Catharine Beecher: A Study in American Domesticity (Norton Library

by Kathryn Kish Sklar

“A thoughtful, ingenious, speculative book, a pleasure to read and to reread. No one interested in the history of women and the family, and in Victorian civilization as a whole, can afford to miss it.” ― Journal of American History Although she is often remembered only as the sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher, there was a time in Catharine Beecher’s life when she was more widely known than any member of her eminent family. A pioneering teacher, a writer on moral and religious topics, and an avid publicist for women’s education, her name became a household word in the 1840s because of the enormous success of her Treatise on Domestic Economy . This comprehensive guide to all aspects of domestic self-management was part of her effort to create a female domain from which cultural power could be exercised. In the recent reassessment of the historical experience of women, the middle decades of the last century have emerged as a critical period: the movement for women’s rights was born, and the genteel cult of the lady and the encumbering customs of domesticity took hold. Present-day attitudes about the family and images of masculine and feminine roles are still strongly shaped by nineteenth-century ideas. Catherine Beecher: A Study in American Domesticity examines that era through the life of one of its major protagonists. It offers new insights into the shifting contours of the nineteenth-century female experience and is a signal contribution to the intellectual and social history of the period.

Genres: History, Biography, American History, Nonfiction, Grad School

380 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1976

About the author

Kathryn Kish Sklar is a Professor of History, co-director of the Center for the Historical Study of Women and Gender, and co-director of the Center for the Teaching of American History at Binghamton University.

Kathryn Sklar's research centers on women in social movements in the United States, comparatively considered with British and German women. Her publications focus on the Antebellum and Progressive eras. She is particularly interested in how women's participation in social movements illuminates large questions in U.S. and comparative history, such as those associated with political culture, class formation, state formation, and the construction of gender, religious and ethnic identities.
--from the author's website

Reviews

[Emmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beecher is famous for a few reasons: she wrote a book called "The American Woman's Home Companion" which revolutionized the way the 19th century thought about women and their place in society. (ever heard of separate spheres? Or domestic goddesses? Thank Beecher). She's also part of the crazy Beecher family, who was involved in just about every major 19th century intellectual movement. And yes, she is the sister of Harriet. A pretty good read, and Sklar did a good job of setting her in a broader context.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sklar's sympathetic, but not sentimental, portrait of an important American figure.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catharine Beecher was a pioneer in understanding the needs of housewives, making their lives more pleasant. I also learned of her struggle with her father's religion, and how he imposed it on her.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating woman, family, and time period. The book definitely also reflects the time period in which it was written.