Separate Spheres In The Antebellum Period

“Instead of liberty and equality, subordination and restriction were drummed into women, a refrain inherited from the colonial era.” This identifies the concept of separate spheres within the Antebellum period. The concept of separate spheres can be understood as having separate roles for men and women within the community. The men went out and worked publicly, while the women stayed home in private. Based on race and class, Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, and Harriett Robinson wanted to break away from the idea of separate spheres. Lucretia Mott was a Quaker woman from the middle class who believed that women should have equal rights as men, but believed that women were inferior because they did not have the education that men had. Sojourner …show more content…
In order to prove her point, she asks the question: “Why should not a woman seek to be a reformer?” This demonstrates that women in this time period should make changes in their lives to attain equal rights. There is no reason why they have to accept the concept of separate spheres. In order for women to get what they want, they need to stand up for what they believe in. For Mott, if the women did not stand up for what they believed in and stayed in the separate spheres, then there would be no way out. This can be seen as Mott writes, “If she is to be satisfied with the narrow sphere assigned her by man, nor aspire to a higher, lest she should transcend the bounds of female delicacy; truly it is a mournful prospect for women.” This helps to convey the message that women should always strive for the best in their lives. In order to do this, women needed to push away from the positions that men assigned them in society. Also, they have to look past the differences between men and women to show that they are equals. If the women did not do this, the separate spheres would continue. Mott continues to write that the separate spheres have taken so much away from women as she writes, “These restrictions have enervated her mind and paralyzed her powers.” This helps to portray that women have become drained in many ways such as their ideas, actions, and their rights. All of their ideas would not be taken seriously by men and they would continue to have to live in the separate spheres. All of the women’s actions would be suppressed into just labor at home as the men went out and worked. They would continue to have no rights and have no powers to change any of these restrictions that are laid upon them. Finally, Mott ends her Discourse on Women strongly by writing, “It is our duty to develop these