and directly experiencing what went on around her. She was sneaking into the chapel's attic again, confirming my worst fears. Like last time, she met no resistance. Good God, I thought, could that priest be any worse about securing his own chapel? Sunrise lit up the stained-glass window, and Christian's silhouette was framed against it: he was sitting in the window seat. â€Å"You're late,† he told her. â€Å"Been waiting a while.† Lissa pulled up one of the rickety chairs, brushing dust off it. â€Å"I figured you'd be tied up with Headmistress Kirova.† He shook his head. â€Å"Not much to it. They suspended me for a week, that's all. Not like it's hard to sneak out.† He waved his hands around. â€Å"As you can see.† â€Å"I'm surprised you didn't get more time.† A patch of sunlight lit up his crystal-blue eyes. â€Å"Disappointed?† She looked shocked. â€Å"You set someone on fire!† â€Å"No, I didn't. Did you see any burns on him?† â€Å"He was covered in flames.† â€Å"I had them under control. I kept them off of him.† She sighed. â€Å"You shouldn't have done that.† Straightening out of his lounging position, he sat up and leaned toward her. â€Å"I did it for you.† â€Å"You attacked someone for me?† â€Å"Sure. He was giving you and Rose a hard time. She was doing an okay job against him, I guess, but I figured she could use the backup. Besides, this'll shut anyone else up about the whole fox thing, too.† â€Å"You shouldn't have done that,† she repeated, looking away. She didn't know how to feel about this â€Å"generosity.† â€Å"And don't act like it was all for me. You liked doing it. Part of you wanted to – just because.† Christian's smug expression dropped, replaced by one of uncharacteristic surprise. Lissa might not be psychic, but she had a startling ability to read people. Seeing him off guard, she continued. â€Å"Attacking someone else with magic is forbidden – and that's exactly why you wanted to do it. You got a thrill out of it.† â€Å"Those rules are stupid. If we used magic as a weapon instead of just for warm and fuzzy shit, Strigoi wouldn't keep killing so many of us.† â€Å"It's wrong,† she said firmly. â€Å"Magic is a gift. It's peaceful.† â€Å"Only because they say it is. You're repeating the party line we've been fed our whole lives.† He stood up and paced the small space of the attic. â€Å"It wasn't always that way, you know. We used to fight, right along with the guardians – centuries ago. Then people started getting scared and stopped. Figured it was safer to just hide. They forgot the attack spells.† â€Å"Then how did you know that one?† He crooked her a smile. â€Å"Not everyone forgot.† â€Å"Like your family? Like your parents?† The smile disappeared. â€Å"You don't know anything about my parents.† His face darkened, his eyes grew hard. To most people, he might have appeared scary and intimidating, but as Lissa studied and admired his features, he suddenly seemed very, very vulnerable. â€Å"You're right,† she admitted softly, after a moment. â€Å"I don't. I'm sorry.† For the second time in this meeting, Christian looked astonished. Probably no one apologized to him that often. Hell, no one even talked to him that often. Certainly no one ever listened. Like usual, he quickly turned into his cocky self. â€Å"Forget it.† Abruptly, he stopped pacing and knelt in front of her so they could look each other in the eye. Feeling him so close made her hold her breath. A dangerous smile curled his lips. â€Å"And really, I don't get why you of all people should act so outraged that I used ? ®forbidden' magic.† â€Å"Me ? ®of all people'? What's that supposed to mean?† â€Å"You can play all innocent if you want – and you do a pretty good job – but I know the truth.† â€Å"What truth is that?† She couldn't hide her uneasiness from me or Christian. He leaned even closer. â€Å"That you use compulsion. All the time.† â€Å"No, I don't,† she said immediately. â€Å"Of course you do. I've been lying awake at night, trying to figure out how in the world you two were able to rent out a place and go to high school without anyone ever wanting to meet your parents. Then I figured it out. You had to be using compulsion. That's probably how you broke out of here in the first place.† â€Å"I see. You just figured it out. Without any proof.† â€Å"I've got all the proof I need, just from watching you.† â€Å"You've been watching me – spying on me – to prove I'm using compulsion?