Maggie McGee
09 Dec. 2013
In the early nineteenth century, the ideology of “The Cult of Domesticity” was formed. According to Maggie McGee’s expert report on “The Cult of Domesticity,” this ideology was a set of conventions, “that defined the roles of women and their place in the social hierarchy.” Women were expect to uphold four major virtues; piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity. Under the cult of domesticity, women were expected to be the “moral guardians of the home and [within] society,” (McGee). The woman’s duty was to maintain piety and sexual purity, “submit to her husband,” and care for “household” and children (McGee).
Not only was the cult of domesticity a prominent ideology of the nineteenth century, but also the law of coverture. According to Clemens Wetcholowsky, in his expert report “Coverture,” coverture was a “law,” which “established” that once married women were “to form a single legal entity with [their] husband[s];” thus, causing them to lose all legal autonomy. Under coverture, the husband gained all control over the woman’s property and wealth. The...
May begins by exploring the origins of this "domestic containment" in the 30's and 40's. During the Depression, she argues, two different views of the family competed -- one with two breadwinners who shared tasks and the other with spouses whose roles were sharply differentiated. Yet, despite the many single women glamorized in popular culture of the 1930's, families ultimately came to choose the latter option. Why? For one, according to May, for all its affirmation of the emancipation of women, Hollywood fell short of pointing the way toward a restructured family that would incorporate independent women. (May p.42) Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday and Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, for example, are both forced to choose between independence and a happy domestic life - the two cannot be squared. For another, New Deal programs aimed to raise the male employment level, which often meant doing nothing for female employment. And, finally, as historian Ruth Milkman has also noted, the g...
In this essay, we will examine three documents to prove that they do indeed support the assertion that women’s social status in the United States during the antebellum period and beyond was as “domestic household slaves” to their husband and children. The documents we will be examining are: “From Antislavery to Women 's Rights” by Angelina Grimke in 1838, “A Fourierist Newspaper Criticizes the Nuclear Family” in 1844, and “Woman in the Nineteenth Century” by Margaret Fuller in 1845.
For over centuries, society had established the societal standard of the women. This societal standard pictured the ideal American woman running the household and taking care of the children while her husband provided for the family. However, between 1770 and 1860, this societal standard began to tear at the seams. Throughout this time period, women began to search for a new ideal of American womanhood by questioning and breaking the barriers society had placed upon them.
“The Pastoralization of Housework” by Jeanne Boydston is a publication that demonstrates women’s roles during the antebellum period. Women during this period began to embrace housework and believed their responsibilities were to maintain the home, and produce contented and healthy families. As things progressed, housework no longer held monetary value, and as a result, womanhood slowly shifted from worker to nurturer. The roles that women once held in the household were slowly diminishing as the economy became more industrialized. Despite the discomfort of men, when women realized they could find decent employment, still maintain their household and have extra income, women began exploring their option.
However, it introduces the nineteenth century idea of “the cult of domesticity”. Historian Barbara Welter wrote an article on the idea in 1966 that explains this early nineteenth century ideology that a woman 's role at home should focus on: piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity (Welter 151). The cult of domesticity roughly breaks down to it being a woman 's duty to be respectfully religious, sexually pure before marriage, accepting of male dominance over women, and the overpowering idea that domesticity will preserve a woman from her own wandering
Prior to the twentieth century, men assigned and defined women’s roles. Although all women were effected by men determining women’s behavior, largely middle class women suffered. Men perpetrated an ideological prison that subjected and silenced women. This ideology, called the Cult of True Womanhood, legitimized the victimization of women. The Cult of Domesticity and the Cult of Purity were the central tenets of the Cult of True Womanhood. Laboring under the seeming benevolence of the Cult of Domesticity, women were imprisoned in the home or private sphere, a servant tending to the needs of the family. Furthermore, the Cult of Purity obliged women to remain virtuous and pure even in marriage, with their comportment continuing to be one of modesty. Religious piety and submission were beliefs that were more peripheral components of the ideology, yet both were borne of and a part of the ideology of True Womanhood. These were the means that men used to insure the passivity and docility of women. Religion would pacify any desires that could cause a deviation from these set standards, while submission implied a vulnerability and dependence on the patriarchal head (Welter 373-377).
Women were confronted by many social obligation in the late nineteenth century. Women were living lives that reflected their social rank. They were expected to be economically dependent and legally inferior. No matter what class women were in, men were seen as the ones who go to work and make the money. That way, the women would have to be dependent since they were not able to go to work and make a good salary. No matter what class a woman was in, she could own property in her own name. When a woman became married she " lost control of any property she owned, inherited, or earned" ( Kagan et al. 569). A woman's legal identity was given to her husband.
