Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's 'Good Wives'

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During the mid seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in New England, women were not just the typical housewives.The impact they had was unimaginable. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich wrote Good Wives to explain the roles of women’s lives and explain the neglected aspects people never considered. Furthermore, she wrote this book to describe these changing roles of the world people thought “men” controlled.
The historical account is a topical social history. Ulrich chose the topic and incorporated evidence from different events ,therefore making the work topical social. To organize her account, Ulrich stated each sub-thesis and then supports her claims with many examples. Not only does she provide actual stories about or from real people but also includes different kinds of charts and pictures. The examples she incorporated in her work made it easier for the audience to understand her purpose. Throughout her book she also alluded to many biblical people and other historical people from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to support her views.
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Each of these parts was named after female biblical characters. These names are Bathsheba, Eve, and Jael. In Part One, Bathsheba, Ulrich explained the economic life such as differents ways women had to get involved with agriculture, around the house, or even their husband’s businesses. This described how women sometimes had to be deputy husbands, which called upon them to serve in the place of their husbands during absence. Another trait included being able to be an affable neighbor and being able to follow the Rules of Charity and Modesty. These are rules that governed women on how they should have represented themselves, and how they should have done unto others. Furthermore, these “goody wives” were able to be pretty gentlewoman while having completed the tasks of

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