Thesis
Gendered perspectives of the revolutionary era: an analysis of selected women's writings, 1763-1800
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2009
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/100767
Abstract
This thesis examines published writings authored by fifteen literate American patriot women in the North between the years of 1763 and 1800--including letters, journals, and memoirs--to determine what they chose to write about and how they expressed themselves. Incorporated into the research are writings of women of varying social backgrounds, locations, race, and age, in order to comparatively assess the ways in which women's lives in America, both domestically and publicly, were shaped by their historical context. A primary focus is to explore the interaction between the domestic world and public affairs that served to create the backdrop in which these numerous and significant female authors lived and wrote. Chapters One and Two investigate female domestic life in the years between 1763 and 1800, identifying and categorizing matters of importance to women writers. In particular, Chapter One quantifies and analyzes themes pertaining to courtship, marriage, childbirth, and motherhood in order to ascertain the ways in which women remained within--and rose above--patriarchal expectations. Chapter Two assesses domestic tasks, illness, and death, noting patterns of female behavior--the administration of the family economy, decisions of whether or not to entertain guests, or inoculation, for instance--that allowed women to assert personal authority. Seeking to extrapolate the nature of the female exchange network in the North, Chapter Three discusses intimate homosocial ties and the means by which friendship, religion, reciprocal expectations of letter writing, and the female surveillance of gender roles served as a bridge between private and public life. Lastly, Chapter Four broadens the focus from concerns related to domestic interests to the reactions of women toward the changing political climate around them, arguing that female writings not only reflect an adept understanding of economics, local, and national political events, but the clear development of a civic consciousness as well.
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Details
- Title
- Gendered perspectives of the revolutionary era
- Creators
- Alisa Jean Wade
- Contributors
- Jennifer Thigpen (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- History, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525276901842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis