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Women and their roles in the industrial revolution
Women and their roles in the industrial revolution
Women and their roles in the industrial revolution
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Social History Vs. Cultural History The book, The Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories, written by Elizabeth A. De Wolfe, is composed of two parts. Part one, The Death of Berngera Caswell, analysis’s the social history of the mid 1800’s to explore a mill girl’s life. This text makes use of general trends and factual information to support and provide an explanation of the murder of Mary Bean. Part two is composed of two stories, Mary Bean, The Factory Girl and Life of George Hamilton. This text explores the cultural history of the mid 1800’s using fictional newspapers, articles, and novels as support. The Murder of Mary Bean does not only provide the reader with the gruesome detail of one murder, this book issues an understanding of the complications …show more content…
faced by a mill girl during the 1850’s using the very different techniques of social and cultural history. Part one of De Wolfe’s book, The Death of Mary Bean, provides the truthful experiences faced by ordinary people to offer insight of a mill girl’s life during the mid 1800’s. Berngera Caswell, otherwise known as Mary Bean, was one of the many women during the mid 1800’s to flee their home in hope of seeking employment in the growing industry of textile mills in New England. These mills brought economic prosperity, a building boom, and a rapid rise in population. The social history contained in this text contributes to the understanding of the reasoning behind this horrifying account. Social influence was one of the main reason for a women to seek this type of employment. Working as a factory girl was often meant to fill the few years between youthful childhood and the mature duties of motherhood. The textile mills offered the factory girls freedom, independence, and the ability to own money themselves with the right to do what they want with it, something that previous generations could not. Many of the elder were not supportive with the way these factory girls spent their money as many of them spent it on jewelry and fancy fabric. Along with these great opportunities came great risks for the women. The noise of power looms was deafening and fast-moving equipment trapped limbs, dresses, and long hair which often had fatal endings. Caswell ended up working at a mill in Saco, Maine where she became pregnant. Pre-marital sex was extremely frowned upon during the 1800s, Caswell died from attempted abortion. When Caswell died, her body was unable to be detected by those who found her body. It was not uncommon for a factory girl to die in this manner, therefore it was not a surprise. This fatal event demonstrates that the circulating social influence of employment of these young women was extremely dangerous and often led to disaster. De Wolfe takes the reader through both historical and social changes allowing perception of this time period that otherwise may have been unknown. Many articles and news papers recapped each event that occurred during the investigation. These articles were often found to be untrue, each one varying in explanation. The abundance of claims influenced the stories of Caswell’s life. Part two of De Wolfe’s book is composed of two fictional stories that are reproduced versions of the tragic event of Caswell. The first story, Mary Bean, The Factory Girl, transitions Caswell into Mary Bean. Mary Bean was a perfect innocent women who had no influence in what led up to her death. This text uses greatly dramatized details from Caswell’s life building up to the seduction by George Hamilton, her departure from her home, employment, pregnancy, attempted abortion and eventually her death. Bean’s life was portrayed as a fatal fairy tail. Hamilton offers Bean a life with him far away in Manchester where they will have a marriage ceremony. Bean’s fairy tail soon leads to her death. The second story, Life of George Hamilton, is another extremely exaggerated novel. This text shadows Hamilton’s experience after the death of Bean. Life of George Hamilton was written to appeal the surrounding people rather than to uncover the truth. Both De Wolfe’s story of Berngera Caswell and the fictional stories recap her death.
De Wolfe writes an unbiased reflection of the past through the words of historians using social history, while the other two stories take a very different approach. The two stories included in part two of De Wolfe’s book produce biased views of the experience faced by Berngera Caswell as they were written as sensational novels. Although the approaches are on different ends of the spectrum, all three texts provide the reader with the sense that during this time period working women put themselves in unsafe position and should just stay home. Without De Wolfe’s recap of Caswell’s death along with the historical context one would not be able to understand the full effect that society …show more content…
had. The Murder of Mary Bean, and Other Stories is composed of factual and fictional accounts of the death of Berngera Caswell.
De Wolfe fills the story of Mary Bean with background that is important to know. The two stories make it clear that women during the 1800’s were better off staying home where they were safe. If I were teaching a U.S history course I would assign part one of De Wolfe’s book, but not part two. Part one provides the important social time of women gaining their independence along with historical context, but part two diminishes the ability of women during the 1800’s. Women independence has been an issue throughout history and these two stories are on the line of either support or
opposition.
