Women Then and Now
The 18th and 19th Century in America was a period of development, war, and change. During that time, there were many immigrants in the state. The number of immigrants had risen due to slavery. This essay will discuss the role that American women played in the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition, the essay will explain the roles that American women currently play. The essay will make use of Mary Shelley’s work to discuss the status and roles of women in the 18th and 19th centuries, while Emily Dickerson’s works will be utilized to discuss the current role of women. Each will also discuss what role women should play in their lifetime and their thought on woman’s current roles.
Mary Shelley was born in 1797 in London. She is a daughter of philosopher William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft. Mary’s mother died shortly after Mary’s birth. Mary did not get along with her stepmother. As a child, Mary did not formal education, but she made use of her father’s library. She fell in love with Percy Bysshe Shelley and later eloped. She later got married to Percy when his wife committed suicide. Despite being committed to the marriage, their marriage was characterized by adultery and heartache. Mary and Percy had several children but only one lived to adulthood. Percy drowned in 1922; therefore, Mary was widowed at only twenty-four years (Biography.com Editors, n.d). After her husband’s death, Mary had to work hard to support her child. Her most successful work of fiction was Frankenstein wrote in 1818 (Litcharts, 2016). Mary died of brain cancer at 53.
On the other hand, Emily Dickson is a daughter of Edward Dickson and Emily Norcross Dickson. Both parents raised their daughter to be a cultured Christian, for her to be a responsible family person later in her life. Dickson lived most of her life in isolation but she read extensively and kept correspondences in the outside world. When Emily died, her family found hand bound volumes of her poetic works. Emily died in 1886 and she is one of the greatest American poets (poets.org, n.d).
According to Mary, in the 18th Century, a woman was part of the husband’s property. Once a woman got married then, everything she owned and earned became part of her husband’s property. A woman in the 18th and 19th centuries only gained status and identity after marriage. Generally, women were viewed as the weaker gender and their importance in the society was secondary to that of men.
Emily (The status of a woman now)
There is no much difference in the status of women of then and that of today. The women of today still gain status after marriage. The entire woman’s property passes to the husband including what she has inherited. She cannot make a will without the husband’s consent. She has no right to sue her husband for divorce or even get the children from the home without the husband’s consent (Jones, 2010).
Mary Shelley (Women’ roles then)
According to Mary Shelly, the women of then had very different roles. The primary role of a woman was to get married and get children. This role, therefore, led to emphasis on motherhood. In addition, women were viewed as the protectors of the land; they therefore determined who were to be given or not to be given land in kin groups. Planning in the community was often initiated by women. They also served the role of peacemakers. In that era, women lacked education. Education was only imposed on men and therefore, women had limited career choices and few political rights.
Emily Dickenson (women’s role now)
According to Emily, the roles of women of today have significantly changed. However, women are still viewed as inferior. Perhaps, this may be due to the fact that, it is the way they have been considered from the beginning of time. God created man first and woman second from the man’s rib. Because of this believe, a woman of today is still assuming their traditional role of being helpers to their husbands and being housewives. In today's era, it is respected for a woman to be educated and employed compared to before. For example, 86percentage of college girls who are 24 year’s had been employed in the year 1975(Horner, 1983). For this reason of women being educated, today's women have dominated job vacancies left by men.
Mary Shelley (Roles women should have played then)
According to Mary, there are many roles that the women of then were supposed to play then in the society. A woman was expected to be viewed as the strongest gender in the society. He should have therefore been given an avenue to access education so that she can be able to improve the economy of the nation. A woman could also have been responsible for playing the role of a mother and wife.
Emily (Roles women should play now)
Throughout time, women had been responsible for nurturing in homes. However, they now should step outside homes and start contributing in educational, corporate, social service financial and other career paths. They also have the role to serve in the least likely places even if there are still norms that fail to accommodate them in other male- dominated sectors. Women should also set their businesses rather than depend on the businesses started by their husbands.
References
Biography.com Editors. (n.d.). Mary Shelley Biography. Retrieved February 27, 2016, from The Biography.com website : http://www.biography.com/people/mary-shelley-9481497
poets.org. (n.d.). Emily Dickinson. Retrieved February 27, 2016, from www.poets.org: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/emily-dickinson
Horner, M., Nadelson, C. C., & Notman, M. T. (1983). The Challenge of change: Perspectives on family, work, and education. New York: Plenum Press
Jones, C. (2010). Week 11, Lecture 9: Separate Spheres and Women’s Status in 19th Century
LitCharts, (2016). The LitCharts study guide to Frankenstein. Retrieved 26 February 2016, from http://www.litcharts.com/lit/frankenstein
