Thematic question Week 1

What role did women play in the family dynamic of the late 18th early 19th century Maine?

Woman in the late 18th early 19th century in Maine had a lot more jobs than the image roles of a woman of this time. They delieverd babies, nursed the sick, was a friend in need, took care of the household, cooked, cleaned, gardened etc and took care of thier husbands and children. The image that is portrayed is that woman of this time had no rights and stayed inside the home. Well this is not true, and thanks to Martha Ballards diary we now know what it was like in this time. Woman did not stay inside the home. Martha spent most of her time in other peoples homes over night and maybe even for weeks waiting for babies to deliever and then delievering them. She would nurse sick people until they were healthy again. She was an example to her family and taught her kids what was ethical. This is a description of what it was like for a woman of the 18th and early 19th century in Maine. They may not have had many rights, but they did not stay inside the kitchen. Doing the things that Martha and the other woman in Maine of this time would seem really satisfing even though they did not have all the rights as men in that time. Doing the things that they did helped the communites and made it a safer and happier environment.