The Empire of the Mother: American Writing about Domesticity, 1830-1860

Abstract

Contents Introduction: In Domestic Captivity: A Decade in the Historiography of Women Chapter I: From Patriarchal Household to Feminine Domesticity Chapter II: Tying the Maternal Knot: 1830-1850 Chapter III: Beyond and Against Domesticity: Reform Associations and Communal Societies in the 1830s and '40s Chapter IV: Imperial Isolation: Domestic Advice Literature of the 1850s Chapter V: The Tears and Trials of Domesticity: Women's Fiction in the 1850s Conclusion: Dismantling the Empire of the Mother References Index