Events in History at the Time of the Novel.docx
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Events in History at the Time of the Novel.docx
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EventsinHistoryattheTimeoftheNovel
EventsinHistoryattheTimeoftheNovel
Nineteenth-centurywomen.Formostfemalesinnineteenth-centuryAmerica,lifecenteredaroundthehome.Awoman'stimewaslargelyspentprovidingapleasantandcomfortableplaceinwhichherfamilycouldlive.Womenwhodidnotmanagetoachievethiscontenteddomesticitywerejudgedfailures.Theywerealsotoagreatextentblamedforwrongdoingsofotherhouseholdmembers.Forexample,ifamantooktoexcessivedrinkingorgamblingoutsidethehome,itwasoftenassumedtobehiswife'sfault.Peoplesupposedthatshehadnotprovidedforhimapeacefulhomewherehefeltcomfortablespendinghistime.
Thetaskofkeepingone'shomecleanandpleasantwastremendouslytime-consuminginnineteenth-centuryAmerica.Somefamilieswerewealthyenoughtohiredomesticservants,butmostwerenot.Evenwhenawomancouldaffordtohireoutsidehelp,astheMarchesdoinLittleWomen,therewassomuchtoaccomplishthatshewasstillkeptquitebusy.First,womenwereresponsibleforcookingthreesomewhatelaboratemealseveryday.Breakfastalonetypicallyconsistedoffreshbread,cookedpotatoes,cookedorrawfruit,andbeef,ham,orfish.Thesehadtobepreparedfromscratchwiththeexceptionofcuredmeats.Verylittlecouldbeboughtalreadyprepared,althoughsmokehousesandcellarscommonlyhousedthepreservedfruitsfromaharvestandthecuredmeats.Atthetime,moststoveswerefueledbycoalorwood,soawomanhadtodealwithmorethanjustthefoodinpreparingawarmmeal.
Inadditiontocooking,womenwerealsoresponsibleforcleaningthefurnitureandclothingofthehousehold.Oftenanentiredaywasdevotedtodoingafamily'slaundry,sinceclotheshadtobewashedbyhandandhungtodry.Alsodonebyhandwerethechoresofsewing,mending,andpressingtheclothes.
GirlssuchastheMarchsistersofLittleWomenwereexpectedtohelptheirmotherswithsuchhouseholdchoresuntiltheylearnedtoperformthesetasksthemselves.Thisdomesticapprenticeshippreparedthemforthetimewhentheywouldmarryandtendfamiliesoftheirown.InLittleWomen,Marmeetellsherdaughtersto"makethishomehappy,sothatyoumaybefitforhomesofyourown,iftheyareofferedtoyou"(Alcott,LittleWomen,p.95).Asidefromhomemakingskills,girlsweretaughtthetraitsthatwouldhelpthembecomesuitablecompanionsfortheirhusbandsandgoodinfluencesontheirchildren.Theyweresupposedtobepolite,kind,cheerful,selfless,andindustrious,andtoavoidthedisplayofdisagreeabletraitssuchasstubbornnessatalltimes.Generallyspeaking,womeninthe1800swereexpectedtoworkhardtomakethosearoundthemhealthierandhappierthantheywouldotherwisebe.
Womenandemployment.GiventhedomesticresponsibilitiesassignedtoAmericanwomeninthe1800s,itwasuncommonforanywomantopursueacareerseparatefromherdomesticduties.Atthesametime,financialhardshipmadeitnecessaryforhundredsofwomentofindwaysofsupplementingtheirmeagerfamilyincome.Poormarriedwomenusuallytriedtofindworkthattheycoulddoathome.Sewing,laundering,orironingforwealthierfamilies,forexample,allowedthemtotakecareoftheirownfamilieswhilesupplementingthehouseholdincome.
Unmarriedwomen,suchasMegandJoofLittleWomen,typicallylivedwiththeirmothers.Sincetheywerenotultimatelyinchargeofrunningthehousehold,theymighthavehadsometimetospendinsearchofemployment.Likemarriedwomen,however,themajorityofsinglewomentookjobsinwhichtheyreliedonthedomesticskillstheyhadbeendevelopingsincechildhood.Themostcommonfemaleoccupationsinvolvedtakingcareofothers-somewomenbecamegovernessesorteachersofchildren,forexample;otherstookjobsascompanionstotheelderly.
Womenwritersofthenineteenthcentury.Whiledomesticandcaretakingpositionswerethemostcommontypesofemployment,somewomenofthe1800sdidearnmoneyinsuchcreativepursuitsaswriting.LouisaMayAlcott,forexample,supportedherselfandeventuallyherparents,sisters,nephews,andniecesbywritingnovelsandarticlesformagazinesandnewspapers.