† He shrugged. â€Å"No. Actually, I've been watching you just because I like it. The compulsion thing was a bonus. I saw you use it the other day to get an extension on that math assignment. And you used it on Ms. Carmack when she wanted to make you go through more testing.† â€Å"So you assume it's compulsion? Maybe I'm just really good at convincing people.† There was a defiant note in her voice: understandable, considering her fear and anger. Only she delivered it with a toss of her hair which – if I didn't know any better – might have been considered flirtatious. And I did know better? ­right? Suddenly, I wasn't sure. He went on, but something in his eyes told me he'd noticed the hair, that he always noticed everything about her. â€Å"People get these goofy looks on their faces when you talk to them. And not just any people – you're able to do it to Moroi. Probably dhampirs, too. Now that's crazy. I didn't even know that was possible. You're some kind of superstar. Some kind of evil, compulsion-abusing superstar.† It was an accusation, but his tone and presence radiated the same flirtatiousness she had. Lissa didn't know what to say. He was right. Everything he'd said was right. Her compulsion was what had allowed us to dodge authority and get along in the world without adult help. It was what had allowed us to convince the bank to let her tap into her inheritance. And it was considered every bit as wrong as using magic as a weapon. Why not? It was a weapon. A powerful one, one that could be abused very easily. Moroi children had it drilled into them from an early age that compulsion was very, very wrong. No one was taught to use it, though every Moroi technically had the ability. Lissa had just sort of stumbled into it – deeply – and, as Christian had pointed out, she could wield it over Moroi, as well as humans and dhampirs. â€Å"What are you going to do then?† she asked. â€Å"You going to turn me in?† He shook his head and smiled. â€Å"No. I think it's hot.† She stared, eyes widening and heart racing. Something about the shape of his lips intrigued her. â€Å"Rose thinks you're dangerous,† she blurted out nervously. â€Å"She thinks you might have killed the fox.† I didn't know how I felt about being dragged into this bizarre conversation. Some people were scared of me. Maybe he was too. Judging from the amusement in his voice when he spoke, it appeared he wasn't. â€Å"People think I'm unstable, but I tell you, Rose is ten times worse. Of course, that makes it harder for people to fuck with you, so I'm all for it.† Leaning back on his heels, he finally broke the intimate space between them. â€Å"And I sure as hell didn't do that. Find out who did, though? ­and what I did to Ralf won't seem like anything.† His gallant offer of creepy vengeance didn't exactly reassure Lissa? ­but it did thrill her a little. â€Å"I don't want you doing anything like that. And I still don't know who did it.† He leaned back toward her and caught her wrists in his hands. He started to say something, then stopped and looked down in surprise, running his thumbs over faint, barely there scars. Looking back up at her, he had a strange – for him – kindness in his face. â€Å"You might not know who did it. But you know something. Something you aren't talking about.† She stared at him, a swirl of emotions playing in her chest. â€Å"You can't know all my secrets,† she murmured. He glanced back down at her wrists and then released them, that dry smile of his back on his face. â€Å"No. I guess not.† A feeling of peace settled over her, a feeling I thought only I could bring. Returning to my own head and my room, I sat on the floor staring at my math book. Then, for reasons I didn't really get, I slammed it shut and threw it against the wall. I spent the rest of the night brooding until the time I was supposed to meet Jesse came around. Slipping downstairs, I went into the kitchen – a place I could visit so long as I kept things brief – and caught his eye when I cut through the main visiting area. Moving past him, I paused and whispered, â€Å"There's a lounge on the fourth floor that nobody uses. Take the stairs on the other side of the bathrooms and meet me there in five minutes. The lock on the door is broken.† He complied to the second, and we found the lounge dark, dusty, and deserted. The drop in guardian numbers over the years meant a lot of the dorm stayed empty, a sad sign for Moroi society but terribly convenient right now. He sat down on the couch, and I lay back on it, putting my feet in his lap. I was still annoyed after Lissa and Christian's bizarre attic romance and wanted nothing more than to forget about it for a while. â€Å"You really here to study, or was it just an excuse?