Imagine, ladies, that you have been married for about five months, and are now expecting your first child. Not only that, but also all your belongings went to your groom when you were married. Your husband is how much older than you? Did you say ten, or did I hear fifteen? Now, you’re expected to cook, clean, sew, and laundry, and feed the animals on your farm.
In the 1800’s, women were often times married in between 13 and 14, and not only that, but if you weren’t married by 25, it would be a social humiliation, and you would be considered an old maid! Once a woman was married, she would lose ownership of everything she had, including future children and even herself. After marriage, you belonged to you husband. They lost control of inheritances, property, jewelry, everything!
Another aspect of the marriage a young girl was forced into a marriage made solely for money purposes, was the dictatorial way of husbands over their wives. It was legal for a man to abuse his wife. Now, what is the point of this? I mean, seriously, what on Earth is the point of beating your wife, all a man would do is make her nervous, which is going to make her ungraceful and clumsy, which, in turn will make the man look bad, thus, only hurting the man’s social graces! Now, you tell me, what, exactly, s the point of that?!?!?!
After marriage, the only way to gain back what you’d given to your husband was if you became a widow. Lovely, right? Ironically, soon after you were widowed, you were expected to marry again, a.s.a.p., which then meant giving up your stuff again! In some states, it was even proposed that a law be created to force a widow to marry before a certain time frame.
Alright, now, you should have learned you role in society a long time ago, but now your husband’s got to teach you. (It has now become his role to keep the reins on you pulled tightly!) First, you are not allowed to vote. Second, you are to focus on housework and childcare. However, the children you will have with your husband you shall have no guardianship over, understood? Now, your husband (the man as the head of the house) will hold the highest position in your house, then, you will be next to him, then the children, and last any servants you may have. Your husband is more-than-likely going to view you as a mere source of human life.
You, young bride, must act your part. Men consider us naturally weaker, squeamish, and unable to do muscle working jobs, though how they expect us do their laundry is beyond me! Also, men think us unable to do any intellectual developing. (Though how we could when they only allow us to go through with an elementary learning other than domestic abilities, and sometimes college, is beyond me!) If your husband does allow you to work (which is very unlikely), you will most-likely only work as a seamstress, and that’s it, if you hadn’t married, you might have run a boarding house, but it’s a little too late for that, isn’t it? Don’t expect to have any sort of life after this, because it belongs to your husband, and you have to dedicate it to him, and doing your best at not embarrassing him, and that’s all there is to it, so you’ll just have to get used to it. If this life doesn’t sound appealing, be glad you were born 200 years after all of this. Be glad you live today!
In a book I read earlier this year, Gone With The Wind, Scarlett O’Hara had troubles with doing as she was expected. She married multiple times, messed up in each of them, and took over her husband’s work, at mills and a little shop, all of which were considered wrong. She was all but shunned from her city in
Recourses
The McDougal Littell "The Americans" 1783-2001
My mom's notes (she's a teacher)!
If were born in the colonial times, in the west, it wouldn't be all that uncommon for a women to be able to protect her house and family with a gun, not to say she was a master mind at gunman ship, but she would know how!
Women in Society!!! (This was one of my favorite sites!!!)
2 comments:
I don't think I could have lived in the 1800's. I like to do what I want when I want. haha. And I hate it when people tell me I can't do things, cause it makes me want to do them. haha. Good post. I thought it was interesting.
I couldn't live in the 1800's. I agree, I'm way to outspoken to have lived back then. Plus, if some man had taken all my posessions, I'd likely hit them for every thing of mine they took! It was interesting learning about this topic. It's was fun to see the difference in then and now!
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