Ideals of a True Colonial Woman

Jasmine Garrett

Women’s history 27

June 23, 2015

Ideals of a True Colonial Woman

        Qualities of an ideal Colonial woman were based on maintaining the household, following rules and her legal status within society.  Women were role models for the younger generation. They showed their womanly duties of being modest, temperance, and her holiness of life. If a woman shall go out of her duties she was seen as being a disorderly woman. Colonial life was either the women played their role within society or be struck with server consequences.  

        Women were the idealists of hard workers during colonial times.  There was really never a time for a break because there was something that always had to be done; while maintaining the household. Whether she was taking care of the children, preparing meals, or doing laundry she was busy from dawn till the sun had set.  Markham said “who is the mother and mistress of the family and hath her most general employments within house”(Dubois pg. 90).  He explained that this was one of their main roles that they had to live up to; the men wouldn’t take this type of position, because they saw themselves at such a higher rank than the women. They wanted to show their dominance and have the real professions that the women couldn’t.

        During the colonial times the women didn’t have much but only had some freedom to a certain extent and few legal rights. Women had to obey any man that was in their life father, husband, or brother. By law her husband had the power to her behavior and anything she owned. Men had standards and believed there women should be up to par meaning being modest, temperance, patience, reserve, purity, mercy and compassion.  The men reasoned that their women should be religious and obey and respect god and his creatures by all means. They also believed the women should always walk in the shadow of the men in her life.  “Sharp and quick of speech, but not bitter or talkative” (Dubois pg. 90); was what Markham had explained. Markham believed that them women should rather be seen than to be heard when she’s around. Women held their tongue until they had permission to speak from any of the men that was in her life.