The role of women in society has been an ongoing dispute throughout American history and has continued to change frequently. Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management and A Guidebook Instructs Women on the Role of Mother are two primary sources that prove that the role of women in society is constantly changing. Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management was first published in serial form in 1859-1861. It established itself as a necessity for bourgeois Victorian households and was influential to Victorian women at the time. This primary source documented how “proper bourgeois families ought to have led their social and domestic lives” . The book itself focused on Victorian food, bourgeois attitudes towards other classes, and proper behavior
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This primary source is similar to Beeton’s in the respect that it addressed women’s role in society. However, it took a far different approach than Beeton did. While Beeton focused on what a woman's duties were for taking care of the family and home, the guidebook stated that women need an education in order to teach their children. Although this does underlie the concept of “taking care of the family”, it also did propose a foreign idea to society. Society depicted women just how Isabella Beeton did, they were supposed to be taking care of the household, and not worried about receiving an education to better themselves. Even though it seemed that the author of A Guidebook Instructs Women on the Role of Mother was trying to promote education for women for the purpose of their children, it is evident that the author may have had other intentions as …show more content…
Beeton’s primary source seemed to be more successful because it included more information on how people lived during the 1850s-1860s, what was expected of the women, and what the role of domestic servants was during this time period. On the other hand, A Guidebook Instructs Women on the Role of Mother, simply stated an idea that the author had about women pursuing an education. The author of the primary source wrote, that women have been degraded by men and denied the privilege of an education. This source presented the ongoing conflict in American history that dealt with figuring out what the true role of women was in
This primary source is similar to Beeton’s in the respect that it addressed women’s role in society. However, it took a far different approach than Beeton did. While Beeton focused on what a woman's duties were for taking care of the family and home, the guidebook stated that women need an education in order to teach their children. Although this does underlie the concept of “taking care of the family”, it also did propose a foreign idea to society. Society depicted women just how Isabella Beeton did, they were supposed to be taking care of the household, and not worried about receiving an education to better themselves. Even though it seemed that the author of A Guidebook Instructs Women on the Role of Mother was trying to promote education for women for the purpose of their children, it is evident that the author may have had other intentions as …show more content…
Beeton’s primary source seemed to be more successful because it included more information on how people lived during the 1850s-1860s, what was expected of the women, and what the role of domestic servants was during this time period. On the other hand, A Guidebook Instructs Women on the Role of Mother, simply stated an idea that the author had about women pursuing an education. The author of the primary source wrote, that women have been degraded by men and denied the privilege of an education. This source presented the ongoing conflict in American history that dealt with figuring out what the true role of women was in