Women as Slaves in 19th Century

Women, much like African slaves, were subjected to unequal treatment at the hands of

the male populace in the 19th century. Women were cast as the physically and emotionally

fragile characters that were expected of them. During this era, the anticipated duty of women was

to maintain the family, care for their husbands, and obey the directives of the male head of

household. In the earlier part of this century, women were seen as the "weaker sex" and held to

lower standards than males (Sandy, 2021). As the years passed, women began to experience the

independence and self-determination that came with being granted rights like the right to an

education, the ability to vote, the right to own ownership, and the right to work.

At the beginning of the 1800s, it was common for women to be confined to their houses

and to be expected to undertake exclusively domestic tasks and responsibilities. They were

assigned responsibilities as housekeepers by society. A housewife's primary responsibilities were

looking after the children and going above and beyond for her spouse in all aspects of domestic

life. Women were traditionally seen to be less capable than males, leading to their subordination

in society. Some individuals would consider a situation like this to be comparable to slavery.

Women had no say in the direction their lives took. The males in the civilization controlled all of

their behaviors and had complete dominion over them (Sandy, 2021). First, their dad and

brothers would exert their authority over them while they were still young, and after they were

married, their husbands would exert their authority over them.

It was forbidden for women to participate in any activity other than those directly related

to the maintenance of their families. The family relied entirely on the spouse for financial

support. Because the spouse was the sole potential source of income, a woman's only opportunity

to safeguard her economic well-being was to choose a guy who was well established in his career
and well-off financially before getting married. This rendered them reliant on the guy, and in the

event that the man passed away, the only source of income available to them would be the funds

that her spouse had accumulated. The culture saw women as though they were asexual creatures,

persons who did not have emotions and did not have an existence of their own.

The primary role of a woman was to seek out a spouse, have children, and devote her

whole life to the maintenance of her family, which included her husband and their offspring

(Velilaeva, 2021). It was socially unacceptable for a woman to stay unmarried; in fact, the

community looked down on single women and felt sorry for them. After a woman gets married,

property ownership often passes to her new husband, even if the lady possessed property while

she was living with her parents or her father. The rights of the husband extended to all that the

wife had, even her own body, and he might do anything he pleased with them. Marriage was a

commitment that would last these ladies their whole lives. Women were not permitted to get

divorces; rather, they were expected to continue living with their husbands regardless of how

unhappy the marriage made them feel. Not only did this make it impossible for them to meet

their physical needs, but it also deprived them of the chance to exercise any sort of independence

(Velilaeva, 2021). Their ability to exert influence was diminished as a result, and they were left

with little chance of achieving social recognition.

While women had been held back for so long by societal, cultural, financial, and political

norms, in the 1800s women's movements grew so strong that they were able to attack those same

institutions. This was the beginning of the transition that would see their positions in society

completely reversed. Throughout the course of history, women have been given less legislative

rights and options for occupations, which has resulted in a lower level of representation

compared to that of males. They viewed their roles as mothers and wives to be their primary
occupations. Most women were able to vote by the end of the 19th century, and they had

extended their access to school and other formerly male-dominated professions. For maintaining

the equilibrium of the community, marriage was seen as being of the utmost importance and

significance. In order for a marriage to be successful and fulfilling, it was consequently required

of women to have a high level of obedience and submission to their husbands. During these

times, education was a contentious issue, and it was the one that first prompted women to

participate in demonstrations. On the other hand, not a single feminist has been able to provide a

strategy that might level the playing field in terms of education between females and boys. A

formal education would only be available to the daughters of wealthy parents. However, since

educated women were considered ugly, it was very difficult for them to find a husband who

would marry them.

Around the middle of the 1800s, women began to develop a resistance to the tyranny they

experienced at the hands of males and a desire to achieve complete independence. As a direct

consequence of this, they participated in demonstrations for religious freedom and equitable

educational opportunities (Curtis, 2013). It was not at all simple; women had to contend with

opposition from both men and other females. Males mostly ignored feminists in general, and

traditionalist women did not want to hear anything having to do with women's freedom. Men, on

the other hand, were more open to the idea of women having more autonomy (Rossi, 2021). The

only area where women were given complete support was in churches, which likewise had their

own agendas and goals. Women were able to achieve their goals inside these movements for

social change, marking a first in human history when males were faced with competition from

female dominance.
 As a result, women started holding jobs that took them outside of the house. This meant

that in exchange for remuneration, they would teach, care for, and cook for the young people. In

addition, they entered professions such as teaching, nursing, and secretarial work since these

were the only employment that were considered appropriate for women at the time. On the other

hand, a woman was only permitted to have a job for as long as she remained unmarried; if she

did get married, she was intended to give up her job and focus on her responsibilities as a mother

and a wife. Because practically everything had to be produced from scratch back then, being a

housewife required a broad set of skills that could be used in a variety of contexts.

Nevertheless, throughout the time of the industrial revolution, more work options were

available to them. In order to cover the empty positions, many women found employment in the

new industries. The public school system also grew, which led to the employment of a

significant number of more women in teaching positions. In the 1850s, because of changes made

to hospitals and the nursing profession, the role of a nurse became one that was held in high

respect for women. In addition to this, the American Civil War was a significant factor in the

development of women's positions in society (Rossi, 2021). As a direct consequence of it,

women filled a significant number of formerly male-dominated positions in the public sector and

other types of offices. As a result of having shown to males that they were capable of genuine

labor during the Civil War, women continued to hold positions of employment within the

administration after the war ended.

In conclusion, throughout the 19th century, it was expected of males to have a public life.

This may mean laboring in a factory or socializing with other men of the same mindset in public

locations like as clubs, gatherings, or bars. Both of these activities were considered acceptable.

On the other hand, it was expected of women to spend the most of their life inside the house,
taking care of domestic responsibilities like as cooking, washing, and raising children. Women's

free time was expected to be used for family-related tasks, such as making socks or doing

laundry, rather than socializing.

Reference

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American South. American Nineteenth Century History, 22(3), 271-288.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14664658.2021.2022505

Santiago, D. (2017). Slaves and Slavery in the 19th Century Puerto Rican

Literature. Caietele Echinox, 32, 124-134. https://doi.org/10.24193/cechinox.2017.32.10

Velilaeva, L. (2021). Women in the 19th century Scottish emigration poetry of the

USA. Research Result. Theoretical And Applied Linguistics, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.18413/2313-

8912-2021-7-2-0-12

Curtis, L. (2013). Fathers, Daughters, and Slaves: Women Writers and French Colonial

Slavery by Doris Kadish. Nineteenth-Century French Studies, 42(1-2), 124-125.

https://doi.org/10.1353/ncf.2013.0060

Rossi, C. (2021). Slaves, Indians, and Legal Formalism in 19th Century America. SSRN

Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3942438