The Fight for Women's Suffrage - Essay Example

Role of Women Order no. 338958 November ‘09 Role of Women Women in the early 1800 were trapped in the “Cult of Domesticity” as it came to be known. Women had to take on the role of a nonworking housewife and were also considered to be the moral keepers of society. Women those days were considered unequal to men both legally and socially. The roles of the women were limited to taking care of the house, the husband and the children. The man controlled the woman totally as he was supposed to be the owner of the woman. Even girls at an early age had to learn how to take care of the house. However, in course of time employment opportunities for women increased and many women began working in factories. Women getting more opportunities for higher studies led to many women to work as teachers. The efforts made by women during the 1800s effectively challenged the social, economic, intellectual, traditional and political attitudes about the place of women in society during that period. This was mainly due to the starting of colleges for women and also because of women’s rights conventions organized by women. These events succeeded in challenging society’s outlook on women’s traditional roles. In the early 1800s, people generally were of the opinion that there was a marked difference in characters between a man and a woman. Whereas a man was supposed to be dominating, active, assertive, and worldly wise, women were supposed to be passive, modest, submissive, domestic and religious. This resulted in a "cult of true womanhood" a term coined by historian Barbara Welter (1966). This cult which gained prominence through women’s magazines of that period attributed four basic traits to women, they being purity, piety, domesticity and submissiveness. According to Welter, piety was the "core of womans virtue, the source of her strength" (Welter, 1966). Virtues such as faith, goodness, simplicity, self-sacrifice, affection and modesty came naturally to them. Also it was felt that it was necessary for a woman to have purity as an essential characteristic in order to protect one’s virtue from aggressive males. Also there was this belief that a woman had to be submissive and willingly accept her position in life because God had put her in that position. In the early part of the 19th century society was quite different from today’s society. Women did not go out to work, could not vote and did not have a say in any matter whatsoever. Women were not called to give evidence in courts and were not allowed to speak in public. When a woman got married, her husband became her legal owner of all what belonged to her which included her earnings, jewels, clothes and her children. When her husband died only one third of her husband’s assets came to her. Again in the early years of the nineteenth century, women were second-class citizens and their lives were confined to the house and taking care of the children. After marriage they did not have the right to own property or their earnings or sign a contract, or vote. Their role was to be obedient wives. They were not entitled to have an opinion of their independent of their husband’s opinion. Women did not travel alone or speak in public because it was considered improper. Their homes were like birdcages. Women were merely objects of beauty, and were considered physically and intellectually inferior to men. This belief was further sanctioned and reinforced by religion which preached well-defined sex roles. In England the society in the nineteenth century had firm beliefs about the roles of women. A woman was considered as inferior to man and was treated as his property. The husband was the head of the house. In a typical middle-class house the wife’s role was to bear children and was not allowed to have a career. According to David Taylor (1988), a woman, “spent her day in genteel pursuits, for example, embroidery and knitting - household chores would be done by servants. Furthermore she had hardly any legal rights”. Girls received only a basic education and that too usually given at home by a governess. In this context it must be mentioned that the job of a governess was one of the few jobs a middle-class girl could take up. Life for a woman belonging to the working-class family was even harder. She had to bear children, look after them and at the same time go out to work as a domestic help, or as a factory worker or an agricultural laborer. However by the middle of the nineteenth century, this thinking began to change with the rise of women’s rights movement especially, after Elizabeth Cady Stanton convened the first convention that discussed women’s rights and their roles. The progress made in this century and the geographical, political, industrial and technological changes affecting the country had an affect on women. Women began to see opportunities for themselves in this progress. Jobs became available in factories, shops and offices, providing women, especially single women new options. As education became mandatory for both men and women in many states women began to seek higher education. In the 1800s education for women was a step for women to obtain equality. In the early 1800s women could not continue school after grammar school and were allowed to study further only privately. They were considered to be weak minded and not intellectual enough to study beyond grammar school. Things changed a little later when women began to protest and demand that they too should be given the right to learn. It was these brave women who laid the foundation for women education. It was in 1818, that Emma Willard appealed to the New York State legislature to allot funds for education and in 1821 was able to open a school where the women were offered the same courses found in men’s colleges and thus gave women their first opportunity to acquire higher education. Once education became more of a public government service, there was an increase in educational opportunities for women. This changed the situation for women as more colleges opened their doors to women. Women, who were now more educated, involved themselves in activities of the society such as protesting against slavery and alcohol and formed charitable organizations. Another significant