Girl talk
Sir: Your correspondent, Jane Langley, (Letters, 8 October) took my words out of context from a second-hand source in describing me as 'extreme'. In my speech at Guildford High School for Girls' prize-giv- ing I congratulated the girls on their out- standing academic achievements, encour- aged them to take up higher education and to use their qualifications before and dur- ing marriage, I explained that the regret- tably high incidence of divorce, widowhood and unemployment mean that no woman can rely on a man to keep her, and she should be prepared and willing to earn her own living at all times. I also noted the reluctance of husbands to support the chil- dren left behind after a divorce despite the best efforts of the Child Support Agency to recover the costs from them. In this finan- cial context, growing up to rely on a man is a luxury, not a necessity.
R. L. Deech
St Anne's College, Oxford
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