Women in the late 19th Century
Industrial society creates some employment opportunities for women
women teach in new public schools, work as telephone operators, administrative clerks in industry & government, governesses
higher education is still generally closed to women in the western world, despite experiments by some places
employment is often a matter of class- as wealthier women can more easily conform to the "cult of domesticity"
19th C Feminism
1792 - Mary Wollstonecraft -argument for equality
suffrage movements gain momentum by late 19th C, though not successful until after WWI
women explore role in society through literature: Bronte, Gaskell, Eliot are prominent
various English laws allow a greater measure of property rights in/out of marriage
Health & Hygiene - 19th C.
As urban culture expands, epidemics became more problematic
typhus, cholera, influenza spread through populations at various times
polluted water, lice, non-sanitary conditions spread disease in cities
reform instituted: acts of 1848, 1859- which empowered local boards to regulate home drainage systems & water supplies
food supplies are often a problem, until legislation in the 1860’s & 1870’s calling for better inspections
19th C- culture & economy, ct.
Diet: highly dependent on class: gourmet & imported spices, high-quality for affluent
working-class diet: meager, often w/limited cooking utensils - often included tainted meat - improves by latter part of 19th C
opium becomes a problem by late 19th C- addiction common in urban settings
laudanum becomes popular - in England: est. C- 5 of 6 families used it regularly
opium associated with high death rate of infants