Culture Of Domesticity: Cult Of Womanhood

Essay 1: Cult of Domesticity

The Cult of Domesticity, also known as the cult of true womanhood, is a term identifying a 19th century ideology that women’s nature suited them especially for tasks associated with the home. The term first originated in discussions of women’s nature and their proper roles, and became prominent in Western society in the early 1800s. Side effects of this ideology and its views remain part of our gender ideology today. It identified four characteristics that were thought to be central to women’s nature and identity: piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness. This paper will discuss these four characteristics, as well as the implications of this ideology in today’s society.

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The first characteristic thought to be held by women was piety.

Piety is a term which describes the idea that women were more religious beings than men, and were thought to be the moral guardians of the family. Women were thought to be more appropriate for this role because they were supposed to be spiritually pure, and therefore closer to God. Women remained pure because they stayed away from the harsh and degrading environment outside of the home, which was thought to ruin innocence and purity. It was said that moral purity could not withstand the brutality of the world. This idea also implied that, since men were constantly outside of the home and participating in “worldly actions”, they were not as pure as, and therefore spiritually inferior to,

women.
Because women were thought to be spiritually pure, it was also thought that women must be kept physically pure, as well. That is why the second characteristic is purity. A woman’s greatest treasure was her purity and virginity, which she was required to keep before marriage. Once married, she lost all legal and emotional existence. In the ideology of the cult of domesticity, it was said that a woman’s purity was her weapon, used to keep men in control of their sexual needs. Because a woman’s purity was desired and idealized, there was a movement in the 19th century to preserve purity of young girls and women. Women were described as having limbs, not legs, and white meat instead of breasts. This was done to discourage any sexual thoughts that men or women may have. Chair and table legs were also kept covered so that women sitting would have their “limbs” covered as well. This was also the time period that produced many stork and cabbage patch stories to describe the origins of babies. This was thought to preserve a woman’s intellectual purity as well, because she really didn’t need to know where babies came from until she was pregnant herself.
Because a woman was supposed to have the virtues of piety and purity, she needed to remain at home to preserve these characteristics. While at home, she was meant to develop the characteristic of domesticity. Women were bound to the kitchen and nursery, and if her husband was rich enough to afford a maid and nanny, then she was bound to the responsibility of overseeing the tasks of the hired help. Women were meant to cook and clean in the home, never straying out of the home. Girls were taught from a young age that they must make the home a refuge for their husbands, who would come home weary from the immoral world of business and industry, and would want to escape all of that with a home cooked meal and a clean, quiet home. Girls were also socialized from a young age to be mothers. Young girls cared for their dolls, and were also responsible for caring for younger siblings, making sure that they were quiet when their father was home. This was meant as training for girls.
The final, and perhaps the most important, characteristic outlined in the cult of domesticity is submissiveness. In the eyes of society, women were supposed to be passive creatures, submissive to fate, duty, God, and men. The clothing styles of the time really emphasized the passiveness of women. Corset were worn at the time, which closed off lungs and pinched the inner organs, making it hard for women to raise their voices. Large, heavy dresses with many undergarments limited a woman’s mobility, so she had to remain seated for long periods of time. In her 1833 book, Woman, In Her Social and Domestic Character, John Sanford wrote “A really sensible woman feels her dependence. She does what she can, but she is conscious of her inferiority and therefore grateful for support.” (p.21) The most important thing that a woman could ever do was to submit to all of husbands wants and needs, placing them above all, even before her own needs.
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