Arguments of biological inferiority led to pronouncements that women were incapable of effectively participating in the realms of politics, commerce, or public service. Thus the Cult of Domesticity “privatized” women’s options for work, for education, for voicing opinions, or for supporting reform. Also exclusive was their “sphere,” or domain of influence, which was confined completely to the home. The period of 1820 to 1860 saw the rise in America of an ideology of feminine behavior and an ideal of womanliness that has come to be known as the “Cult of True Womanhood” or “Cult of Domesticity.” The features of this code, which provided social regulations for middle-class families with newly acquired wealth and leisure, were defined by historian Barbara Welter in an influential 1966 article, “The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820–1860.” According to Welter, “true womanhood” held that women were designed exclusively for the roles of wife and mother and were expected to cultivate Piety, Purity, Submissiveness, and Domesticity in all their relations. What kind of texts are we dealing with?.Text analysis and close reading questions.Text analysis and close reading questions with answer key.The student version, an interactive PDF, contains all of the above except the responses to the close reading questions and the follow-up assignment. ![]() The teacher’s guide includes the background note, the text analysis with responses to the close reading questions, and the followup assignment. This lesson is divided into two parts, both accessible below, and includes close reading questions and an optional followup assignment. Use the Follow-Up Assignment to explore the factors with your students. ![]() Harriet Jacobs offers a particularly astute use of pious, “domestic” language operating in stark contrast to other statements where she adopts a much more strident emphasis that can be compared to Mrs. The stories of Fanny Fern and Harriet Beecher Stowe demonstrate differences in how men and women use language and also some interesting patterns in how they shift ground in dialogue with one another. “How Husbands May Rule” and “Peculiar Responsibilities of American Women” stress what women gain by acquiescing to men’s authority. One theme to note is the emphasis on the kinds of trade-off that take place within this cult, meaning that women might very well willingly choose to accept the “rule” of wise husbands and political leaders in return for security, material comfort, and protection. While the four passages have other features in common, they also voice distinctive, even opposing views. In each of the passages presented here, at least two of the four principles of the cult of domesticity (piety, purity, submissiveness, domesticity) are illustrated, either positively or negatively, and these illustrations can be compared and contrasted.
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