Inthe1800s,womenwhochosetobecomeauthorsfacedobstaclesthatmalewritersdidnotface.Oneproblemthatallfemaleauthorsfacedwasthatwomen'swritingwasgenerallyassumedtobeinferiortothatofmen.Thevigorous,forceful,"masculine"stylethatmanymenemployedwasrespected,andmenwerebelievedtobetheonlyonescapableoftrulygreatwriting.Womenwereexpectedtowriteinalesspowerful,more"feminine"waythatwasdelicate,warm,andmorallyuplifting.Awomanwascriticizedforbeingunfeminineifshedidnotwriteinthisstyle,eventhoughitwasdeemedinferiortomore"masculine"styles.Furthermore,thebestwriterssupposedlyhadawideknowledgeoftheworldandwerefamiliarwithavarietyofpeopleandplaces.Asonearticlewrittenin1864stated:
Tounderstandbylongexperiencethemeannessesoftheworld,tocomprehendthevariouswaysinwhichmenundergomoraldeclensionanddecay…ispartofthenecessaryqualificationforagreatwriter.Thewomenwhoattaintoitmustattaintoitbyundergoingadefeminizingprocess;afterwhichtheygainmuchstrengthandbreadthofviewatthesacrificeofthatnamelessbeautyofinnocencewhichisbynaturethegloryofthewoman."
(TheLivingAge,pp.609-10)
Properwomenwerenotexpectedtobefamiliarwithmuchoftheworldoutsidetheirownhomes.Thosewhowereknowledgeableabouttheworldwerejudgedasimproperandoverlymasculineiftheyshowedthisworldlinessintheirwriting.Whilesuchsocietalviewsmadeitdifficultforwomentobetakenseriouslyasauthorsinthe1800s,LouisaMayAlcottnumberedamongthefewwhoneverthelessbecamesuccessfulauthors.
Nineteenth-centuryfeminism.Whilewomen'srolesaswivesandmothersgavethemanimportantplaceintheeyesofnineteenth-centuryAmericansociety,menwerethoughttoholdanaturallysuperiorplace.Theythereforeenjoyedahostofprivilegesthatweredeniedtowomen,suchasaccesstohighereducationandtherighttovote.
Intheearly1800s,however,anincreasingnumberofAmericanwomenchallengedtheirinferiorsocialandpoliticalstatus.Manyofthefirstfeministswerethoseinvolvedintheabolitionistmovementtoendslavery.Asthatstruggleunfolded,theseactivistscametorealizethatwhilealargenumberofwomenweremembersofthemovement,onlymenheldleadershippositionsandmadetheimportantdecisions.Theyalsocouldidentifytosomeextentwiththefeelingsoftheslavesforwhosefreedomtheywerefighting.Women,likeslaves,weresubjugatedtotheruleofothers-namely,themenintheirliveswhoinsistedthewomenobeydecisionsmadeforthem.
In1848anumberofdissatisfiedwomengatheredataWomen'sRightsConventioninSenecaFalls,NewYork.Thegroupproduceda"DeclarationofSentimentsandResolutions"thatdeclaredmenandwomentobefullyequal.Thedocumentalsodemandedsuffrage,ortherighttovote.Suffragewouldpermitwomentoprotecttheirownpoliticalandsocialinterestssothattheywouldnolongerbedependentonthewillofmen.Fortheremainderofthe1800s,gainingsuffragebecamethemaingoalofthewomen'smovement.
Manyopposedwomen'ssuffragebecausetheybelievedthatwomen'sproperspherewasinthehomeandthattheirresponsibilitiesinthatregardprecludedthemfrombecomingpoliticallyinformedorsophisticatedenoughtobetrustedwiththerighttovote.Suffragistsarguedthatsuchassumptionswereuntrueandthatthefemalevoiceneededtobeheardingovernment.
LouisaMayAlcottbecameinvolvedinthewomen'smovement,joiningtheNewEnglandWomen'sSuffrageAssociationin1868.SheattendedaseriesofdebatesattheBostonStateHouseonwomen'ssuffragein1874.ShealsocontributedarticlestotheWoman'sJournal,whichwasfoundedin1870anddealtwiththerightsofwomenandgirls.SomeofAlcott'sunconventionalviewsonwomenarereflectedinhernovelthroughthecharacterJo,andthetensionbetweentraditionalandnewerviewsofwomen'srightsandrolessurfacesthroughhersisters'reactiontoherbehavior.ThecharacterofJoiscriticized,forinstance,forsuchunfemininebehaviorasusingslangwords,puttingherhandsinherpockets,andwhistling.Megsays,"Youareoldenoughtoleaveoffboyishtricks,andbehavebetter,Josephine.Itdidn'tmattersomuchwhenyouwerealittlegirl;butnowyouaresotall…youshouldrememberthatyouareayounglady"(LittleWomen,p.7).
Nineteenth-centuryeducation.In1860therewereonlyonehundredpublichighschoolsintheUnitedStates.Agreaternumberofelementaryschoolsexisted,buteventheseinstitutions,whichwereopenforonlyashortpartoftheyear,wereattendedbyonly57percentofthenation'schildrenin1870.Theaverageelementarystudentattendedschoolforty-fivedaysayear.
Thetypicalcurriculumofthisperiodinvolvedbasicreading,writing,spelling,andarithmeticskills.Otherareasofstudymightincludegeography,history,andgrammar.Inmanyofthesesubjects,astudentprovedhisorhercomprehensionbymemorizinglessonsandrecitingthembeforetheclass.Multiplicationtables,poems,andcapitalcitiesweresomeoftheitemstobememorized.Disciplineforstudentswhomisbehavedwasoftenstrict,sometimesinvolvinghumiliationofthestudent.SuchharshtreatmentisillustratedinLittleWomen,whenAmyisorderedtostandonaplatformfacingherclassfordisobeyingherteacher.Corporalorbodilypunishmentwasalsoused,andLittleWomenreflectsthisrealityaswell.Atonepoint,Amy'steacherstri
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