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The Cult of
Domesticity
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ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
How have gender roles changed since the turn
of the century (1890’s-1910’s)?
 Why is it important to understand the journey of
women at this time?

OBJECTIVES
To understand gender roles
 To trace the changes in gender roles
 To make connections between immigrants,
muckrakers, and women writers
 To explore minority writers

THE 19TH CENTURY FAMILY


Men could work, women
could stay home
 No longer the need for
all members to work,
men had stable jobs
 Did not have to make
what they needed to
survive
Nuclear family
 As opposed to extended
family
“The Sphere of Woman- 1850”
THE CULT OF DOMESTICITY: OR THE
“TRUE WOMANHOOD”
Piety (Religiousness)
Purity
1.
2.
Being sexually pure stops “fallen woman”

3.
Submissiveness

4.
submit to fate, to duty, to God, and to men
Domesticity

Never leave home if at all possible
RIGHTS OF WOMEN
The right to love whom others scorn,
The right to comfort and to mourn,
The right to shed new joy on earth,
The right to feel the soul's high worth,
Such woman's rights a God will bless And crown
their champions with success.
SPHERES, SEXISM
 Creation
of the “spheres”
Men (outside world)= temptations,
danger
Women (home)= safe for delicate
creatures
REASONS MEN ARE BETTER THAN WOMEN:
 Women
were generally physically smaller than men.
 Women had less stamina, fainted so much
(because of tight clothing)
 Women menstruated, and were physically
incapacitated each month. Seen as a monthly
illness, insanity
 Women were more delicate and weak. Nervous
system was finer and prone to fatigue, irritation.
Also, “unpredictable nature” of female reproductive
system.
FEMINISM

Susan B. Anthony and Jane Addams table
discussion
 Major
impact
Definition/summary of feminism
 Defining, establishing, and defending equal
political, economic, and social rights for
women
 Advocate for rights and equality of women

THE STORY OF AN HOUR
 HW:
Kate Chopin The Story of an Hour
(784-787)
 Answer the questions on the Cult of
Domesticity PP (slide 17)…next slide






What does Chopin mean when she described Mrs.
Mallard as having ‘heart trouble’. Why is that important
to the story?
The setting of the story is very limited; it is confined to a
room, staircase, and front door. How does this help
express the themes of the story?
What kind of relationship do the Mallards have? Is
Brently Mallard unkind to Louise, or is there some other
reason for her saying “free, free, free!” when she hears
of his death? How does she feel about him?
Mrs. Mallard is described as descending the stairs “like
a goddess of Victory”. In what ways does she feel herself
victorious?
“When the doctors came they said she had died of heart
disease-of joy that kills”. Explain the meaning of this.
What view of marriage does the story present? Keep in
mind the time period (1894).
THE STORY OF AN HOUR
 Where
is the story taking place?
 Evidence?
SETTING
REFLECTION
Looking
at the quotes being
critical of her, what does it
say about the value of
women at the turn of the
century?
TABLE DISCUSSION
How
does The Story of an Hour
capture the plight of women at
the time period? Is this a
feminist piece?
REFLECTION

How have gender roles changed since the turn
of the century (1890-1910’s)? (From then to
now)
 No

change? Why not?
What connections can you make between
immigrants, muckrakers, and women writers at
this time?