Star Three. What was the cult of domesticity and what values did they uphold?

The Cult of Domesticity was a view in Great Britain and America that revolved around the middle class portion of women; women were seen as "homemakers" and existed in an entirely different sphere than men.

The main ideal, according to the Cult of Domesticity, for middle class women was that they were supposed to convey perfect virtue in every sense of the word. Women were automatically placed as the center of the domestic sphere. They fell into the customary routine of being a good mother and wife. They were required to be nurturing and calm towards their children, loving and faithful to their husbands, and all around virtuous. They were also deeply religious, they taught the people around them about their Christian values, and were given the task of inspiring their husbands into religion.

There were four main values that each woman was believe to have to uphold. The first value was piety. Piety means that these women were believed to be more religious than men. The second value was purity. They were required to be pure in heart, mind, and soul. The third value was submission; women were required to give in to whatever it was their husbands said. The men made all decisions and the women were required to go along with it no matter what. And the fourth value was domesticity. This was the belief that while the man was out making the living for the family, the woman was at home creating a nurturing domain for the children and for the husband to come home to.

Due to the nature of how women were supposed to act at home, they became the more suitable gender to become teachers. Women were already raising their children and taking care of their husbands, so they had the ideals and values set in to teach children how to progress in the world.

Victorian British mothers were sometimes referred to as "the angel of the house." She was responsible for the moral education of her children, and to keep her husbands morality. The woman had the task of keeping the household running harmoniously. She has the task of overlooking the accounts and directing the household's servants.

Outside of the house women had very limited options. If a woman was unmarried she could be a companion or a governess. Many middle class married women undertook voluntary charitable work, and protested for social reforms. Women also played a vital role in the struggle to abolish slavery and the slave trade within the British Empire. Women also ran wide ranges of movements into order to attempt to better society, they included improving conditions for the poor in schools and hospitals, the decline of prostitution, and factory hours for women.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_Domesticity
http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/386/truewoman.html

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