Women still need to break away from the cult of domesticity. Women, although having made strides to be more independent, are still more or less dependent on men. Society still perceives women to be just housewives or mothers, women are subjected to the same ideas to that in Wollstonecraft’s era. Although women are given more freedoms, such as education, and employment, they are still not on the same standing as men. The role of women has undoubtedly evolved, however, this evolution does not put women in the same standing as men. Society still believes that women are still better off being housewives and mothers. According to Martha J. Cutter society believes that no matter what splendid talents a women might have “she could not use it better than by being a wife and mother” (384). The cult of domesticity still has a grasp on women; women are still bound by the home. Women are still seen as mere servants by society. Society condemns women to the home; it forces them to become dependent on men for their existence. Women must emancipate themselves from the home; they must break the chain that binds them to the cult of domesticity. Women must shatter society’s preconception of them and move towards building their own image. The cult of domesticity must be erased from society in order for women to become free from the home. Cutter asserts that women must
The Cult of Domesticity became the dominate outline for how women should be and act in society through this women were seen as the holders of morality and teachers of morality to their husband and children, a great leap from the views of the Salem Witch Trails which made women out to be sinful and puppets of the devil. The Cult of Domesticity was also revolutionary because it allowed women some say over their body when it came to sex and reproduction though women were expected to be submissive to their husbands they could limit how much sex they had and in turn limit the amount of children they had. With this it then meant that there were more expectations created for men as well. They were expected to participate as well making them less in control than they had previously been and while women would still not gain the right to vote until 1919 the Cult of Domesticity and similar ideas help to make that possible. Now in the 21st century while women may still face a few issues or societal norms most women have the ability to vote and full control over their bodies with the choice when, if it all, to do things like marry or have
A house is not a home if no one lives there. During the nineteenth century, the same could be said about a woman concerning her role within both society and marriage. The ideology of the Cult of Domesticity, especially prevalent during the late 1800’s, emphasized the notion that a woman’s role falls within the domestic sphere and that females must act in submission to males. One of the expected jobs of a woman included bearing children, despite the fact that new mothers frequently experienced post-partum depression. If a woman were sterile, her purposefulness diminished. While the Cult of Domesticity intended to create obliging and competent wives, women frequently reported feeling trapped or imprisoned within the home and within societal expectations put forward by husbands, fathers, and brothers.
Before the Women’s Rights Movement women were viewed less than men in every aspect. Pre- Civil War women were viewed as the source of life but viewed less than men intellectually . In the 19th century the ideal women was submissive, her job was to be an obedient, loving wife . There were two important thing that ruled the way that women were treated. One of these was the most important out of the two during this time period this was the Cult of Domesticity, which basically said that women were supposed to do all of the domestic work in a household 3.
Even though married women could not own property or anything of the sort, single women were able to own land, make a contract, initiate lawsuits, and pay taxes. Even with the privelages bestowed upon the...
The industrialization of the nineteenth century was a tremendous social change in which Britain initially took the lead on. This meant for the middle class a new opening for change which has been continuing on for generations. Sex and gender roles have become one of the main focuses for many people in this Victorian period. Sarah Stickney Ellis was a writer who argued that it was the religious duty of women to improve society. Ellis felt domestic duties were not the only duties women should be focusing on and thus wrote a book entitled “The Women of England.” The primary document of Sarah Stickney Ellis’s “The Women of England” examines how a change in attitude is greatly needed for the way women were perceived during the nineteenth century. Today women have the freedom to have an education, and make their own career choice. She discusses a range of topics to help her female readers to cultivate their “highest attributes” as pillars of family life#. While looking at Sarah Stickney Ellis as a writer and by also looking at women of the nineteenth century, we will be able to understand the duties of women throughout this century. Throughout this paper I will discuss the duties which Ellis refers to and why she wanted a great change.
The late nineteenth century was a critical time in reshaping the rights of women. Commonly this era is considered to be the beginning of what is know to western feminists as “first-wave feminism.” First-wave feminism predominately fought for legal rights such as suffrage, and property rights. A major hallmark of first-wave feminism is the concept of the “New Woman.” The phrase New Woman described educated, independent, career oriented women who stood in response to the idea of the “Cult of Domesticity,” that is the idea that women are meant to be domestic and submissive (Stevens 27).
Women are looked at as less than males, and males are to be far superior because society thought male to be the better gender. “A Doll's House,” by Henrik Isben describes the sacrificial role of nineteenth century women , men in society and in the household.