Women, Work And Sexual Politics In Eighteenth-century England (women's And Gender History)
by Bridget Hill /
1993 / English / PDF
1.7 MB Download
The author offers a reassessment of how women's experience of work
in 18th- century England was affected by industrialization and
other elements of economic, social and technological change.; This
study focuses on the household, the most important unit of
production in the 18th century. Hill examines the work done by the
women of the household, not only in "housework" but also in
agriculture and manufacturing, and explains what women lost as the
household's independence as a unit of economic production was
undermined.; Considering the whole range of activities in which
women were involved - including many occupations unrecorded in
censuses which have, therefore, been largely ignored by historians
- Hill charts the increasing sexual division of labour and
highlights its implications. She also discusses the role of service
in husbandry and apprenticeship, as sources of training for women,
and the consequences of their decline.; The final part of the book
considers how the changing nature of women's work influenced
courtship, marriage and relations between the sexes. Among the
topics discussed are the importance of the women's contribution to
setting up and maintaining a household; labouring women's attitudes
to marriage and divorce and the customary alternatives to them; and
the role of spinsters and widows. The author concludes by asking to
what extent the industrial revolution improved the overall position
of women and the opportunities open to them.; This series aims to
re-establish women's history, and to challenge the assumptions of
much mainstream history. Focusing on the modern period and
encouraging perspectives from other disciplines, it seeks to
concentrate upon areas of focal importance in the history of
Britain and continental Europe.; Bridget Hill is the author of
"Eighteenth-Century Women: An Anthology" and "The First English
Feminist".
The author offers a reassessment of how women's experience of work
in 18th- century England was affected by industrialization and
other elements of economic, social and technological change.; This
study focuses on the household, the most important unit of
production in the 18th century. Hill examines the work done by the
women of the household, not only in "housework" but also in
agriculture and manufacturing, and explains what women lost as the
household's independence as a unit of economic production was
undermined.; Considering the whole range of activities in which
women were involved - including many occupations unrecorded in
censuses which have, therefore, been largely ignored by historians
- Hill charts the increasing sexual division of labour and
highlights its implications. She also discusses the role of service
in husbandry and apprenticeship, as sources of training for women,
and the consequences of their decline.; The final part of the book
considers how the changing nature of women's work influenced
courtship, marriage and relations between the sexes. Among the
topics discussed are the importance of the women's contribution to
setting up and maintaining a household; labouring women's attitudes
to marriage and divorce and the customary alternatives to them; and
the role of spinsters and widows. The author concludes by asking to
what extent the industrial revolution improved the overall position
of women and the opportunities open to them.; This series aims to
re-establish women's history, and to challenge the assumptions of
much mainstream history. Focusing on the modern period and
encouraging perspectives from other disciplines, it seeks to
concentrate upon areas of focal importance in the history of
Britain and continental Europe.; Bridget Hill is the author of
"Eighteenth-Century Women: An Anthology" and "The First English
Feminist".