Background

   

Background

     Ladies Magazine  was originally published on June 1, 1792 in Philadelphia. It's purpose was to showcase female excellence within literature and a greater variety of pleasing subjects than other similar magazines or books had done before. Collecting "miscellaneous pieces, taken from the most entertaining and instructive writers that have appeared in the present century" (iv), the magazine ran for a year, releasing its last issue on May 1, 1793.
     Unmarried women had different rights than married women. Unmarried women were called "feme soles," or "women alone." They were allowed to live anywhere they wanted and could support themselves however they wanted as long as it did not require a license or a college degree that was restricted to males. They could sign contracts, buy and sell real estate, accumulate property, write wills, serve as guardians, sue, and be sued. There was also a law that stated that all children would receive equal inheritance, unlike previously when inheritance customs favored the oldest son. As soon as a woman married, however, these rights drastically changed. Husband and wife became one person under the law. Married women had legal rights, but no independence. They relied entirely on their husbands. All her property, including any wages she made, became her husband's and he could do whatever he wanted with it without her permission. However, she had the right to sue her husband if he was not providing for her appropriately. If she won, she could receive support from the court. In order to prevent this from happening, the judge enforced a rule that while the wife was in the process of suing her husband, he had to pay for anything she bought at the store or taverns. The implement of this rule helped prevent men from neglecting their wives (Lehrman, 1).
    The idea of marriage was influenced by many things, including religion and, for the upper class, appearances. There are many quotes in the Bible about marriage and being a good spouse. Since everyday life was so heavily impacted by religion, seeing multiple Bible verses about the importance of marriage would have further pushed the idea into the minds of both young men and women. Appearance was also a very big factor when it came to deciding who a person would marry.  If someone was of a higher standing class, they could not marry someone from a lower social class or someone who had disgraced their name (Gardner, 1). Who a person ended up married to was one of the most important decisions their family and them would make, and while many things influenced this decision, religion and appearances were the main two.

-Cate Eschmann