“A Man Can Stand Anything Once He Gets Used To It!” - OH! WELL! YOU KNOW HOW WOMEN ARE!

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Miles

A satirical, conversational discussion of everyday social behavior, built around the idea that men and women respond differently in public situations. The text opens by presenting the author’s wry premise, then shifts into a scene of a woman shopping, defining her actions as social performance rather than purchasing. It describes how her meeting with an acquaintance turns into a rigid, conspicuous pause, blocking others and escalating awkward attention from passersby.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages74

Reading Time1 h 54 min

AccessFree to download

“OH,WELL,YOU KNOWHOW WOMEN ARE!”

Shopping as Social Performance

Doorway Encounters and Public Blocking

# “A Man Can Stand Anything Once He Gets Used To It!”OH!WELL!YOU KNOWHOW WOMENARE!IRVIN S.COBB By the author of“Those Times and These,“Speaking of Operations,”ete.,ete. OH!WELL!YOU KNOWHOWWOMENARE! [R VIN S.CO B B WHEN America's most genialphilosopher discusses theladies,God bless 'em—"andcurb 'em,"adds Cobb fer-vently,he tells Everythingthat Everyman has beenthinking every day since thetime of Adam. If you are a man you will saywhen you read this,"He'shit the nail on the head."But when a woman readsthis double-back-action ac-count of herself she will say,"Isn't it just like a man towrite that! But then Cobb never expected toconvince women.He knowstheir conclusions have noth-ing to do with reasonableevidence.It is the provinceof the male to see the truthdispassionately.At any ratehere it is—the real goods,name-blown-in-the-bottle,none-genuine-without-this-signature brand.Believe itor not,it is great fun while itlasts. GEORGE H.DORAN COMPANYPublishersNew York 20. 一 1O https://archive.org/details/ohwellyouknowhow0000unse IRVIN S.COBB # “OH,WELL,YOU KNOWHOW WOMEN ARE!” BY IRVIN S.COBB AUTHOR OF"THE LIFE OF THE PARTY,""BACK HOME,""OLD JUDGE PRIEST,"ETC. NEWYORKGEORGE H.DORAN COMPANY COPYRIGHT,I920,BY GEORGE H.DORAN COMPANY COPYRIGHT,I919,BY THE CROWELL PUBLISHING COMPANY ——— “OH,WELL,YOU KNOWHOW WOMEN ARE!” SHwemam,ad te shop fros wich she in gnis any shop in any town.She has been shopping.This does not imply that she has been buying any-thing or that she has contemplated buying any-thing,but merely that she has been shopping—avery different pursuit from buying.Buying im-plies business for the shop;shopping merely im-plies business for the clerks. As stated,she emerges.In the doorway sheruns into a woman of her acquaintance.If shelikes the other woman she is cordial.But if shedoes not like her she is very,very cordial.Awoman's aversion for another woman moving inthe same social stratum in which she herself movesmay readily be appraised.Invariably it is ininverse ratio to the apparent affection she displaysupon encountering the object of her disfavor.Why should this be?I cannot answer.It isnot given for us to know. [7] Very well,then,she meets the other woman atthe door.They stop for conversation.Two menmeeting under the same condition would me-chanically draw away a few paces,out of theroute of persons passing in or out of the shop.No particular play of the mental processes wouldactuate them in so doing;an instinctive impulse,operating mechanically and subconsciously,wouldimpel them to remove themselves from the mainpath of foot travel.But this woman and heracquaintance take root right there.Persons dodgeround them and glare at them.Other personsbump into them,and are glared at by the twotraffic blockers.Where they stand they make aknot of confusion. But does it occur to either of them to suggestthat they might step aside,five feet or ten,andsave themselves,and the pedestrian classes gen-erally,a deal of delay and considerable annoy-ance?It does not.It never will.If the meet-ing took place in a narrow passageway or on apopulous staircase or at the edge of the orbit ofa set of swinging doors or on a fire escape landingupon the front of a burning building,while onewas going up to aid in the rescue and the otherwas coming down to be saved—if it took placejust outside the Pearly Gates on the Last Dax

FAQs

What central idea does the text present about men and women?

It frames gendered differences in how men and women think about social situations, portraying men as detached and women as reacting through motives beyond evidence.

How does the author describe a woman’s shopping behavior?

Shopping is depicted as an activity of being out and around—running into people and social positioning—rather than buying goods or planning purchases.

What happens when two women stop to talk near a shop doorway?

They linger in place and create confusion, becoming traffic blockers who attract stares, while other people repeatedly have to dodge around them.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Miles