Wife

It has been stressed that, in the 19th Century, if any women, Irish, Chinese, Jew or Japanese, wanted to go to America, it would be best if they were married. Irish women in America were not as bent on marriage as much as other nationalities; in fact, Irish women preferred to stay single. A single Irish domestic servant then living in America was called a “Miss Bridget”. Irish women preferred being a domestic servant to being married because, as a servant, they would have shelter, food, and financial security and need nothing else. Marriage, therefore, was not the option for Irish women in the 19th Century.

Nineteenth-century women, in general, were viewed as dependent on men for refuge, food, and economic support. Throughout their lives, women were being dependent, initially to their fathers and then to their husbands- raising this question: “Is there anyone who will depend on the women”? This is one reason why women want to get married, for them to experience how it feels like when someone, like their children, depend on them. Generally, for any culture or race, women primarily marry to start a new family. Other possible reasons include money, protection, and shelter.

The Chinese were the first immigrants restricted by race and class to go to America. As a result, it was then very difficult for Chinese women to go there; however, almost all Chinese families still wanted to migrate to America for promises of better opportunities than China could offer. The Chinese families, therefore, influenced their women to get married in order to increase their chances of migration.

Consequently, since Chinese women wanted to keep their families happy, like Wong Ah So, they would want to get married in order to obey their parents’ wishes. Southern Ladies (white women), however, did marry because who would not want to marry rich white men? The husband would have nannies/maids in the house who would take care of the kids, cook for the family, and clean the house. The only concern a wife then would have to deal with was making sure the servants were doing their work.

After marriage, women were to find out that their marital situations were not in congruence with their expectations or not like the way they thought it would be, particularly because of their culture. When Rachel Calof lived with her Aunt, she met a young boy, a butcher who liked her very much, but her grandfather did not give that boy a chance to go out with her. “He stated that my marriage to a butcher would defame the family name forever” (Calof 8). Her family’s culture made it impossible for her to marry the butcher.

For Irish women, their culture and status shaped their expectations of marriage. For instance, being from the lower echelons of society would mean having no expectations of marriage. The best option in this case would then be to become a nun since the Church provided shelter, protection, money, and food. They would even have the chance to help the Irish community.

From the beginning, society viewed women as daughters of Eve, so as time progressed, it seemed like society and/or men molded women into beings it/they wanted them to be. For decades, women have been viewed negatively and no one expected or wanted women to take charge. All that women hoped for was for the time to come when they would earn society’s respect and acquire an equal treatment with men.  Since women’s social value was rooted on motherhood, if they wanted society to view them as perfect Americans, wives had to support the American Revolution, raise funds for the American soldiers, demonstrate loyalty, and teach their children loyalty to their country, especially the boys.

To be “True Women” in the 19th Century, they had to be sexually pure, religious, domestic, and submissive.  It was a wife’s responsibility to her husband to be a “true woman” and to respect and not question the husband’s actions and decisions. In a typical home, the father was the head of the house and the provider of food, clothing, shelter, and protection. The child was supposed to obey and respect his/her father at all times.  Abigail Adams, John Adams’s wife, was involved behind the scenes in his political career and reminded him after the Declaration of Independence to acknowledge women’s role in the American Revolution.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, another woman, also tried to resolve these conflicts and wrote the Declaration of Sentiments. She spoke at the Seneca Falls Convention Center saying, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (Stanton 214). After Stanton delivered this speech, everyone was surprised for she modified a word from the Declaration of Independence. Had it not been for women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton or Lucretia Mott, today’s women would still be viewed as daughters of Eve.

In conclusion, marriage in the 19th Century had its advantages and disadvantages. Women were better off being married because of their over-reliance on men and for better chances of survival. The advantages of being married then included having shelter, food, protection, financial support, and a family. The Japanese culture would be a good illustration here- when Japanese men wanted to get married, they had to prove to the Japanese Government that they were prepared to get married and financially ready to raise a family. A Japanese woman was never required to prove to the Government her financial capability; all a woman had to do was show up and get married. Even though women would not have a voice in the house after being married, having a place to stay when they grow old would be an ample consolation.

Geoffery Chaucer wrote twenty-four tales but the most noticeable of these twenty-four tales are “The Pardoners Tale” and “The Wife Of Baths Tale”. The Wife of Bath’s Tale” is the more likely candidate to win against “The Pardoner’s Tale” in the morality side. The reason her tale has morality is the goodness of the poor and broken. Once her story is near its end and the knight, her protagonist, is face to face with the old woman, the antagonist, the wife’s message becomes clear.

