Theme Of Women In A Midwife's Tale

In Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s groundbreaking novel A Midwife’s Tale, she organizes and recounts thoughts, feelings, and events depicted in Martha Ballard’s diary. Martha Ballard was able to see and experience a lot in her time in Hallowell and was able to immortalize her experiences through her diary. Throughout the entirety of the novel the central theme is the different experiences the men and women, including Martha, have in the Massachusetts territory, Hallowell. The majority of Martha Ballard’s diary is a daily recap of the work and weather she experienced. As the town midwife she would travel around the town to help various ailments plaguing the townspeople. It is clear that the men in the town are the ones that hold the power positions …show more content…
When Ephraim Ballard is sentenced to debtors prison Martha is left to fend for herself and tend to their home. Jonathon, their son, invades their home while his father is away and his mother is having dinner with her other son. This is a blatant sign of disrespect for Martha. No son would do this to their father because their father is to be respected along with their property. It is another sign of the inequality women faced at this time. What makes this so disheartening is that women would spend so much time cleaning their home and making it into an actual home and Martha was no exception. During this time of upheaval Martha sauntered on, continuing to do her midwife business albeit with less …show more content…
When it comes to equality in wages and work places there is no such thing. Many women’s jobs were not even considered jobs to the men in the town. The homes and domestic jobs, like tending to the kids and the gardens, were also not bothered by the men. They spend their time doing other things and instead of lending a helping hand they would hire others that would end up hindering the process even further. Then the homes that the women dedicated so much of their time to were not even their own. It was owned by their husbands, and if they were out of the picture another man would not wait very long to swoop in and claim it as their own. And then when it came to the law it did not equally protect the men and women. If a man held a high position and had a lot of respect in the town it would cancel out any and all misdeeds they committed at the expense of the woman. These instances all outline the inquality experienced by women in the pioneer world of America. Through Ulrich’s novel and Martha Ballard’s diary we are able to almost fully understand how stark of a difference there was between men and women in early