Breaking Tradition By Kathleen Ernest And A Family Affair

David Farber’s in his book The Age of Great Dreams, the realm of women in America was restricted every aspect, from domestic life to the workplace. Women were anticipated to tail one path (Farber 62). That was, to get married in her 20s, have a family rapidly, and commit her life to domestic chores. As one woman at the time pointed out, women did not really anticipate much from life. That was because she was there as a keeper to both her husband and her children. Therefore, spouses held full responsibilities of child care and housekeeping thus, spending up to 50 hours a week on home errands. They were legitimately subjects to their spouses thru head and ace edicts, and lawful they were not entitled to any of their husbands ' finances or property, beside a constrained ideal to appropriate support. Husbands, on the contrary, were allowed to keep an eye on their wives’ income and property. If in any case the marriage failed, a break up was hard to acquire, as no fault separation was impossible, hence, coercing women to demonstrate wrongdoing with respect to their partners in order to get a divorce.

Historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich provides a glimpse of America post Revolutionary war through her critically acclaimed book, A Midwife’s Tale, which is the interpretation of Martha Ballard’s seemingly humble diary—a record of her life as a midwife, mother, wife, and caregiver from 1785 through 1812. The book features Ballard’s account of her average day’s activities, which, in turn, serves to represent the tasks of women in her society; however, Ulrich cross-references the diary with documents such as court transcripts, land records, maps, and other diaries in order to piece together a more detailed account than one gathered solely from Ballard’s words. While popular belief envisions women in this timeframe as being constrained to the home and a litter of children, it is Ballard’s diary that reveals that women played a major role in other aspects of society, including the market economy, medicine and childbirth, versus just being mothers and homemakers.

Men did not consider women as their equals; therefore, they did not have the power to vote or speak in any public political event. If women were to attend a political event, they were to be escorted by their husbands and they were not allowed to speak what they thought. “Men did not approve of women addressing a public gathering, even when she had little choice”

Kathleen Ernst, The author of “Breaking Tradition” gives many reasons and explanations on why women wanted to be apart of something other than house chores. Gina DeAngelis and Lisa Ballinger, The author’s of “A Family Affair” Doesn’t give any reasons why women wanted to be apart of the war, just how they were subconsciously used for backup purposes.Both text are very exciting to read, telling the stories on how women played a part in the devastating WWII.

Towards the end of the 1800s and into the beginning of the 1900s, the roles of women in society and in the family began to change drastically compared to what it had been in the past. Women were now allowed to own land, vote, and do more than cook and clean. Willa Cather and William Faulkner portray the roles of women in the early 1900s in their short stories, “Neighbor Rosicky” and “A Rose for Emily.” These short stories were both published around the year 1930. Because of what was happening in the US at the time, these stories are very good examples of the ways women were treated at this time.

The Declaration of Sentiments includes a reference to married women as “civilly dead” according to the laws of the time. First, the document states that men take from their wives “all right in property, even to the wage she earns.” Next, a husband is referred to as a “master-the law giving him power to deprive her of her liberty.” These depictions of men help illustrate the idea that women were denied almost all forms of independence, both

When the war started, women had to take over the jobs of men and they learned to be independent. These women exemplified the beginning of change. Coupled with enfranchisement and the increased popularity of birth control, women experienced a new

During the early 1800's women were stuck in the Cult of Domesticity. Women had been issued roles as the moral keepers for societies as well as the nonworking house-wives for families. Also, women were considered unequal to their male companions legally and socially. However, women’s efforts during the 1800’s were effective in challenging traditional intellectual, social, economical, and political attitudes about a women’s place in society.

This novel allows us to change our perspective, seeing women in a new light, knowing not only were women solely supplying those who were in the war with clothes, money, food, and medical supplies or simply just awaiting upon their husbands, brothers and or sons return from fighting the war as we had originally presumed were the only roles women had done during the Civil War. Some were so passionate that they put their lives at risk and dressed up as men to fight for their cause, whether it had been for the Confederacy or for the union. Others were spies, gathering information about enemy plans, details about the size of their troops or barricades they might have had. Multiple women used their beauty to their advantage, knowing that men were less intimidated by them and could easily trust them and let their guard down. No one believed women were capable of acts such as these and didn’t expect them to play such a dangerous role in the Civil war they had so often gone undetected in the early stages of the war.

Social norms in America during the early 18th and 19th centuries seemed simple enough, the Women were seen and not heard. They were mothers, perhaps works, but most importantly of all they were wives. A women’s financial stability depended on her marriage, and her own partnership she was a prisoner. Impossible though it may seem, men also received negative effects due to what society demanded of them. If women were to be silent and submissive spouses, men had to be a super solider ready to fight in World War 1.

When looking at the shift occurring with gender roles in this postwar period, the simplified answer to why these advancements were happening is because of the impact of the war on society but Roberts goes in depth about the issues that were brought out in society because of the war. Jacques Boulenger said, “The femme moderne is above all a creation of the war.” The femme moderne is a prevailing image of women after the war and they are described as “scandalous in her dress and

Women were to adhere to all the set norms in the society without questioning this, therefore, restricted their lives to a very private and domestic sphere as they were expected to be submissive to men, in general, starting from their fathers, brothers, and husbands (Bevington,

Moreover, women received pressures from the law and from society: “The idea that women ought to be subordinate to her husband was not only a matter of social expectation; it was also

In the 19th Century, married women and widows were granted different freedoms based on their status. During this time period there was a strong male influence, that gave all the power to men in the household. The life of a married woman was very restrictive. A married woman would have to consult with her husband first before making a decision. Married women couldn’t own their own land, and had to rely on their husbands to handle all financial obligations. In this

When it comes to legal means of perpetuating the subjection of women, Mill looks to the role of family, and marital contracts. Mill argues that the history of marriage has mostly been forced upon women, and was contract to improve the means of the father. “the wife is the actual bond-servant of her husband: no less so, as far as legal obligation goes, than slaves commonly so called. She vows a lifelong obedience to him at the altar, and is held to it all through her life by law.”(Pg. 394). Inequality is prevalent within the contracts, and social life of marriage. Women are obligated to be obedient to their husbands, and cannot own property for themselves. “The family is a school of despotism, in which the virtues of despotism, but also its vices, are largely nourished.”(Pg. 395). It is through familial life that gender inequality can be perpetuated. Parents teach children their roles in life, and if they are female then the child often grows up learning to be obedient to men.