Godey's Lady's Book And Women Under Friendly Fire

JPK Huson 1863

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Location
Central Pennsylvania
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A Godey's Valentine's Day issue during the war, her sleeping selves enraptured by her wedding.

There is a danger when raising these topics of being dismissed as ' feminist '. Like it's a swear word. Our era women could have used some feminist, heck, feminine support especially as they burned a seven ended, war-dipped candle. Men melted into armies leaving homes ' manned ' by women alone. Badly hampered through lack of resources, impeded by archaic laws they held down domestic forts through long, bleak years.

No historian, what I've encountered through years of just, plain reading accounts is many couples lucky enough to reunite post war wasted no time piddling around with power struggles. Both lived through abnormal, horrific conditions. For these couples, war forged a closer bond, if anything. It's very nice when you bump into it.

What has been surprising has been whiffs of pretty well pulling hooked rugs out from under ladies badly in need of strength.

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Hysterical. Here, women are encouraged in a headline, " Rebel! Do not submit! " It's over going for a walk. And no American men were harmed in the making of this commercial. But hang on- only used this luke warm over reaction from Godey's to make another article's point more shocking.

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A man is ogling the bride in approval, all eyes are on her, each female in the room indicates THIS is IT, girls.

May be the same issue, this is the tag end of an article which shocked my socks off. Begins well, for the era, meanders through some unfair legal set ups through marriage then back to what, after all, really is the law.



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"... but who yet bare on their faces marks of marital wrath, my mother would say to them- it is your own fault... "
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Hand's down favorite. Men and women have different nervous systems. And common tastes amongst the weaker sex in harmful reading.

It's been conjectured Sarah Hale lost readership by the battalion between 1861 and 1865 through a refusal to address the war. Godey's Lady's Book was very nearly a woman's best friend, fashion consultant, word-in-your-ear advice giver on topics ranging from preparing a boar's head entre to children's health to home décor to etiquette. Driving force, seen or unseen? One's male, caught or uncaught and rules governing one's life around them.
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Amazing how many brides appear in these ' centerfold ', the colored fashion plate highlight in each edition. This one featured a domestic scene, bride looking towards her future, with a dog-lion-sheep and piglet-puppies. Romanticized ideals far removed from relationships are continually presented. Stepping outside the dream? Unthinkable.

Have a feeling, that at a time when women stepped up to plates North and South, holding bats and finding themselves qualified to do so, Godey's continued ( and sometimes shocking ) , tough as cardboard support for them caused the backlash, opinion only.

But. Like to point out, please, in my opinion and despite examples like one of my grgrgrandfathers, who did not treat his wife well as a PTSD afflicted, elderly man, we see story after story after story where husband endured his battles, wife survived hers and their private, behind closed doors, long years together as reward is clear. No wonder Godey's tanked- and marriages survived.
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Charlotte and Chalmers made me think of this thread. In our family, we've found no one ever spoke of the war after returning home- baffling, maddening gaps in information despite quite a few veterans.
 
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