† I asked. â€Å"No. It was real. Had to do an assignment with Meredith.† The tone in his voice indicated he wasn't happy about that. â€Å"Oooh,† I teased. â€Å"Is working with a dhampir beneath your royal blood? Should I be offended?† He smiled, showing a mouth full of perfect white teeth and fangs. â€Å"You're a lot hotter than she is.† â€Å"Glad I make the cut.† There was a sort of a heat in his eyes that was turning me on, as was his hand sliding up my leg. But I needed to do something first. It was time for some vengeance. â€Å"Mia must too, since you guys let her hang out with you. She's not royal.† His finger playfully poked me in the calf. â€Å"She's with Aaron. And I've got lots of friends who aren't royal. And friends who are dhamps. I'm not a total asshole.† â€Å"Yeah, but did you know her parents are practically custodians for the Drozdovs?† The hand on my leg stopped. I'd exaggerated, but he was a sucker for gossip – and he was notorious for spreading it. â€Å"Seriously?† â€Å"Yeah. Scrubbing floors and stuff like that.† â€Å"Huh.† I could see the wheels turning in his dark blue eyes and had to hide a smile. The seed was planted. Sitting up, I moved closer to him and draped a leg over his lap. I wrapped my arms around him, and without further delay, thoughts of Mia disappeared as his testosterone kicked in. He kissed me eagerly – sloppily, even – pushing me against the back of the couch, and I relaxed into what had to be the first enjoyable physical activity I'd had in weeks. We kissed like that for a long time, and I didn't stop him when he pulled off my shirt. â€Å"I'm not having sex,† I warned between kisses. I had no intention of losing my virginity on a couch in a lounge. He paused, thinking about this, and finally decided not to push it. â€Å"Okay.† But he pushed me onto the couch, lying over me, still kissing with that same fierceness. His lips traveled down to my neck, and when the sharp points of his fangs brushed against my skin, I couldn't help an excited gasp. He raised himself up, looking into my face with open surprise. For a moment, I could barely breathe, recalling that rush of pleasure that a vampire bite could fill me with, wondering what it'd be like to feel that while making out. Then the old taboos kicked in. Even if we didn't have sex, giving blood while we did this was still wrong, still dirty. â€Å"Don't,† I warned. â€Å"You want to.† His voice held excited wonder. â€Å"I can tell.† â€Å"No, I don't.† His eyes lit up. â€Å"You do. How – hey, have you done it before?† â€Å"No,† I scoffed. â€Å"Of course not.† Those gorgeous blue eyes watched me, and I could see the wheels spinning behind them. Jesse might flirt a lot and have a big mouth, but he wasn't stupid. â€Å"You act like you have. You got excited when I was by your neck.† â€Å"You're a good kisser,† I countered, though it wasn't entirely true. He drooled a little more than I would have preferred. â€Å"Don't you think everyone would know if I was giving blood?† The realization seized him. â€Å"Unless you weren't doing it before you left. You did it while you were gone, didn't you? You fed Lissa.† â€Å"Of course not,† I repeated. But he was on to something, and he knew it. â€Å"It was the only way. You didn't have feeders. Oh, man.† â€Å"She found some,† I lied. It was the same line we'd fed Natalie, the one she'd spread around and that no one – except Christian – had ever questioned. â€Å"Plenty of humans are into it.† â€Å"Sure,† he said with a smile. He leaned his mouth back to my neck. â€Å"I'm not a blood whore,† I snapped, pulling away from him. â€Å"But you want to. You like it. All you dhamp girls do.† His teeth were on my skin again. Sharp. Wonderful. I had a feeling hostility would only make things worse, so I defused the situation with teasing. â€Å"Stop it,† I said gently, running a fingertip over his lips. â€Å"I told you, I'm not like that. But if you want something to do with your mouth, I can give you some ideas.† That peaked his interest. â€Å"Yeah? Like wha – ?† And that was when the door opened. We sprang apart. I was ready to handle a fellow student or even possibly the matron. What I was not ready for was Dimitri. He burst in the door like he'd expected to find us, and in that horrible moment, with him raging like a storm, I knew why Mason had called him a god. In the blink of an eye, he crossed the room and jerked Jesse up by his shirt, nearly holding the Moroi off the ground. â€Å"What's your name?