event that gave a boost to women’s rights was the first women’s’ rights convention in 1848 by Elizabeth Cady Stanton that created the Declaration of Sentiments. This declaration that women were equal to men inspired many women. Although it is generally believed that the women’s suffrage movement began in the latter part of the 19th century the fact is that it started earlier then that. According to Danielle Friedl, “Although the latter part of the 19th century is often where the search for womens suffrage begins, history dictates that it started earlier then that. While the actual movement began in the mid-1800s, it was Abigail Adams in 1776 who planted the seed that would begin a fight for equal rights in a country founded on equality and independence”. Again in the early 1800’s to mid 1800s outspoken women such as Francis Wright who came from Scotland to the States, gave a series of lectures that strongly advocated womens rights. The women’s suffrage movement got its inspiration from the World Anti-Slavery Convention which was held in London in 1840 and was attended by an American delegation which had in it a number of women like Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton attending it. In 1848 the women’s rights movement officially began when these two women organized the Seneca Falls Convention. Many others like Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone joined in the movement. Organized events such as this and opening of colleges for women were very effective in bringing about a change in the roles of women. The activists for women’s rights influenced the people to believe that women were equal to men and succeeded in bringing about a change in the traditional roles played by women. As far as politics was concerned women in the early 1800s were not allowed to take part in politics. Men believed that women were far too emotional to handle the stress of politics. However around the 1820’s women began to take part in politics. They fought against such issues as slavery and abortions. They started to talk about their feelings and beliefs through public gatherings and media. Authors such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Jean Rhys wrote The Yellow Wallpaper and Wide Sargasso Sea to show that women faced oppression and to show that things were showing signs of change. The female protagonists in these literary pieces donned the conventional gender roles of the early 1800’s in the beginning. The man was shown as superior and the woman as passive. The women were shown as being imprisoned in their homes. Charlotte Perkins Gilman wanted people to know the plight of women in the 19th century. In The Yellow Wallpaper, a short story she uses symbols to show how in that period there were restrictions on women and how women fought for equality. The wallpaper is a symbol of the mental screen or block men tried to place on women in the 1800s. In the short story the role of women in society is exemplified by John’s sister. In one place Gillman (1899) describes her thus: “There comes John’s sister…I must not let her find me writing. She is a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession.” John’s sister is shown as a woman pleased with her life, and does not wish for anything more. She stood for the stereotype woman of the early 1800s. On the other hand John, the husband of the female protagonist is a husband who is a dictator and suppresses her emotional and creative preferences. He imprisons her and she rebels. Her insanity here stands for revolt and her fight to set the woman in the wallpaper free stands for her fight for freedom. In the novel, Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys like Gilman writes about the harsh realities of the nineteenth century where married women did not have any legal rights. Women were emotionally and sexually oppressed. Rhys in the novel portrays the limited role women played in Victorian society. Antoinette, the heroine of the novel cannot free herself from her brutal husband since she is financially dependent on him. The oppression she faces is clearly demonstrated when at one point in the novel she says, “If I get angry he is scornful and silent, sometimes he does not speak to me for hours and I cannot endure it anymore, I cannot.” (Rhys, 1966) The fact the Antoinette can talk to Rochester only when and if at all he talks to her points towards the domination of men over women. In the end she manages to free herself and by turning her into a “madwoman” in the end Rhys makes this last act a symbol of female liberation. The heroines in these two stories represent women who are oppressed and seek change and want to liberate themselves like the women of the nineteenth century. In conclusion it can be said that in the early 1800s women hardly played a role in society. Even though women were considered as spiritual and moral leaders, this was only inside their homes. A womans place belonged to the home, where she carried out her prescribed roles that of a wife and a mother. On the other hand men ruled the public sphere. A woman’s role was to teach the girls how to become a good wife and a mother. A woman’s job was to ensure that the home was peaceful and everything was in order when the fathers or husbands came home from work. However there were noticeable changes by the middle of the century. The way of thinking showed signs of change and the first seeds of women’s rights movement were planted. Women discussed and promoted women’s roles and rights. Women wanted bigger roles outside of their homes, roles that would use their intelligence and skills and talents, other than those required for domestic work. References 1. Friedl Daniel, The fight for womens suffrage in the US http://www.helium.com/items/499922-the-fight-for-womens-suffrage-in-the-us 2. Gilman Perkins Charlotte (1899), The Yellow Wallpaper, Retrieved from http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/wallpaper.html on 25/11/09 3. Rhys Jean (1966), Wide Sargasso Sea, W.W. Norton & Co. 1992 4. Taylor David, What was the position of women in 1850?Mastering Economic and Social History, Macmillan 1988. 5. Welter Barbara (1966), The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860 http://www.pinzler.com/ushistory/cultwo.html Read More