The Cult of True Womanhood: Oppressive or Empowering?

Women and men, throughout history, have been divided on the basis of gender.

The idea of public and private spheres is commonly seen in historical writings. These

ideas came into existence during the industrial revolution. Men were to exist in the public

sphere of the community, while women were to remain in the private sphere of the home.

This idea of separate spheres, created what Barbara Welter termed the cult of true

womanhood. The cult of true womanhood identifies certain characteristics to which

women must aspire. Welter identified four pillars of the cult of true womanhood; piety,

purity, submissiveness and domesticity. Some women were able to live up to these ideals

and even use them to move beyond the home and take charge in areas, such as church

groups. For the majority, these ideals were unattainable and those who could not attain

them were alienated and deemed to be outcasts. Lynn Marks and Suzanne Morton both

agree that the cult of true womanhood was oppressive to women in the 19th century. By

studying church periodicals and African-Nova Scotian women’s experiences, Marks and

Morton give examples of what ideals the cult of true womanhood preached and how it

directly effected those who were not able to live up to these ideals.

Suzanne Morton’s article, “Separate Spheres in a Separate World: African-Nova

Scotian Women in Late-19th-Century Halifax County”, examines the experiences had be

African-Nova Scotian women and the way that they were discriminated against. Morton’s

main argument is that not only did African-Nova Scotian women have to live up to the

ideals of womanhood, but they also had to face the racism that was prevalent at the time.

During this time period, there was a common notion that blacks were domestic servants

and wage labourers and “as late as the 1920s, a white woman in Halifax looking for help

1
with her laundry felt free to stop any African-Nova Scotian woman on the street and

request ‘where she could get a good girl.’”1 This example of white women assuming that

all black people were wage labourers or domestic servants demonstrates the racism and

classism that occurred in Halifax County. Class was very important during this era and it

could be seen in the hierarchy of domestic labour that existed in Halifax County. African-

Nova Scotian women had very few wage-earning employment opportunities outside of

domestic service; however, a white domestic servant was preferred over a one who was

black. In an analysis done of where black domestic servants worked it was found that in

the richer neighbourhoods there were less black servants hired than in the poorer ones,

making black domestic servants underrepresented in the better areas and overrepresented

in the worst areas.

African-Nova Scotian women were viewed as women who could not live up to

the standards set in place by the white middle class through the cult of true womanhood.

When they attempted to work for a living, “which confirmed their unladylike

reputation,”2 they were discriminated against based on class and sex for not acting as a

true woman should. “…[Y]et, at the same time, those who restricted their labour to the

private domestic sphere and expected their husbands to act as breadwinners could be

perceived as lazy,”3 and were discriminated against based on race. The white middle-

class women used the cult of true womanhood as a tool to oppress the African-Nova

Scotian women.

1
Suzanne Morton, “Separate Spheres in a Separate World: African-Nova Scotian Women in Late-19th-
Century Halifax County,” in Separate Spheres: Women’s Worlds in the 19th-Century Maritimes, ed. Janet
Guildford and Suzanne Morton (Frederickton: NB: Acadiensis Press, 1994) 191.
2
Morton, 200.
3
Morton, 200.

2
 Similarly, Lynne Marks’ article, “‘A Fragment of Heaven on Earth’? Religion,

Gender, and Family in Turn of the Century Canadian Church Periodicals” argues that the

cult of true womanhood was oppressive, as opposed to empowering, for women. Marks

uses Protestant and Catholic Church periodicals to show how ideals of the cult of true

womanhood were disseminated amongst the population. These periodicals were used as a

method for teaching women and men what their proper roles in society were. These

periodicals presented, “The very clear message that women were to be grateful to the

Christian churches for making women’s exalted role in the home possible.”4 Periodicals

also put a lot of pressure on women to raise their family in accordance to the beliefs and

values presented by the Church. Women “…were granted much influence in creating

stable, moral families and in producing Christian sons.”5 There was less focus on how to

raise a daughter and mothers were often blamed when their sons did not turn out as

expected and live up to Christian ideals. The Anglican Church periodicals heavily

enforced the idea of women existing in the private sphere and gave little opportunities for

women to move beyond that. “Catholics and the more liberal evangelical denominations,

such as the Methodists, provided women with more options beyond the family,”6

however, they were still limited and the ideal of the perfect Christian mother was still

heavily prevalent.

In addition to looking at females, unlike Morton, Marks looks at the roles men

were to live up to as well. Men were to attend church and to be good leaders to their

families. It is possible that this was stressed in church periodicals as to limit the

4
Lynne Marks, “‘A Fragment of Heaven on Earth’? Religion, Gender, and Family in Turn of the Century
Canadian Church Periodicals,” in Rethinking Canada: The Promise of Women’s History, ed. Mona Gleason
and Adele Perry. 4th ed. (Ontario: Oxford University Press, 2006) 128.
5
Marks, 128.
6
Marks, 137.

3
opportunities women had. If the men were not present within the church community,

women would have to fill their places. It was feared that this would lead to the

feminization of the religion, and eventually society. The leaders of the church did not

want women in positions of authority within the church as they were afraid they would

use their power to move further and further into the public sphere.

Morton and Marks’ articles show that the cult of true womanhood was oppressive

rather than empowering to women. It created unrealistic ideals that few women were able

to live up to. Those that could live up to standards alienated and marginalized those who

could not. It was used by men as a tool to maintain a patriarchal system and hierarchy

above females. A lot of pressure was put onto the women of this time period to attain the

unattainable. They were to remain in the home and be the perfect wives, mothers and

homemakers for the men in their lives. This is clear as shown through the church

periodicals and experiences of African-Nova Scotian women in the 19th century. These

women were unable to use the pillars of the cult of true womanhood to advance their

positions.

Bibliography

Marks, Lynne. “‘A Fragment of Heaven on Earth’? Religion, Gender, and Family in Turn
of the Century Canadian Church Periodicals.” Rethinking Canada: The Promise
of Women’s History 4th ed. Ed. Mona Gleason and Adele Perry. Ontario: Oxford
University Press, 2006. 124-143.

4
Morton, Suzanne. “Separate Spheres in a Separate World: African-Nova Scotian Women
in Late-19th-Century Halifax County.” Separate Spheres: Women’s Worlds in the
19th-Century Maritimes. Ed. Janet Guildford and Suzanne Morton. Frederickton:
NB: Acadiensis Press. 185-210.