“The day will come when men will recognize woman as his peer, not only at the fireside, but in councils of the nation. Then, and not until then, will there be the perfect comradeship, the ideal union between the sexes that shall result in the highest development of the race.”– Susan B. Anthony

Throughout history, from day one to the present, women have been a mystery (To individuals who are not). Which hasn’t stopped men from trying to understand, put in boxes and systematically diminish the role of women. Yet, I believe that we have seen much forward progress. Not in necessarily understanding the secrets of women, but that women have been treated differently and, as time has progressed, slightly better. So to zero in on a specific time where change was taking place I’d like to reference Sarah Stickney Ellis’s writing in 1839. So in what ways does her writing about women's role in society in that time echo our time? Was there a dramatic positive change? Is there bad remnants of that time still in effect now?

So to focus, what was Sarah Ellis especially getting at in her writing called “Characteristics of the Women of England” Well, in this period of time there were many working women. They toiled in factories and they faced many challenges. Men considering themselves to be “Social commentators, expected middle-class women to focus on their homes and families, thereby transforming them into bastions of order, tranquility, and proper behavior”(Lualdi 154). It was a time of docileness, respect and a happy orderly home. Yet many middle class households had “domestics” or, servants as they were also known as. These people helped to add to the peacefulness of the home.

On the second page of Mrs. Ellis’s writing she says, “Where domestics abound, and there is a hired hand for every kindly office, would be a work of supererogation for the mistress of the house to step forward , and assist with her own;”(Lualdi 155). This points to the fact that women were expected to take care of their home, whether it be by themselves or by delegation and overseeing of the domestics. She continued, “but where domestics are few, and the individuals who compose the household are thrown upon the consideration of the mothers, wives, and daughters for their daily comfort, innumerable channels are opened for the overflow of those floods of human kindness, which it is one of the happiest and most ennobling duties of women to administer to the weary frame, and to pour into the wounded mind”(Lualdi 155). So woman’s role supposedly, while being to take care of the home, was also to take care of everyone inside. To show love and care to their husbands, fathers and sons.

Then again, it were a time of work for middle class women as well. In another reading titled “Testimony Gathered by Ashley’s Mines Commission (1842)” and “Punch Magazine, ‘Capital and Labour’ (1843)” This writing is focused on the Industrial Revolution, and specific peoples quoted experiences during that time. It wasn’t all butterflies, small chores and love. There were obviously people who weren't a part of the middle class. Those working class women who not only had jobs as servants, but as mill workers and workers in the mines. Their lives were harder. They were mistreated, underfed and had to deal with more bull than me, or anyone who will probably read this will have ever gone through. I’d like to start with the testimony of Mary Barrett, she was 14 at the time. She starts out saying that she had, worked down in the pits for five years, that her father is working in next pit, and that she has 12 brothers and sisters. She said that, “one of them can read, none of the rest can, or write.”(Lualdi 160) this obviously shows off the knowledge gap between the rich and the poor. She continued saying, “I do not like working in the pit, but I am obliged to get a living; I work always without stockings, or shoes, or trousers; I wear nothing but my chemise; I have to go up the the headings with the men; they are all naked there; I am got well used to that, and don’t care now much about it; I was afraid at first, and did not like it; they never behave rudely to me; I cannot read or write.”(Lualdi 160).

The previous quotation was pretty minor, it showed how hard lower class women as young as 14 worked, and it showed the obvious knowledge differences between classes. But this is mild in comparison to other accounts shown in the same readings. One pointed out that they didn’t need furniture, or rather, they couldn’t afford it. Another had a woman talking about how the men took advantage of her in the mines and no one did anything about it. There was extreme inequality.

Yet, the fact that woman could hold jobs other than maids was an impressive shift. And yet these facts seemed to be ignored by Mrs. Sarah Ellis. She focused only on the role of stay at home, middle class women. She almost angers me with her flippant ignorance of real issue. She describes the difficulties of these middle class women as follows. “How shall I endeavor through this day to turn the time, the health, and the means permitted me to enjoy, to the best account? Is anyone sick? I must visit their chamber without delay, and try to give their apartment an air of comfort, by arranging such things as the wearied nurse may not have thought of. Is anyone about to set off on a journey? I must see that the early meal is spread, or prepare it with my own hands, in order that the servant, who was working last night, may profit by unbroken rest. Did I fail in what was kind or considerate to any of the family yesterday? I will meet her this morning with a cordial welcome, and show, in the most delicate way I can, that I am anxious to atone for the past. Was anyone exhausted by the last day’s exertion? I will be an hour before them this morning, and let them see that their labor is so much in advance”(Lualdi 156). I think it was important to include this whole paragraph from the reading. Not only to show what Mrs. Ellis believed to be everyday thoughts from a middle class, stay at home woman, but she also seemed to hold it important enough to have included it in her own writing.

The world Sarah Ellis imagined was a world of etiquette and refined manners. Where a woman could do no better than to perfect her home and wait upon her husband. She goes on to say that, “In other countries, where the domestic lamp is voluntarily put out, in order to allow the women to resort to the operas, or the public festival, they are not only careless about their home comforts, but necessarily ignorant of the high degree of excellence to which they might be raised. In England there is a kind of science of good household management”(Lualdi 156). So does this world of Mrs. Ellis echo our own in the twenty-first century? To some extent I think it does, or at least recently did. While women have been allowed to work for a while, that number rose during World War II, it hasn’t been strongly encouraged. And if it has been, it hasn't been toward high powered jobs. Women are underpaid, undervalued, and seen as unable to do some things that men are able and encouraged to do. I say it is up to the woman and her own personal goals, aspirations and strengths.

Echoes of mistreatment are still alive and well, while many women are not being raped and forced to work half naked in coal mines, women aren’t taken seriously when rape happens, many times they are not believed. Women make less money in comparison to men, and when a woman has a child (here in the U.S.) they are expected to stay home, breastfeeding or not, while the men are discouraged from taking off to care for the child while the woman works. Women are seen as housewives and are always in charge of the house cleaning, even if they hold a job as well. Slowly we are evolving as a society to allow women in the United States the freedom to chose what they do and equality among sexes is slowly if not assuredly to become a reality.

So to end, were the changes that took place in the late 1800’s dramatically positive? I believe they were, if not only allowing women to hold more power, but to have more leave to make their own choices. There were certainly discrepancies between women in differing classes though. Mrs. Ellis did well in showing us the important role middle class women played in that time, and while it was the epicenter of perfection, it still isn’t now, so I would have to say I’m positively delighted that with time we have progressed and only had to deal with minor regressions. One thing that hasn’t changed is that women are still a mystery, and probably will be for all of eternity.