What would one expect to be the sentiment of a young women who worked in the Lowell textile mills? It is just such a depressing story; and the sad heroines are the young women of Lowell - Lucy Larcom- who Stephen Yafa portrays in his excerpt “Camelot on the Merrimack.” A perception through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old Lucy Larcom reveals that, “For her and the other young girls, the long and tedious hours they spent tending to demanding machines robbed them of their childhood.” The imagery in “Camelot on the Merrimack,” from Big Cotton by Stephen H. Yafa disclose the working conditions in those sordid mills.
This account of Mary Brown provides historians with insight into the social and legal practices of the 18th century. This case identifies the social unrest and anxiety regarding the popularity of theft, and in this case shoplifting. This case reiterates this units themes, including, the gendering of crime. London society believed shoplifter most often to be women. The Old Bailey records, reaffirm the notion of gendered crime, and that women were more often than men accused and convicted of shoplifting. However,
In The Murder of Helen Jewett, Patricia Cohen uses one of the most trivial murders during the 1800’s to illustrate the sexiest society accommodations to the privileged, hypocritical tunneled views toward sexual behavior, and the exploitation of legal codes, use of tabloid journalism, and politics. Taking the fact that woman was made from taking a rib from man was more than biblical knowledge, but incorporated into the male belief that a woman’s place is determined by the man. Helen had the proper rearing a maid servant, but how did she fall so far from grace. Judge Weston properly takes credit for rearing her with the proper strictness and education. Was Helen seduced at an early age and introduced to sexual perversions that were more persuasive that the bible belt life that the Weston’s tried to live? Was Helen simply a woman who knew how to use what she had to get what she wanted? Through personal correspondence, legal documentation, census reports, paintings, and newspapers we are able to make our own determinations. Cohen provides more than enough background and history to allow any one to make their own opinion how the murder of a woman could be turned into a side show at a circus.
Melton McLaurin’s book Celia, A Slave is the account of the trial, conviction, and execution of a female slave for the murder of her “master” Robert Newsom in 1855. The author uses evidence compiled through studying documents from Callaway County, Missouri and the surrounding area during the middle of the Nineteenth Century. Although much of what can be determine about this event is merely speculation, McLaurin proposes arguments for the different motives that contribute to the way in which many of the events unfold. Now throughout the book the “main characters”, being Celia, her lawyer Jameson, and the judge William Hall, are all faced with moral decisions that affect the lives of two different people.
Slavery is a term that can create a whirlwind of emotions for everyone. During the hardships faced by the African Americans, hundreds of accounts were documented. Harriet Jacobs, Charles Ball and Kate Drumgoold each shared their perspectives of being caught up in the world of slavery. There were reoccurring themes throughout the books as well as varying angles that each author either left out or never experienced. Taking two women’s views as well as a man’s, we can begin to delve deeper into what their everyday lives would have been like. Charles Ball’s Fifty Years in Chains and Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl were both published in the early 1860’s while Kate Drumgoold’s A Slave Girl’s Story came almost forty years later
Society continually places restrictive standards on the female gender not only fifty years ago, but in today’s society as well. While many women have overcome many unfair prejudices and oppressions in the last fifty or so years, late nineteenth and early twentieth century women were forced to deal with a less understanding culture. In its various formulations, patriarchy posits men's traits and/or intentions as the cause of women's oppression. This way of thinking diverts attention from theorizing the social relations that place women in a disadvantageous position in every sphere of life and channels it towards men as the cause of women's oppression (Gimenez). Different people had many ways of voicing their opinions concerning gender inequalities amound women, including expressing their voices and opinions through their literature. By writing stories such as Daisy Miller and The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Henry James let readers understand and develop their own ideas on such a serious topic that took a major toll in American History. In this essay, I am going to compare Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” to James’ “Daisy Miller” as portraits of American women in peril and also the men that had a great influence.
Women have traditionally been known as the less dominant sex. Through history women have fought for equal rights and freedom. They have been stereotyped as being housewives, and bearers and nurturers of the children. Only recently with the push of the Equal Rights Amendment have women had a strong hold on the workplace alongside men. Many interesting characters in literature are conceived from the tension women have faced with men. This tension is derived from men; society, in general; and within a woman herself. Two interesting short stories, “The Yellow Wall-paper and “The Story of an Hour, “ focus on a woman’s plight near the turn of the 19th century. This era is especially interesting because it is a time in modern society when women were still treated as second class citizens. The two main characters in these stories show similarities, but they are also remarkably different in the ways they deal with their problems and life in general. These two characters will be examined to note the commonalities and differences. Although the two characters are similar in some ways, it will be shown that the woman in the “The Story of an Hour” is a stronger character based on the two important criteria of rationality and freedom.
