The Profession of Women

The following is an excerpt from Catharine Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe's The American Woman's Home: or Principle's of Domestic Science; Being a Guide to the Formation and Maintenance of Economical, Healthful, Beautiful, and Christian Homes, which was originally published in 1869.

It is the aim of this volume to elevate both the honor and the renumeration of all employments that sustain the many and varied duties of the family state, and thus to render each department of woman's profession as much desired and respected as are the most honored professions of men.

I read this a little while ago, and it struck me for some reason. Most of Beecher's writings (and Stowe's to a lesser extent) argue that motherhood is as valuable as any male dominated profession (keep in mind she wrote throughout the 19th century). In her time, she was revolutionary for advocating that women needed to be properly educated to complete domestic labor; for her such an education included mathematics, economics, science, and physical education. The rhetoric of it is interesting to me, as Beecher and Stowe focus on equality but maintain that women and men should focus on very different professions.