Comparison to Woman's Suffrage and the poem Woman's Work

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Recommended: Changes in gender roles in society

Prior to 1920, women were very limited to what they could and couldn’t do. They were restricted to being in the image of the appropriate portrayal of house care. The poem Woman’s Work by Julia Alvarez can be compared to the world event of women’s suffrage. Although the poem can be compared to women’s suffrage, it can also be contrasted to it in many ways. Women’s Suffrage began before 1776 and ended on August 26th, 1920. It was in 1776 that Abigail Adams wrote to John (Husband) asking him to “Remember the Ladies,” while he was in Philadelphia writing the Declaration of Independence. Instead, John wrote “all men are created equal,” in the Declaration of Independence. From 1820-1880 was the phenomenon called “The Cult of Domesticity.” It was named this because a lot of printed sources were published during this time period. The publications were very stereotypical notions about the roles of women and men in society. In 1821 the first endowed, to equip or supply with talent or quality, school for girls. Emma Hart Willard founded it in New York. The school was called Troy Female Seminary. The very first coeducational college in the United States was Oberlin College, in 1833. Sarah Grimké became a women’s rights advocate, to speak, plead, or argue in favor of, and an abolitionist in 1836. Two major events occurred in 1837 dealing with women’s suffrage. The first major event was the very first National Female Anti-Slavery Society convention. The convention was held in New York City and 81 delegates from 12 different states attended. The second major event in 1837 was the founding of Mount Holyoke College. It was founded by Mary Lyon’s and it was founded in Massachusetts. Mount Holyoke College was the first four-year college only for w... ... middle of paper ... ...e basically revolved around the house. They could cook, take care of the children, and clean. These were their main jobs. Some women were fortunate enough to go to school and become a teacher, but others stayed at home. A difference between Suffrage and the poem was that not all the jobs had to deal with staying at home. Some women, like said before, were teachers. Suffrage was actually an idea based off of religion and education. People did not believe that women were capable of doing anything else other than staying at home and taking care of the families, so that is why the women had jobs like they did. Although there are many similarities and differences to Suffrage and the poem, they can be expressed in many different ways. The poem accurately described the main events happening during Suffrage. Works Cited http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/naw/nawstime.html

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