Domesticity In The 19th Century

Domesticity is the ideology that one’s home should be distinct from the rest of the world, and that these separate spheres should be associated with gender roles. Moreover, a man’s role should be to work outside the home and a woman’s role should be to stay in the home to offer the family emotional and moral support. The cannon of domesticity developed in New England after industrialization and the market economy emerged in the mid-nineteenth century. Domesticity developed after industrialization because many people, presumably men, went to work outside the household, as opposed to doing labor near the home. Therefore, the cannon of domesticity served to counter the ideals of the working world, which were seen as corrupt and exploitative, by calling for women to uphold the traditional values of family and morality in the home.

This is because they had the means to support themselves with one income; therefore, women could stay at home. Domesticity was not common among poor and slave families because both men and women had to work to support their families. The concept of domesticity, specifically the difference between the treacheries outside world and the comfort of home, greatly changed socio-cultural perceptions of children. After domesticity developed, childhood became viewed as a distinct stage of life, in which children’s innocence and morality needed to be nurtured and sheltered from the evils of the world. Domesticity provided the opportunity for wives to offer more nurturing and attention to their children. As a result, children attended school and stayed at home for long periods of