The Woman Question By Thomas Haggard She

As a woman in her society, Lily’s choices for marriage are limited as she claims, “Ah, there’s the difference- a girl must, a man may if he chooses” (Wharton). This illustrates the stark contrast between the standards set in society for men and women. A man “may if he chooses,” meaning that if a man chooses not to marry, his reputation does not suffer. If a girl does not marry, the implication is that she is an unsuitable partner and is unfit for society. Marriage in 19th century society is a rite of passage to becoming the ideal woman and without marital status, reputation suffers.

Through Women’s Eyes by Ellen Carol DuBois and Lynn Dumenil addresses American History from 1865 until present day. The third edition of this textbook includes visual and primary sources over several centuries. I used this textbook in a history course, “Women in the United States, 1890 – Present;” I found the textbook to be engaging, helpful, and useful throughout the course. The way in which in the information was presented allowed me to learn, assess, and analyze the difficulties women faced.

Katha Pollitt's essay, Marooned on Gilligan’s Island: Are Women Morally Superior to Men, is an essay that explains why people in a society act the way they do, specifically regarding why women are labeled the way that they are. Ms. Pollitt argues how gender difference is a big problem in our society that a lot of people, including women overlook. Through her refutation of many different authors arguments, she begins to build her thesis as well as discuss how important this topic is in society and how it effects the lives of people. Pollitt explicitly points out throughout her essay, that difference feminists are arguing that women’s only job in society is one that conforms to a man. Pollitt disagrees with this statement. Pollitt argues

Many people believe that marriage is important in this day and age, but it holds little significance compared to the importance of marriage in the Victorian era. In the Victorian era women were to get married to a man of the same or a better social status, be good wives, and be a mother to her husband's children. Very few marriages started with love, but a woman's life is not complete without being married. Over time, the role of married women has evolved a great deal and they now have rights and privileges. John Stuart Mill was one of the great thinkers of the Victorian era, and his essay The Subjection of Women tells how few privileges women had and that they were slaves to their husbands. He also says that women are their own people and

In nineteenth century America, women were not given the same rights and freedoms as their spouses/ men. Women were expected to be submissive to their husbands though they did have some authority within the private sphere. The private sphere is comprised of the home and family. During this time, women were responsible for being a mother and wife; however, with the Second Great Awakening, women were being to have more freedoms and responsibilities. New roles allowed for mothers to teach their children religion in their homes and women took up an interest in attending religious revival meetings (Hewitt, Lawson 357). A fair number of women were enticed with the religious revival movement because it allowed women to leave their private sphere and participate in the public sphere. Women were given an opportunity to conjugate with each other and practice their beliefs that allowed them to slowly partake in the reform (Hewitt, Lawson 352). The religious revival meetings attracted thousands to attend, most of who were women, and “pray” in a group (Frances Trollope – Description of a Revival Meeting, 1832). In Document 11.7, Frances Trollope, English author,

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

The article, The Cult of Womanhood: 1820 - 1860 written by Barbara Welter discusses the philosophy towards women in America during the mid 19th century. A set of demands and expectations based upon four principles: piety, purity, submission and domesticity were placed on women as well as certain behavioral expectations left 19th century women feeling guilty. It also left women feeling this way during the industrialization period as well as having a huge presence of incompatibility with society. Welter shares her viewpoint that the Cult of Womanhood was an attempt to preserve pre modern values in the industrial age. Men held a dominant place in society and continued to prevent new opportunities for women to explore. Narrow minded

Purity was no less important than piety. Women were warned men would try to steal their purity, but they must be strong and resist the temptation. Thomas Branagan threatened women a horrible fate if they did not remain pure in the 1808 publication, The Excellency of the Female Character Vindicated, “You will be left in silent sadness to bewail your credulity, imbecility, duplicity, and premature prostitution” (Welter 103). Women of the Nineteenth Century were taught to believe the contradiction that purity before marriage brought happiness, until it was time to be married and all innocence is lost. Without proper preparation to deal with the moral dilemma women were expected to deal with this severe change in their lives without questions (Welter 104).

Over the course of many years, women have struggled to expand their roles and rights in society, hoping to one day achieve complete equality with their male counterparts. Two women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Judy (Syfers) Brady, both recognized the patriarchal society in which women had to endure. They despised the way it heaped inequality and servitude upon women, and decided to assert their opinion on the issue in order to change the perceptions and imposed limitations on women. In Stanton’s speech, “Declaration of Sentiments”, and in Brady’s article, “I Want a Wife”, both women attempt to convince their audiences that females deserve complete equality with men by stating the submissive situations and obligations women find themselves immersed in. This is done to get their female audiences to reevaluate how they have been treated and give them a second chance at attaining equality. Both women employ various rhetorical techniques in their arguments to strengthen, as well as compel other women to oppose the ‘domesticated’ image of women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Judy (Syfers) Brady expressed their views in pursuance of forging a path to a revamped lifestyle for women.

Thesis: A “true women” in the 19th Century was one who was domestic, religious, and chaste. These were virtues established by men but enforced and taught by other women. Women were also told that they were inferior to men and they should accept it and be grateful that someone just loved them.

Even the limited education women received still reinforced conventional feminine values, such as “chastity, silence, and obedience” (Gibson 10). These standards further subjugated English women, stripping them of their power and giving them the cultural expectation of subordination to men. These expectations were reinforced in all aspects of English society. Among these aspects, the denomination, the government, and the writings of England portrayed women as “humble, submissive, quiet, nurturing, sexually chaste, pious, and obedient to appropriate male authority” (Farrell et al. 136).

The idea of medieval peoples building on the sites of prehistoric remains in order to create a sense of continuity is not a new one. It has been suggested that prehistoric monuments may have been used in early medieval times as a political tool, incorporating them into newly built sites of power (Bradley 1987, 4-5). While the specific uses of these prehistoric monuments vary regionally, there appears to be an interest in creating associations with the past throughout early medieval Britain. In his influential work on monument reuse, Richard Bradley points to Yeavering as an example: a prehistoric site abandoned and then reused as a burial site in the post-Roman period. He argues that, during a time of “conflict

The Preacher’s Wife, is not just another erotica fiction book. The turmoil some couples face in life is real. The author Dejaan LaFleur, has written a book that has pulled the skeletons from the closet! A great read, the book is explicit, a book one should read that reaches deep inside of the soul, especially for those who have sexual doubts about themselves and or partner. No matter if a male or female these inner feelings and thoughts do happen. This book is a great read, and I hope the author writes a series of, ‘The Preacher’s Wife’, highly recommended!

This develops the idea that her future with this man as a married woman provided a stable lifestyle where she would not have to live by the rigid patterns of society, reinforcing a modern day feminist reader’s view of the expectations and restrictions placed on unmarried women during the Victorian era.

In the 19th century a woman's main duty was to take care of the household. They were in charge of the cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children. During this time, most women didn’t work, and weren’t supposed to spend their time on getting an education. Since women couldn't get educations, they had to be married because they weren’t able to support themselves. The women were in charge of the family and house, while the man was in charge of some duties in the house and making money to support them. In the