Homework: Wednesday, October 28th

Today you were given a worksheet with 4 questions.  To answer question 4, you must read the paragraph below: "A Closer Look: Separate Spheres" "A Closer Look: Separate Spheres"

During the late nineteenth century the doctrine of “separate spheres” shaped French society. According to this idea, men were aggressive and intellectual, qualified to work in the public sphere of universities, business, and politics. Women were seen as weak and emotional, suited for the private sphere. They raised children and made sure that their homes were clean and beautiful. The law reinforced these boundaries: Husbands controlled their wives’ property, and women could not vote or enter professions like the law or civil service. For middle- and upper-class women, supported by their husbands or fathers and aided by servants, this lifestyle was restrictive but not impossible. For poor women the situation was different. Millions of them became factory workers, laundresses, cooks, bread carriers, or seamstresses. These women led extremely difficult lives. At work, conditions could be hazardous, even fatal. Seamstresses endured daily shifts of thirteen hours or more; weavers were exposed to toxic substances; silk workers were surrounded by clouds of steam and frequently caught pneumonia. In the end, women received little in return for working strenuously and endangering their health. Many earned only about four hundred francs in an entire year, the cost of Mathilde Loisel’s party dress. (Write a 1 paragraph summary explaining what the paragraph was about)