† barked Dimitri. â€Å"J-Jesse, sir. Jesse Zeklos, sir.† â€Å"Mr. Zeklos, do you have permission to be in this part of the dorm?† â€Å"No, sir.† â€Å"Do you know the rules about male and female interactions around here?† â€Å"Yes, sir.† â€Å"Then I suggest you get out of here as fast as you can before I turn you over to someone who will punish you accordingly. If I ever see you like this again† – Dimitri pointed to where I cowered, half-dressed, on the couch – â€Å"I will be the one to punish you. And it will hurt. A lot. Do you understand?† Jesse swallowed, eyes wide. None of the bravado he usually showed was there. I guess there was â€Å"usually† and then there was being held in the grip of a really ripped, really tall, and really pissed-off Russian guy â€Å"Yes, sir!† â€Å"Then go.† Dimitri released him, and, if possible, Jesse got out of there faster than Dimitri had burst in. My mentor then turned to me, a dangerous glint in his eyes. He didn't say anything, but the angry, disapproving message came through loud and clear. And then it shifted. It was almost like he'd been taken by surprise, like he'd never noticed me before. Had it been any other guy, I would have said he was checking me out. As it was, he was definitely studying me. Studying my face, my body. And I suddenly realized I was only in jeans and a bra – a black bra at that. I knew perfectly well that there weren't a lot of girls at this school who looked as good in a bra as I did. Even a guy like Dimitri, one who seemed so focused on duty and training and all of that, had to appreciate that. And, finally, I noticed that a hot flush was spreading over me, and that the look in his eyes was doing more to me than Jesse's kisses had. Dimitri was quiet and distant sometimes, but he also had a dedication and an intensity that I'd never seen in any other person. I wondered how that kind of power and strength translated into? ­well, sex. I wondered what it'd be like for him to touch me and – shit! What was I thinking? Was I out of my mind? Embarrassed, I covered my feelings with attitude. â€Å"You see something you like?† I asked. â€Å"Get dressed.† The set of his mouth hardened, and whatever he'd just felt was gone. That fierceness sobered me up and made me forget about my own troubling reaction. I immediately pulled my shirt back on, uneasy at seeing his badass side. â€Å"How'd you find me? You following me to make sure I don't run away?† â€Å"Be quiet,† he snapped, leaning down so that we were at eye level. â€Å"A janitor saw you and reported it. Do you have any idea how stupid this was?† â€Å"I know, I know, the whole probation thing, right?† â€Å"Not just that. I'm talking about the stupidity of getting in that kind of situation in the first place.† â€Å"I get in that kind of situation all the time, Comrade. It's not a big deal.† Anger replaced my fear. I didn't like being treated like a child. â€Å"Stop calling me that. You don't know even know what you're talking about.† â€Å"Sure I do. I had to do a report on Russia and the R.S.S.R. last year.† â€Å"U.S.S.R. And it is a big deal for a Moroi to be with a dhampir girl. They like to brag.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"So?† he looked disgusted. â€Å"So don't you have any respect? Think about Lissa. You make yourself look cheap. You live up to what a lot of people already think about dhampir girls, and it reflects back on her. And me.† â€Å"Oh, I see. Is that what this is about? Am I hurting your big, bad male pride? Are you afraid I'll ruin your reputation?† â€Å"My reputation is already made, Rose. I set my standards and lived up to them long ago. What you do with yours remains to be seen.† His voice hardened again. â€Å"Now get back to your room – if you can manage it without throwing yourself at someone else.† â€Å"Is that your subtle way of calling me a slut?† â€Å"I hear the stories you guys tell. I've heard stories about you.† Ouch. I wanted to yell back that it was none of his business what I did with my body, but something about the anger and disappointment on his face made me falter. I didn't know what it was. â€Å"Disappointing† someone like Kirova was a non-event, but Dimitri ­I remembered how proud I'd felt when he praised me the last few times in our practices. Seeing that disappear from him? ­well, it suddenly made me feel as cheap as he'd implied I was. Something broke inside of me. Blinking back tears, I said, â€Å"Why is it wrong to? ­I don't know, have fun? I'm seventeen, you know. I should be able to enjoy it.