Cult of Ture Womanhood
Christopher Dube
11/1/2007
Hum 5 – P4
Cult of True Womanhood
The Cult of True Womanhood has four major themes which are: piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity.
Piety
- Piety is coinciding with motherhood – mothers should be good role models for their children and be devout toward God.
- It was the core of womanhood, and one of the most important aspects of a woman that men were looking for.
- Spiritualism was more important than any physical attractiveness that a woman had.
- Religion is what is best for women because they are naturally dependent on others (such as husbands), so organized religion would come naturally to them.
- Religion does not detract from woman’s main goal (serving man), and did not take away from her domesticity. Religion promotes home duties even.
- Religion will help in achieving a “constant and useful character”
- Women should not let literary or intellectual pursuits take them away from God.
Purity
- The absence is unnatural and unfeminine – the lack of it makes a woman a lower being.
- She was deemed a “fallen angel” and unworthy of being called a woman.
- Being guilty of impurity brought on madness or death.
- Once she was married, here marriage night was the turning point in her life. After that she was no longer pure and was worthless, except tot server her husband.
- Women must not let men’s sexual urges make the better of them and must resist if at all possible.
- Good advice is not to get to close to a man before you are married.
- Young girls may mot be high spirited, because men then think that it is ok to take advantage of them.
- If a man would try to deflower a girl, he would be shunned by women, society, and God.
- If you bear an illegitimate child, you will go mad and die.
- Men should be grateful to women for saving them from shame and temptations when they are trying to have sex with women, and the resist.
- Women should never compromise the source of their power to resist mens’ sexual advances.
Submission
- It is the most feminine virtue expected of women.
- Men are the movers and doers of our world, so women should go along with it silently and submissively.
- Men were appointed by god to be superior to women, so women should keep it that way in their actions.
- She needed to be humble and submissive all her life until she died.
- Women need a protector to guide them in their decisions and such – she knows her proper dependence.
- Women are not smart enough for intellect, but big enough to make love.
- She should only love because she is loved by a man – love is gratitude for that man loving her.
- Women should be “clinging desperately” to men – like a child their entire lives.
- Women should try to meet the needs of a man’s wishes even if she does not agree with his intentions about the matter.
- Women should definitely not give their opinion to their husbands on matters of importance unless he asks.
- Women are tasked to suffer silently and obey everything the husband asks of her.
Domesticity
- Women’s place where they are natural and belong is in the home.
- Home duties invoke a sense sedateness on women which is good for them.
- If she wants to change things (moral and social reform), she must start things in her own home.
- Women’s main role in the home is a s nurse and comforter of her family when they are sick.
- She must also be good a cooking to keep her family well fed and healthy.
- Women should be very happy when their husband was sick because they felt important then.
- In her home, women could be constantly doing morally uplifting tasks.
- The tasks of homemaking were very complicated; in fact geometry is necessary for dividing cloth.
- She could also read in her home, and study, because they are good time wasters.
- However, women could also be destroyed by reading books and gathering unhealthy ideas, which they are susceptible to believe.
- A literary minded woman must still do the same tasks as any other woman.
- Overall, education is not necessary for women to do their tasks in life.
Women should marry, but not for money.
