Introduction

   

Introduction

     For women in 18th century America, marriage was an important aspect of their life's path. They were continuously taught that marriage was in their future, whether they actively sought it or not. In some sense, women were interpellated from a young age to think that marriage was necessary for financial and social gain. Societal pressure on women to partake in marriage was influenced by facets of culture, such as Christianity. Once in marriage, women were expected to fulfill the domestic gender roles in order to be deemed a successful wife.
     Through this site, we hope to explore why marriage so heavily imposed on people's lives in 18th century America, and especially women. We are also examining the gender roles women were expected to fulfill in marriage. To answer these questions, we will be looking at artifacts from our primary source, the American periodical, Ladies Magazine. While these are quite large questions to answer in this blog, using a primary text and supplementary research will provide a glimpse into the female daily life during this time. Overall, we aim to show the ways in which women were pressured into marriage and the roles they were expected to fill in the 18th century.

- Emily Fournier