Patriarchy In The 19th Century

Women in the nineteenth century lived in a time characterized by gender inequality. At the beginning of the century, women could not vote, could not be sued, were extremely limited over personal property after marriage, and were expected to remain obedient to their husbands and fathers.( women’s suffrage movement 1) In most situations, the men would have to go to work and bring home the money, and the women would have no choice but to stay home, clean the

When a man came into power, it was because of his merits and hard work. When a women came into power, it was pure luck or because of a man. Patriarchy was a societal issue in the early nineteenth century and is still prevalent today in the twenty-first century with men holding the authority over women on average in life. Patriarchy is defined as a society arranged to make sure that final social and political power disproportionately rests with males. Given the traditional gender roles set in America’s early nineteenth century patriarchy, both men and women's attitudes towards sexuality were thoroughly twisted and used to oppress women while valuing men, and slavery magnified the patriarchy’s worst aspects like sexual violence.

For the longest time, women’s role in society was very narrow and set in stone. Women weren’t given the chance to decide life for their own, and there was a very sharp distinction of gender roles. Women were viewed as inferior, weak, and dependant. They were expected to be responsible for the family and maintainance of the house. But as the 19th century began, so did a drastic change in society. Women started voicing their opinions and seeking change. Trying to break away from this ideology called “cult of domesticity” was a lengthy, burdensome, and demanding struggle.

As the century immediately following the American Revolution, the 19th century experienced a rise in feminism as it harbored the first feminist movement in America. Although some women chose to embrace their “roots” by retaining their domestic sphere of influence, many women began to show discontent with the limited number of rights women held. Soon enough, the fight for women’s rights resulted in women gaining more prominence in society.

with this hackneyed life, others struggled to free themselves from it. Many not only fought for rights but against injustices their sex had sustained in previous centuries (Gay 172). The end of the nineteenth century saw an increased activism by women, who argued against their dominated position and for fundamental changes in laws (Gay 177). While there did exist some men who supported women and believed their deprivation of many rights was unjust, many more were disheartened with the advancing woman. Because men had come to relax in their domineering role, they became uncomfortable, if not fearful, when women showed their independence. This led to a bourgeois culture which can be summed up in a single word: uncertainty (Gay 48, 171). Changes were occurring

Society has long since considered women the lessor gender and one of the most highly debated topics in society through the years has been that of women’s equality. The debates began over the meaning between a man and woman’s morality and a woman’s rights and obligations in society. After the 19th Amendment was sanctioned around 1920, the ball started rolling on women’s suffrage. Modern times have brought about the union of these causes, but due to the differences between the genetic makeup and socio demographics, the battle over women’s equality issue still continues to exist. While men have always held the covenant role of the dominant sex, it was only since the end of the 19th century that the movement for women’s equality and the

During the early 1900’s women were completely “disenfranchised and expected to defer to their husbands and fathers” for advice and guidance and were essentially not allowed to think for themselves (A Woman’s World). Over the next ten years women started to fight for equal rights. They gained speed with the Universities and intellectuals but were still overall hindered by the “arrogant man” (A Woman’s World). However

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:

The 19th century in the American West encompassed a time of expansionist ideals, both in territories and public conceptions. Various factions that had hereto been silenced experienced heightened opportunities in this venture out west. Notably, among these groups that gained freedoms were women, specifically those of the Caucasian ethnicity. As pioneers moved west, the idea of women’s domesticity begun to diminish by virtue of laxed social regulations coupled with the substitution of the brick and mortar home with the covered wagon. This withdrawal from the stringent systems enforced by the patriarchy of the day would allow the women’s development both within and without the spheres previously barred from their reach.

In the mid to late nineteenth century, America was full of potential. Settlers were cultivating the west, blacks that were once captive were no longer enslaved, and a woman’s role in society was undergoing a transformation. The reality of this all was, blacks were not considered equal status with whites, American Indians were being pushed out west and women were still considered second-class citizens.

At the end of the 18th century and during the 19th century, there were many changes to public ideology that affected the way that women perceived their roles in society. Prior to these changes, women had adopted the beliefs of separate “spheres” separating work into public life and their duties as mothers at home1. Women stayed at home to take care of the children and provide a warm, welcoming home for their husbands to take refuge from public life. Women became aware of their lack of legal and political power after the American Revolutionary War ended as they were denied the right to the same freedoms that granted the right to vote to the white, property-owning male population2. Despite granting women more liberty to run businesses, farms,

Gender roles were sharply defined in the 19th century. Women were expected to stay at home and carry out the domestic duties as well as taking care of the children and educate them and provide a peaceful home for their husband. Women were seen as loving and caring. On the other hand, men were expected to work and earn money for the family. They would fight wars and were seen as strong and powerful. Men had more freedom and rights, such as the right to vote, than women in the 19th century. Society had created two completely separate spheres. In the medical field, men were doctors. There were laws in many states, such as, that prohibited women from becoming doctors. Women, who decided to practice medicine in the 19th century had to struggle with much opposition because it went against prevailing ideas about women’s role in society. Women belonged in the private and domestic sphere. Men belonged to competitive and immoral public sphere of industry and commerce. The women in medicine would face accusations that they were abandoning their sphere and threatening society. Due to these arguments and the fear of economic competition from female practitioner, male medical schools and hospitals denied women access to institutions. However, Elizabeth Blackwell, changed this idea of separate spheres when she decided to take on the medical field and become a doctor. Although Elizabeth Black had a natural aversion to the medical field, her

As human beings in society people are pressured by the community to conform to different stereotypes. In the modern era people are still pushed to act a certain way based on gender. As a woman in the nineteenth century it was almost impossible to have a job or have a voice without being persecuted by your community. The author takes her experiences with stereotyping, social conventions and the consequences of defying them and argues how these unwritten rules of society have made people do senseless things to avoid the consequences and backlash by the community.

A lady's wealth passed directly down from her father to her husband, under whose power she remained until she died or was widowed. The poorer classes still have to do that; women were so essential to the family welfare that they could assert their authority from time to time, but patriarchy was the climate of the society in which they lived and the circumstances of that it prevented them from asserting themselves successfully or for very long. Rings were exchanged amongst the wealthy, however among peasants, often the groom would break a coin in half, keeping one side for himself and giving the other to his bride.When the wives and daughters of farm labourers were not working in the fields they were giving birth to children or recovering in rough conditions from the effects

During the 19th century, women were controlled by a male dominated society. The women were in pure agony knowing that there was no faith for them to have a crucial change in civilization. This could often lead to “clinical depression” in which a human could feel lonely, empty, confounded and miserable. In this time period, women’s role in society was to be simply mothers and wives. A world where women had rights, control, and power was a fantasy. According to Hall, he states, “Key to all feminist methodologies is the belief that patriarchal oppression of women through history has been profound and multifaceted” (Hall 202). In other words, it is known that the male takes complete cruel supremacy over the years in our history. In The