† â€Å"You're seventeen, and in less than a year, someone's life and death will be in your hands.† His voice still sounded firm, but there was a gentleness there too. â€Å"If you were human or Moroi, you could have fun. You could do things other girls could.† â€Å"But you're saying I can't.† He glanced away, and his dark eyes went unfocused. He was thinking about something far away from here. â€Å"When I was seventeen, I met Ivan Zeklos. We weren't like you and Lissa, but we became friends, and he requested me as his guardian when I graduated. I was the top student in my school. I paid attention to everything in my classes, but in the end, it wasn't enough. That's how it is in this life. One slip, one distraction? ­Ã¢â‚¬  He sighed. â€Å"And it's too late.† A lump formed in my throat as I thought about one slip or one distraction costing Lissa her life. â€Å"Jesse's a Zeklos,† I said, suddenly realizing Dimitri had just thrown around a relative of his former friend and charge. â€Å"I know.† â€Å"Does it bother you? Does he remind you of Ivan?† â€Å"It doesn't matter how I feel. It doesn't matter how any of us feel.† â€Å"But it does bother you.† It suddenly became very obvious to me. I could read his pain, though he clearly worked hard to hide it. â€Å"You hurt. Every day. Don't you? You miss him.† Dimitri looked surprised, like he didn't want me to know that, like I'd uncovered some secret part of him. I'd been thinking he was some aloof, antisocial tough guy, but maybe he kept himself apart from other people so he wouldn't get hurt if he lost them. Ivan's death had clearly left a permanent mark. I wondered if Dimitri was lonely. The surprised look vanished, and his standard serious one returned. â€Å"It doesn't matter how I feel. They come first. Protecting them.† I thought about Lissa again. â€Å"Yeah. They do.† A long silence fell before he spoke again. â€Å"You told me you want to fight, to really fight. Is that still true?† â€Å"Yes. Absolutely.† â€Å"Rose? ­I can teach you, but I have to believe you're dedicated. Really dedicated. I can't have you distracted by things like this.† He gestured around the lounge. â€Å"Can I trust you?† Again, I felt like crying under that gaze, under the seriousness of what he asked. I didn't get how he could have such a powerful effect on me. I'd never cared so much about what one person thought. â€Å"Yes. I promise.† â€Å"All right. I'll teach you, but I need you strong. I know you hate the running, but it really is necessary. You have no idea what Strigoi are like. The school tries to prepare you, but until you've seen how strong they are and how fast? ­well, you can't even imagine. So I can't stop the running and the conditioning. If you want to learn more about fighting, we need to add more trainings. It'll take up more of your time. You won't have much left for your homework or anything else. You'll be tired. A lot.† I thought about it, about him, and about Lissa. â€Å"It doesn't matter. If you tell me to do it, I'll do it.† He studied me hard, like he was still trying to decide if he could believe me. Finally satisfied, he gave me a sharp nod. â€Å"We'll start tomorrow.†

Evaluation Of Short Term Pricing Decisions - 971 Words

When an organization makes long-term planning decisions, they will typically plan for increases in sales or increases in market share. This means that production volume and capacity would be directly affected by these sales or market share increases. Since fixed costs will only remain fixed for a relatively short period of time, an organization may consider using differential fixed costs in an attempt to account for these expected changes in fixed costs. 2. How is the evaluation of short-term pricing decisions different from the evaluation of long-term decisions? Short-term pricing decisions differ from long-term pricing decisions because short run decisions are typically for smaller, special order production runs that last six months or less. Because these runs will not exceed six months, both fixed and variable costs can be accurately predicted and it is unlikely that there would be significant changes in fixed or variable costs. 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