20 Marriage For Ursula Research Paper

After World War II, the nation was blooming. Everything was growing, people were going to college, and wealth grew. The idea of the perfect American life was developed, this included a husband that worked and a wife that stayed home and took care of the house and children. To look at how women are affected by this perfect life I am analyzing “Governor Adlai Stevenson Tells College Women about Their Place in Life, 1955” and “Good Housekeeping: Every Executive Needs a Perfect Wife, 1956”.

In an essay by Judy Brady titled “I Want a Wife”, Brady discusses the typical gender dynamics of her time period (the 1970s) and challenges them. She essentially says that women are treated like they are inferior to men and so she says that she wishes or wants someone to fulfill her duties for her just like she does for her husband. This essay shows the struggle to gain equality in this time period and also represents the thoughts that a woman in this time period might have. Not only is the meaning behind this essay significant, but the way in which Brady presents it is also significant and it amplifies and strengthens the argument. This is proven by textual evidence found in the essay itself.

Their stance may not have been as boisterous then as it is now, but they have always played an important role within the formation of todays’ society. The final attribute, studied within this chapter, supports this notion with the rise of female workers within America. Some of the most famous women social employees were: Jane Addams, Charlotte Gilman, Anna Cooper, Ida Wells-Barnett, Marianne Weber, and Beatrice Webb. Each of these women were still looked upon as inferior to men despite their contributions to society as a whole. These women believed sociology was developed from scholarly investigations that helped to attribute to the ideology of improving ones’ life through education and learning means. The women believed that this change would bring about both a sense of belong for women within cultural societies as well as modeling the community into a world in which everyone can coincide together. Their work would not be accounted for under the sociological realm of study… but it would be attributed to the greater sense of communal study as it is known

College was an exception rather than a rule for women in the 1870s, but John Addams approved of higher education for women, and Jane wanted to go. In 1877, seventeen years old, Jane boarded a train at Cedarville station, and set off for Rockford Seminary, a “female college” in Rockford, Illinois. Like the twenty-two other women in her freshman class, Addams felt singled out for special opportunity, and she was determined to make the most of it. A few years later, after organizing a chess club, a debating society, an amateur theatrical group and editing/writing for the Rockford Seminary Magazine, Jane graduated and returned home to Cedarville. Jane Addams intended to carry out her plan of attending the Women’s Medical College in the fall of 1881 largely because she had to her father she would. Jane soon realized that medical school was not for her as she found she was incapable of concentrating on her classes, an “utter failure” and “unable to work at the best of myself.” In February of 1882, she dropped out and entered a hospital, suffering from severe back pain as well as depression. That April, Jane underwent an operation to straighten her spine caused by an earlier childhood diagnosis, tuberculosis of the spine.

Before 1840 women were viewed as something that needed to be taken care of. They could not own property, fathers would not mention their daughters in their wills, women could not be treasurer of their own companies, it was the husband’s responsibility. Only seven vocations were available to them outside of the home in the late 1840’s; widows would receive no share of her husband’s property or his families, and if one did not marry or remarry she had to enter one of the few employments for her or be a charity case for her relatives. When factory jobs became available to women they were quickly taken because it gave women a way to be independent and not a burden to their loved ones, but earn and spend their own money however the wished. For once

Mary B. Mullett, an author who’s ideas were expressed in “The Biggest Thing That Lindbergh Has Done”, shows us that being a moral and modest man is much more honorable than being wealthy. (D-F) This idea would obviously cause tension with the wealthy, who thought that they were the “big cheese” simply because of their net worth. Not only was the common man looked at with more prestige than ever before, but the common woman gained much more power as well. A graph comparing the marriage and divorce rates between 1890 and 1930 shows clearly that during the 1920’s, marriage rates decreased and divorce rates increased. (D-G) From this graph we can infer that the reason behind this sudden drop in marriage is because woman had gained more independence, both politically and economically. The tension that women create during this era eventually prevails with the 19th amendment, which gives them the right to vote.

Dr. Stowe continued to break down important barriers for the next generation of women doctors and continued to try to make education more available for women. She put relentless pressure on the University of Toronto to reverse its policy. With luck, the first woman doctor to graduate from a Canadian medical school was actually her own daughter, Augusta in 1883! In the same year, at a public meeting of the Toronto Women's Suffrage Association, many ideas lead to the creation of the Ontario Medical College for Women. Attending an international conference of suffragettes in Washington, D.C an 1888 inspired her to “bring home” the information to revitalize the women’s educational and political rights movement in Canada. 4 The following year, she was also a co-founder of the Dominion Women's Enfranchisement Association. She became it’s first president and held the position until her death. The following year in 1889, the Women's Christian Temperance Union addressed the Ontario

