The Cult of Domesticity: Empowered all Women
Answer ONEof the following statements (worth 60points) in a paper no longer than five pages (see additional instructions below). Make sure you use examples from lectures and from Sara Evans’ Born for Libertyto support your argument. 1) From the Revolutionary Era until the early twentieth century paid work empowered all women more than non-wage work. Attack or defend this statement. Make sure you use examples from the lectures and from Sara Evans’ Born for Libertyto support your argument.OR2)From theearly nineteenth centuryuntil the early twentieth century the Cult of Domesticity similarly empowered all women. Attack or defend this statement. Make sure you use examples from the lectures and from Sara Evans’ Born for Libertyto support your argument.Make sure that your essay has a clear thesis and argument. You should be able to state your thesis in one or two sentences in your introductory paragraph. Your argument should prove your thesis through the use of specific examples.Format –1-inch margins, no more than five pages(I will not read beyond the fifth page) in length, 12-point Palatino Linotype, double-spaced, pages numbered, and do not skip an additional line between paragraphs.Feel free to use contractions as need be.Footnotes: Since weare only using the Sara Evans book, if that, use parenthetical notes, for example,(Evans, 85).Do not use block quotes or any quotation over one linelong
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Cult of Domesticity
From the early nineteenth century until the early twentieth century the Cult of Domesticity similarly empowered all women.
The Cult of Domesticity is the belief that there exist proper roles for women that are distinct from those of the men. This ideology was a widespread notion that made it impossible for women to contend for their public position. As per the structure of the society, women’s roles were to be limited within the confines and privacy of the home while that of the men was to be out in public. However, in spite of the above and despite being in a deeply patriarchal society, the Cult of Domesticity helped to empower women even though its introduction and propagation was a way to domesticate women.
Women created a new set of professions that originated from the Cult of Domesticity. The Cult of Domesticity was meant to have women be in certain defined roles that limited their influence. However, with their ingenuity, women used their ‘misfortune’ to create a haven for themselves and transform what was traditionally considered the public life or arena. Evans (4) notes that women resorted to activities such as the creation of new professions, including social work, teaching, and nursing. These professions started from what was meant to ‘put women in their place’ and spread to become renowned professions. Through these professions, women found ways to empower others.
Women worked to empower others even though within the confines of the Cult of Domesticity. As indicated above, women used the new set of professions to empower others. Some women championed education and started schools that helped to empower other women. Evans (71) notes that many women opened female academies. Girls who enrolled in these schools were not taught the basics of domesticity but subjects like “science, language, and moral philosophy” (Evans, 71). Such movements were spearheaded by characters like Emma Willard and Catharine Beecher, who believed in the superiority of women. These women believed that women were made of more than what society believed they were good for, and they worked to actualize the same. In teaching other women these subjects, they made sure to further or increase their value. This meant that the position, value, and influence of women within the confines of their homes f...