during feudalism. A woman was given away by her family and took vows to obey her husband in other words, she was considered totally devoid of inde- pendence or anything of her own. Woman, then, was relegated to the woman’s sphere thus, the extent of her minimal influence was restricted to the home and the family. The nineteenth-century communities were in primarily rural settlements with most families living in small villages or on farms and the vast majority of married women remained at home with little outside contact. In this sphere, women were expected to create and maintain a domestic agenda with a day of the week set aside for each major chore, washing, ironing, cleaning, that had to be completed by the time her husband returned home in the evening. If she were lucky enough to be an upper-class wife, she might have servants to take care of the dirtier tasks but it was still her duty to oversee those serv- ants as well as being a charming hostess for her husband’s colleagues and friends. Thus, life for woman covered the spectrum from drudgery to doll-ery with few avenues of escape and little patience from others for her personal pursuits beyond the useful ones like needlework or tutoring her children. Because much of the communal life of the nineteenth century centered on the church, primarily the patriarchal Christian church, women were con- stantly reminded of their defective nature produced by being the daughters of Eve, the archetypal sinner. In addition, the biblical encyclical that women should be quiet in church was reinforced and often followed her to the home. Those who did not employ doctrine to keep woman in her place used the medical mythology that woman, by nature, was weak and should be spared the stress and responsibility of a public life. Obviously, they asserted, men were more suited to physical exertion and intellectual pursuits, like those provided by education, work, and politics. The church, however, became a natural extension of the home and through that affiliation, women could have contact with the community at large. The prescribed role for women was to protect the civilized society, the religion, and the sanctity of the home. They were branded as guardians of the moral fiber of the country therefore, it was acceptable for them to be involved in the religious upbringing of their children and in the nonpro- fessional activities of the church. Through this connection, they were often permitted to extend themselves further into the life of the community through social gatherings with other women and, occasionally, through charitable work. If the latter were true, however, and they were permitted to venture outside the confines of their home, a chaperone was required, for a woman walking alone was viewed as lewd and wanton. Speaking in public was deemed as immoral and speaking to a mixed audi- ence was called promiscuous. Women, even educated women, were not expected to have opinions, particularly if those opinions differed from those of their fathers or their husbands. Thus, it was a reasonable evolution for 4 Shapers of the Great Debate on Women’s Rights
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