It cannot be denied that men regulated every aspect of a woman’s life during that era. “There had been some suggestion from Leola that she might train as a nurse in the meanwhile, but it came to nothing because her parents thought the training would coarsen their darling- bedpans and urinals and washing naked men and all that sort of thing”(Davies p113). Leola’s willingness symbolizes the revival of feminist ideology during early 1920s. Unfortunately, this renewed consciousness was immediately suppressed by masculine push-back. In 1924, Leola held the wedding ceremony at St James’ Presbyterian Church and became the wife of Boy Staunton. Although others deemed that Leola was the most radiant bride and noblewoman in the world, nevertheless, no one knew about the oppression from her husband. According to Dunstan’s descriptions, Boy regularly educates his wife on basic upper-class etiquettes, quaint words, as well as her choice of clothing. In these situations, Boy dominates all aspects of Leola’s life due to his androcentrism, which reflects women’s position of inequality within male-female relationships. “She was prettier than ever, had acquired a sufficient command of cliché to be able to smartly about anything Boy’s friends were likely to know, and adored Boy, while fearing him a little.”(Davies p125). Female obedience is apparent as Leola strives to satisfy her husband's

An average, women during the 1960’s were held accountable for many responsibilities. Women led very different lives during this time period. Punctual, responsible, and reliable were just some of the many standards that were expected from society. At the age of twenty women were expected to be married; soon after they would become pregnant. Raising a family and devoting their lives to be the best housewives possible. Legally women made no earnings or any income for that matter. Child care and in vigorous chores were a part of their daily routine. Women had no say financially. Women had one duty, and that was to be a housewife. Men had all the control in marriages; after all they were the bread winners. Women were stuck in a vicious cycle of controlling and power hungry men. Comparing women from the 10960’s to the women in today’s generation is quite astonishing. The women’s rights movement fought for women to be free. Women no longer need to be chained to such degrading and depressing circumstances. Raising a family and having a husband is a beautiful goal most women dream of. However, we should also have the right to decide when we want to marry and to whom we believe is the right candidate. “Why I Want a Wife” written by Judy Brady raises a powerful message on women in the 1960’s. Judy touches upon the idea that women had constantly been expected to be in confined and submissive relationships. Brady perfectly depicts the

Women’s lives were shaped by the “Cult of true Womanhood” where the general belief of a “true” woman was based upon a variety of expectations from women in the 19th century. The criterion was that women should remain pious, pure, submissive and domestic. Women who were outspoken and who participated in public relations were unattractive to men. Women were part of the private sphere in which they took part in house duties and raising children. The status of women in society changed rapidly during the Progressive Era. Women sought job opportunities as clerical workers and others who were of good wealth took the opportunity to pursue a prominent

The positivity expressed by the female’s role during the American industrialization stimulated an eagerness for a cultivation pertaining to the responsibilities pertaining to the home front. The most alluring facet of life in the Merrimack River community of Lowell during this time was the opportunities allotted to female workers. Their abilities to express themselves was overshadowed by the guidance of a male domineered industrial atmosphere which demanded strenuous hours and unfit working conditions. As described in the document Factory Tracts. Factory Life As It Is, Number One, (Lowell, MA, 1845), “Slaves to a system of labor which requires them to toil from five until seven o’clock, with one hour only to attend to the wants of nature, allowed—slaves to the will and requirements of the “powers that be,” however they may infringe on the rights or conflict with the feelings of the operative—slaves to ignorance—and how can it be otherwise (Par.3).” The dubious hours and strenuous workload took its toll on the woman whom where entrenched in this lifestyle from which was in need of serious

In the early nineteenth century, women were expected to be, “‘angels in the house,’ loving, self-sacrificing, and chaste wives, mothers and daughters or they are… ultimately doomed” (King et al. 23). Women of this time were supposed to be domestic creatures and not tap so far into their intellectual abilities (King et al.). The role of women in the nineteenth century is described:

Surely, she craved to write—meaning to work here—endangered her husband’s position as an authority. He would not have control any longer toward the narrator—his wife. In the 19th century upper class and middle class women were not expected to earn their own living. Women rarely had careers and most professions refused entry to women. In the middle of the 19th century it was virtually impossible for women to become doctors, engineers, architects, accountants or bankers. After a long struggle the medical profession allowed women to become doctors. It was not until 1910 that women were allowed to become accountants and bankers. However, there were still no women diplomats, barristers or judges. Women were allowed to become teachers majority of women became teaches but this was also a low paying job.

Beneath the glamour of the Regency period, lied a society that relied heavily on its definite social hierarchy and the status of money. A woman from the Regency period had no other option but to find a husband, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortunate must be in want of a wife” (Austen 3). Women were often objectified and treated as a possession rather than a life partner. Moreover, marriage seemed like a business proposition rather than a matter of love and happiness. In order to do so, the couple must go through the process of a highly established society that had its rules and regulations. Class structure played an influential role during the Regency period, as it was rarely changeable and marriage matches often depended on it.

This study examines the social transformation of the women’s educational opportunities in the early nineteenth-century America. Although the revolution of women’s role in our society has deep roots, this ongoing movement was originated from two major pioneers: Mary Lyon and Catherine Beecher. Their effort in negotiating educational equality has made a considerable impact on the advancement of women’s rights in our society. To fight for what was right, these women chose education as their best weapon. The pursuit of independence began with these leaders challenging the society and rejecting the traditional beliefs embedded within. Mutually reinforcing, their work registered significant developments in the academic society.