Sarah Hepola

For poor women who have been
tempted to sin by rum, 1878 version

This just cracks me up.

“Men can reform. Society welcomes them back to the path of virtue; a vail is cast over their conduct, and their vows of amendments are accepted, and their promises to reform are hailed with great delight. But, Alas! For poor women who have been tempted to sin by rum. For them there are not calls to come home, no sheltering arm; no acceptance of confessions and promises to amend. We may call them the hopeless class. The drunken man can throw down the filthy cup and reform; he can take his place again in society, and be welcomed back. But for poor woman, after she once becomes debased by this fiery liquid, there seems to be no space for repentance; for her there is no hope and no prayer. How seldom we attempt to reach and rescue her! For her there is no refuge.”

Eleven Years a Drunkard, or the Life of Thomas Doner: Having Lost Both His Arms to Intemperance, He Wrote This Book With His Teeth, as a Warning to Others … (1878) 

For an alternate perspective on female alcoholism, click here.