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Women's Rights In The 1800s

Decent Essays

During the time frame of The Awakening women were expected to bend to the will of their husbands or those around them. This is shown by, “[…] was designed to inculcate modesty and submissiveness” (Walker 4). This quote shows that in the 1800s women were supposed to appear weak and unable to do anything for themselves. Women did not have any rights at this time either. They were to learn how to be a proper lady and stay true to that behavior. Going against this expectation would be seen as going against society during these times. Women did not have any rights in the 1800s, but there were some women who tried to fight for these rights. “[…] New York Ledger columnist Fanny Fern (pseudonym of Sara Willis Parton) argued for political, economic, …show more content…

Walker displays this idea by, “[…] marriage and motherhood were the only futures anyone envisioned for the young women […]” (Walker 4). This quote explains how women were expected to be a mother and wife. Society did not encourage women to do anything else, but these things. This made women settle in to the mind frame that they were only allowed to stay at home to take care of the children, and the house. Once a woman got married in the 1800s, her main focus would be on her husband and the children (once she had them). Moody explains this through, “When a woman marries she assumes two new sets of relations-those of sentiment, through which she becomes the loving, faithful companion of one man and the mother of his children, […] (Moody 153). This quote explains how women gain new experiences by being married. These sets of experiences relate to being a good wife to her husband and having children. Women are able to actually see what being a wife is actually like after they are married. Before marriage women were taught how to be a good wife and how to take care of their household as well. This quote emphasized that women were supposed to be faithful to their husband and that they should take good care of him. This shows how women’s sole purpose after getting married was to take care of their husband and kids. They were not supposed to do anything that would take too much of their

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