ries. Relations between women in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Theme: Relations between women in the 18th and 19th centuries. Thesis: Relationships between women in the nineteenth century America created aweb of love and support for women. Mothers and daughters, sisters and friendsfrom childhood formed emotional and sometimes physical bonds that lastedlifetimes. These ties were acknowledged and easily accepted in their societies. Many women survived unthinkable hardships such as geographical isolation, childbirth, and loss of children because of the unconditional love found in theirrelations with other women. I.
IntroductionA. Female friendship of 19th century not really studied beforeB. Abundance of evidence suggests very strong emotional ties betweenwomen. C. All types of relationships are suggested fromsisterly love to passionD.
In this world men are hardly notedII. Defining and analyzing these relationsA. Question of method and interpretationB. How to view same sex relations1. Psychopathology2. dichotomy between normal and abnormalC.
Viewing within a cultural and social settingD. Based on the diaries of women from 35 familiesfrom 1760s to 1880s1. Represents brood range of women2. Middle classIII. Sensual and platonicA. Sarah Butler Wister and Jeannie Field Musgrove1.
Met while families vacationed; spent 2 yearstogether at boarding school2. throughout life wrote to eachother talking oftheir deep affection and their anguish when apart3. Marriage brought physical separation but noremotional. 4.
Made references that may imply a relationshipthat is not necessarily platonic5. Friendship lasted their entire livesB. Molly and Helena1. Met at boarding school2. Formed friendship similar to that of Sarah andJeannie3. many references to a physical relation4.
marriage brought depression and changes becauseof now having male lovers. 5. Molly tells Helena she loves her as “wives dolove their husbands”C. Significance of these letters1.
Do not define as hetero or homosexual but asexamples of the intensity of the emotional bond2. Force us to place female love in a particularhistorical contextIV. Emotional function of such female loveA. American society characterized by strict gender-roleseparation. 1.
women formed supportive networks that came withrituals for every important event in a woman’s lifefrom birth to death2. these emotions supported by strict restrictionsin relations between young men and women. Twototally separate spheres existed, women’s and men’sB. The woman’s world was a cycle of home, church, andvisiting other women.
This world was inhabited solelyby women and children. Help with domestic during illness and otherproblems. Vacations often designed for old friends to meet again. V. Women and their female kinA. Women’s female kin were the core of this world offemale ties.
1. Relatives provided the nucleus aroundwhich groups of friends and networks revolved. 2. Much of a woman’s life could be focuses aroundher family and extended family (in-laws)B. The mother-daughter relationship is at the center of this world.
The daughters relied on their mothers forsupport and learned their female duties from them, sortof an apprenticeship. C. through relations with female kin, the web grewthrough the non-relative friends of kin as a girlgrew she made her own friends and they were incorporatedinto this familial world. VI. Rituals in the life of a womanA. Marriage was one of the great rituals.
Supportsurrounded the bride for months before hand. B. Childbirth was a solely female ritual, friends andrelatives were present through the entire process. VII. Conclusion The relationships between women during this era was core to their livesand survival.
Without the love, support, and rituals surrounding their dailylives together, many of the women would not have survived the hardships thatoften presented themselves in life. Point of Analysis: I feel that the author was a bit long winded in herexplanations of some things. There are many things that she repeats. I alsofeel that she could have presented more about the lives of men.
After readingthis, I wonder what the men did all day and if they had relationships like thiswith their friends and male kin. It is a great essay and does show vividly thelives of women during this timePoint of Synthesis: This article really helped me to understand the womenduring this time much more. To see their lives on a much more personal level,and how they socialized really creates a deeper and more personal understandingof women here. Connecting this with their political lives, regional, andreligious helps to make the circle complete and create a true understanding ofwomen during this era.
