Larson displays how womanhood in the 19th century addressed many unique qualities exhibited by women of all color from their experiences throughout history dealing with the changes in society (739). Womanhood of women formed a cult expressing dominance over the merciless mindsets of the world on women, color, and social class. The world’s mindset formed an unblemished and pure illustration of what a woman stood for, should stand for, and placed value on a woman’s worth by their womanhood virtues. Women desired respect by all members of society. Respect was an important asset to have, so important that women of color even aspired to be such a grand woman exhibiting only moral clean virtues. Articles were written about slave recounts of their
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In the article, Walters also illustrates how purity and submissiveness were a requirement of the cult of true womanhood, “‘Purity was as essential as piety to a young woman, in absence as unnatural and unfeminine. Without it she was, in fact, no woman at all, but a member of some lower order’” (154). Being submissive means one has to be quite when things happen and has to obey orders (741). Women of a cult were the women who wanted their true virtues to mean something and fought to keep their virtues during a time in history when the world fought to take it away.
Using the Incidents of a Slave Girl to demonstrate the value of womanhood demonstrated a quality of true womanhood no matter of color, a woman is a woman just because she holds the values of being a woman so high. Carby examined the feelings of this slave girl in her article by describing how the homes changed the life of the girl, how worldly corrupted people tried to destroy her, how sexual abuse was used to control her throughout her life (741-742). The abuse, the turmoil, and losses in her life seemed to only create more of the slave’s feelings to protect her womanhood. Carby explained that Jacobs fought till the end and she did. Jacobs did the
In the article, Walters also illustrates how purity and submissiveness were a requirement of the cult of true womanhood, “‘Purity was as essential as piety to a young woman, in absence as unnatural and unfeminine. Without it she was, in fact, no woman at all, but a member of some lower order’” (154). Being submissive means one has to be quite when things happen and has to obey orders (741). Women of a cult were the women who wanted their true virtues to mean something and fought to keep their virtues during a time in history when the world fought to take it away.
Using the Incidents of a Slave Girl to demonstrate the value of womanhood demonstrated a quality of true womanhood no matter of color, a woman is a woman just because she holds the values of being a woman so high. Carby examined the feelings of this slave girl in her article by describing how the homes changed the life of the girl, how worldly corrupted people tried to destroy her, how sexual abuse was used to control her throughout her life (741-742). The abuse, the turmoil, and losses in her life seemed to only create more of the slave’s feelings to protect her womanhood. Carby explained that Jacobs fought till the end and she did. Jacobs did the