The very first of her ideas is that gentleness, the most prized quality by the upper class, does not come from the class that someone is born into but rather their choices. In “The Pardoner’s Tale” the pardoner sells the church’s pardons to people who have sinned and seek absolution. He also preaches against sins, mostly avarice. Ironically, in the prologue to his tale, he admits being guilty of that sin and is quite proud of it. His tale is also about greed; in it, death takes three greedy men to their early graves. The more you compare and contrast them the more you realize they have in common.

Both tales scam people out of their money and status, and they both do this by appealing to others guilt. The wife of bath tells her first few husbands how badly they treated her when they were “drunk”. While the pardoner gives sermons on how the root of all evil is desire, and since desire is an emotion everyone feels, everyone feels guilty of his allegations. The pardoner never really tried to validate his actions. He did give a short little speech in which he basically said that other people were scamming other people so why not him but that was it.

The wife of bath, on the other hand, gave a huge speech on why what she did was acceptable. So the wife of the bath must have felt a little guilt because she felt like she had to defend her actions. Then the wife of bath wins on the fact that deep down she seems to be searching for something real. The pardoner may want something like that as well but he does not prove or show that he does. We can clearly see that the Pardoner and the Wife of Bath both present a criticism of the church of the time.

The Pardoner wasn’t exactly a respected position because they would guilt you into buying an artifact from them to pardon your sins. Basically the criticism here is the whole idea of pedaling fake relics and convincing sinners to buy the fake relics. The Wife of Bath presents the idea that women of the world should have the same rights, powers, and privileges as men, which was a bad idea to do back then. The way frame narrative is used here is so that the characters and the narrator is talking about isn’t directly Chaucer’s ideas.

The second thing they have in common is that they both have no problem with their way of thinking. Some people have ideas and things they want to express but they do not want to for fear. In conclusion, every one has their own view point on both tales and have different opinions. My opinion is that The Wife of Bath has a better story to tell as well as a better moral story at the end since she admits to her faults and accepts responsibility. The pardoner is self fish and rude in my eyes and also in a lot of people’s eyes.

The history of progress of the human race is the history of education. Hence it is necessary or every person, man or woman, to be educated. The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Women should be educated like men; otherwise there can be no peace or no progress. If you yoke an unbroken (untrained) horse with a highly trained one, the carriage will be dashed to pieces and the occupants’ lives will be destroyed. The family peace cannot be preserved with such ill-matched life-long companions.

Napoleon was once asked what the greatest need of France was. He answered, “Motherland’s National progress is impossible without trained and educated mothers”. If the women in any country are not educated, about half . he people in that country will be Ignorant. The result is that such a country will not be able to go along with other nations in development and progress. I’ll There is a greet controversy going on in Pakistan their women should receive her education or not.

Orthodox people are in favor of female education, but they us opposed to giving them higher education but this view does not sound welt. If women are mentally fit to receive higher education, there seems to be no reason why they should not be allowed to develop their mental faculties. There is other group of liberal people which Ii In favor of the female education. To give them only the rudiments of knowledge, while they are eager for advanced studies, is to condemn them to a place of inferiority.

A woman has to play three distinct pests in the course of her life in each of which certain duties are expected of her. If she is able to do these well, she is worthy of being called perfect woman. It is only by the help of education that she can hope to be able to do them satisfactorily. The first duty of a woman is to be a good daughter. Th. second is to be a good wife and the third is to be a good mother. Education Leeches a woman what she should be. It also teaches her how she should do it to be a good daughter, a good wife and a good mother.

Many men spend their evening time at clubs and societies. But a gentleman with an educated wife will not feel the need of clubs and societies. He can share his thoughts with her and seek her advice in trouble. Ho can spend his leisure Lime in her company. An educated lady will be a good Mend, a clever nurse and a useful adviser to her husband. She will be a true helpmate. She can retain her husband’s affection and regard. An uneducated lady is always unable to share in his interests. There is a saying in English. The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world”. The meaning is this that the mother exercises a very great influence over the lives of her children and is able to mould their thoughts and characters. If she is educated, she will make such an impression on the mind of her child, that it will enable him in later life to grow into a good and great man. Thus education will enable women to make their parents, husbands and children truly happy. Consequently it is very important that women should be educated.