Well Worth Reading

Sorry that I haven't been in better touch. What is it about the onset of spring that brings out the flu bugs? Probably the warmer weather...but suffice it to say, I've been ill, and now I'm on the mend.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know about a book that I haven't been able to put down in the last few days. It's called "Just a Housewife: The Rise and Fall of Domesticity in America" by Glenna Matthews. Ms. Matthews realized that in all the feminist arguments, the actual history of the housewife has been pretty much unexamined and ignored--which I find ironic, considering all of the speeches about the poor, oppressed wife coming from the podiums of so many radical feminists.

No matter where you stand on the feminist issue, this book will be enlightening. One of the things I've been learning is that there is a spectrum regarding feminism. There are feminists, such as myself, who want women to simply have equal opportunity under the law (known as equity feminists) and there are fanatical (gender) feminists who want to transform everything about the female experience...from our history (or as they term it--'herstory') to our family and social structure. This book is fascinating because it deals with the details of a woman's domestic life over two centuries, and how changes in politics, commercialism, and academia, all have molded how today's women clean, cook, and mother their children. It also shows how, in the so-called name of 'progress', we have lost something very precious in our society--the safety and sacredness of a well-run home, and the respect for those who keep it that way.