Document Interpretation 5: Joshua and Sally Wilson Letters to George Wilson

This is a document written in 1823 when George Wilson obtains two letters, one of
which was from his father Joshua Wilson and another from his sister Sally Wilson.
George Wilson was a young gentleman of about 20 years old during that generation, and
these correspondences from his loved ones are primarily expressing to him that he is too
young for matrimony and they wish for him to reassess the outcome. In the
correspondences, it displays a lot of reasoning and philosophies of Americans throughout
that time, which is so dissimilar from the modern time in conditions of age, individual
aptitudes and triumph. According to Brands, p. 275, the 1820s and 1830s has induced
countless families to implement new inspirations in their daily lives suspending the
functions of men and women in the progression.
1. What is the picture of the ideal wife portrayed in these two letters? Of the ideal
husband?
In these two correspondences, it revealed a lot about the depiction of an ideal spouse.
The letters depicted that women should remain at home and men should be at work
outside to provide for their family. Women should not be the one working outside to
provide for the family for its the mans duty to be the leader of a family and women
should just concentrate on housekeeping. Women should be "susceptible to religious and
moral influences" (Brands 275). They were more hooked on the household roles such as a
wife. Also, they were presumed to have a distinctive responsibility at home other than
being affectionate to her husband and children, as the book stated that women had a
special role to play in the domestic sphere as guardians of virtue and spiritual heads of
home (Brands 275), which was also defined as The Cult of Domesticity. Furthermore,
The Cult of Domesticity emphasized the significance of a woman to be the protector of
the home as well as the men receiving revenue for the family. This philosophy is
additionally represented in both Joshuas and Sallys letters as they both request that
George would pertain more persistence in learning to be successful in the realm of
business to bring a salary home to his family.
2. To what extent do you think these images correspond to reality for most
Americans in the 1820s? To what extent do they correspond to contemporary
realities?
The manner in which Joshua and Sally depict how an exemplar spouse should be is
quite comparable to how it was in the 1820s. In the textbook (Brands, p. 275), it
explained how the lives of the individuals working, both men and women were gradually
beginning to make a distinction where the men are the ones who receive revenue for the
family while women had to keep an eye on the children and the house. In contrast to
present time, the philosophy has slightly lingered, but there are variations as most men
are still the ones who receive revenue for their family, however there is a portion of
women who correspondingly work to receive income for their family as well as
upholding their household obligations hence varying vaguely from the 1820s. In the
textbook (Brands, p. 275-276), women were educated to develop honorable qualities for
cherishing their children as well as aid in keeping order inside the household. The role of
women of this generation has slightly lengthened as they are permitted to be the one who
produces income for the family.