The setting of both stories reinforces the notion of women's dependence on men. The late 1800's were a turbulent time for women's roles. The turn of the century brought about revolution, fueled by the energy and freedom of a new horizon…but it was still just around the bend. In this era, during which both short stories were published, members of the weaker sex were blatantly disregarded as individuals, who had minds that could think, and reason, and form valid opinions.
The History of Mary Prince is the story of the first female British slave to escape slavery. The book is told by Mary herself, and was used to help the anti-slavery movement. This book is the main source of information on Mary’s life, but there is no way to ensure that all of it is authentic. One should be aware of who truly had the control over this book, and how it may have affected whether or not all of the stories Mary had to tell got in. Without following the standard expected of her, she may not have ever been able to share her experiences like this. Mary Prince was able to convey her story of slavery to others by following the expectations set by the Antislavery Society, such as emphasizing Christianity, only including likable character
In her story Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs presents what life was like living as a female slave during the 19th century. Born into slavery, she exhibits, to people living in the North who thought slaves were treated fairly and well, how living as a slave, especially as a female slave during that time, was a heinous and horrible experience. Perhaps even harder than it was if one had been a male slave, as female slaves had to deal with issues, such as unwanted sexual attention, sexual victimization and for some the suffering of being separated from their children. Harriet Jacobs shows that despite all of the hardship that she struggled with, having a cause to fight for, that is trying to get your children a better life
How does one compare the life of women to men in late nineteenth century to mid-twentieth century America? In this time the rights of women were progressing in the United States and there were two important authors, Kate Chopin and John Steinbeck. These authors may have shown the readers a glimpse of the inner sentiments of women in that time. They both wrote a fictitious story about women’s restraints by a masculine driven society that may have some realism to what women’s inequities may have been. The trials of the protagonists in both narratives are distinctive in many ways, only similar when it totals the macho goaded culture of that time. Even so, In Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing we hold two unlike fictional characters in two very different short stories similar to Elisa Allen in the “Chrysanthemums” and Mrs. Louise Mallard in “The Story of an Hour”, that have unusual struggles that came from the same sort of antagonist.
Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is one of the few narratives depicting the degradation’s endured by female slaves at the hand of brutal masters. Jacobs’ narrative is sending a message to women to come together and end the unfair treatment all women are subjected to. By bringing images of slavery and the message of unity of women to the forefront, Jacobs is attempting to end the tyranny over women perpetrated by men and the tyranny over blacks perpetrated by whites. Integrity and agency are ideals that Americans have fought for over the years. Jacobs reshapes these ideas and makes decisions and takes full reposibilities for her actions to become the ideal and representative image of womanhood.
The American revolution was the colonist’s fight against their mother country for freedom. Most people think of the american revolution as a war that only had an impact on the men. However, women had just as big of responsibilities during the war. In the novel Revolutionary Mothers, Berkin recounts the involvement of women’s experiences on their home fronts and during the war through their involvement in protests and boycotts. Before the revolution took place women had nearly no rights. They were used to stay home and take care of the house and family. Although men were a big part of the revolution, Berkin’s focal point is on the women’s roles during the revolution. She specially fixates on the native americans, native americans, and the lower
In Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the author subjects the reader to a dystopian slave narrative based on a true story of a woman’s struggle for self-identity, self-preservation and freedom. This non-fictional personal account chronicles the journey of Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897) life of servitude and degradation in the state of North Carolina to the shackle-free promise land of liberty in the North. The reoccurring theme throughout that I strive to exploit is how the women’s sphere, known as the Cult of True Womanhood (Domesticity), is a corrupt concept that is full of white bias and privilege that has been compromised by the harsh oppression of slavery’s racial barrier. Women and the female race are falling for man’s
Women in the nineteenth century, for the most part, had to follow the common role presented to them by society. This role can be summed up by what historians call the “cult of domesticity”. The McGuffey Readers does a successful job at illustrating the women’s role in society. Women that took part in the overland trail as described in “Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey” had to try to follow these roles while facing many challenges that made it very difficult to do so.