Sibrian 1

Lucila Sibrian
October 21st, 2015
His 301
Southern Women Paper
As a woman in the twenty- first century we come to realize that we have gain so much
respect then women from the time of cult of domesticity. What is cult of domesticity? Those who
followed the cult of domesticity believed that women should stay at home and should not do any
work outside of their home. In Marli Weiners essay he states what a women role is in the house
hold and states what a man at that time is suppose to be doing. In the1880s the start of Cult
domesticity, a women has to provide for her family by taking care of the home and providing
guidance and teach those who are falling out of place while the man has to work far away from
the house and is allowed to wonder of and do what he wants.
Theywerelefttocreateanupliftingenvironmentahaventowhichtheirmencould
return.1Ifyouwereawomenbackin1880syouwouldhavebeenaprisonerinyourownhome.
Asawomenyouwererequiretoprovideforyourfamilybystayinghomeandteachingtheirkids
todowell.Agoodgirlwillberequiretoprayalldaylong,breedchildrenssotheycanteach
themgoodmorals,becomegrandmothers,also,theyareallowtoleavetheirhouseiftheyare
goingtochurchandtoteachothersaboutthewordofGod.Forexampleiftherewasabadgirl
suchassomeonewhohassexwithmultiplemen,doenotgotochurch,havekidswithmarried
men,orisinjailagoodwomenwillgotothejailandhelpthebadgirlandteachthemabout
goodmoralsandtrytochangethembacktobecomeagoodgirl.

1 Marli F. Weiner, Mistresses and Slaves: Plantation Women in South Carolina, 1830- 1880
(Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998), pp. 53

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FromtheWeineressaywegetthehistorybehindthecultofdomesticityandlearnhow
womenwereportraybackinthe1880s.NowwehaveanotherreadingcalledSojournerTruth,
AintIAwomen,whichstateswhatawomenwasexperiencingasaslave.Itwassohardto
understandthespeechbecauseofthelackofeducationaslavewouldhavewhichinfactthey
werenotallowedinreceivinganytypeofeducation.Thisarticlehelpsusunderstandhowaslave
womenwaslivingandhowwomendidnothavethesamerightsasmenespeciallycolored
women.Thewomenslaveswereusedforhouseholddutiesandtakingcareofthekidsjusthowit
wasstatedinWeinersessay.TheMenwhowereslavesweretheonesgoingoutinthefieldand
doingallhardlabor.Thisessayissopowerfulbecauseyougettobepartofthiswomenshoes
andreaditfromheractualvoice.
Godforgiveus,butoursisamonstroussystem&wrongandiniquity.2Inthisreadingwe
areintroducedtotheharshlifeofawomenbeingsoldforsexandsoldtobesomeonesproperty.
Thearticlearejournalsabouttherepersonalfeelingsabouthowtheyweretreatedandtheywere
treated.Sheexplainshowshewouldfeellessthenahumanbecauseofhowtheywerebeing
treated.ThefirstsentencehowtheyaskforforgivenesstoGoditmakesmethinkwhywouldwe
havepeoplelikethisintheworld.Thewomenwouldnotunderstandwhytheywouldbetreated
likeanimalswhentheywerejustliketheirmastersjustdifferentrace.
Asawomen,IfeelupsettomystomachthatifIwasbornduringthattimeIwouldbea
slaveinmyownhomebecauseofcultofdomesticityandoraslaveifIwasawomenofcolor.
Wehavecomealongwayinhistorynowandwehaveearnourrightsashumanbeings.Weare
abletospeakoutourminds,getahighereducation,workoutsideourhomesandstillmanageto
2 C. Vann Woodward and Elizabeth Muhlenfeld, eds., The Private Mary Chesnut (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1984), pp. 21, 42, 43

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formafamilyandteachthosearoundus.Weareabletosocializeandbyreadingthesereadingit
makesmeappreciatewhatwehaverightnow.