Article Review Gill, Valerie. "Catharine Beecher and Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Architects of Female Power." Journal of American Culture (Summer 1998).
Bailey Diamond
In the article “Catharine Beecher and Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Architects of Female Power” by author Valerie Gill, Ms. Gill attempts to bridge the gap between what appears to be two powerful women of their time with two totally different opinions of the American woman and the type of life they should lead. The author points out the obvious differences of opinions in the writings of the two women, who are related by the way, and the different era in which they write. Catharine Beecher was the great aunt of Charlotte Perkins Gilman and lived and wrote during a time when a woman working in any other place besides the home was not something that happened often. A woman’s job during this time was to raise children and make the home a warm, inviting space that had functionality that would allow for “separate spheres” for the men and women, allowing the men to have a place to discuss outside ventures and women to have a place to deal with domestic matters. Charlotte Perkins Gilman on the other hand, lived during a period where productivity was happening in factories all over the country. Her feminist attempt to undo her great aunt’s idea that women should be assigned to only the home made it appear that the two women had absolutely nothing in common when it came to the ideas on how women should be viewed socially.
Gill points out how the two very different opinions actually have many things in common. Both women agree that the role of women is very important to the health of society, even though they disagree on what their roles should be. By suggesting that each writer knows what is the best arrangement for women to experience shows another similarity between the two writers. As pointed out by Gill, “Both writers conceptualize the identity of women in spatial as well as socioeconomic terms, assuming that the fulfillment of their own sex can be quite literally mapped out”. The author makes a point that even though their opinions of what is
In the article “Catharine Beecher and Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Architects of Female Power” by author Valerie Gill, Ms. Gill attempts to bridge the gap between what appears to be two powerful women of their time with two totally different opinions of the American woman and the type of life they should lead. The author points out the obvious differences of opinions in the writings of the two women, who are related by the way, and the different era in which they write. Catharine Beecher was the great aunt of Charlotte Perkins Gilman and lived and wrote during a time when a woman working in any other place besides the home was not something that happened often. A woman’s job during this time was to raise children and make the home a warm, inviting space that had functionality that would allow for “separate spheres” for the men and women, allowing the men to have a place to discuss outside ventures and women to have a place to deal with domestic matters. Charlotte Perkins Gilman on the other hand, lived during a period where productivity was happening in factories all over the country. Her feminist attempt to undo her great aunt’s idea that women should be assigned to only the home made it appear that the two women had absolutely nothing in common when it came to the ideas on how women should be viewed socially.
Gill points out how the two very different opinions actually have many things in common. Both women agree that the role of women is very important to the health of society, even though they disagree on what their roles should be. By suggesting that each writer knows what is the best arrangement for women to experience shows another similarity between the two writers. As pointed out by Gill, “Both writers conceptualize the identity of women in spatial as well as socioeconomic terms, assuming that the fulfillment of their own sex can be quite literally mapped out”. The author makes a point that even though their opinions of what is