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Essay On The Cult Of Domesticity In The Story Of An Hour

590 Words3 Pages

Alex Illetschko
Hensch
Honors Communications 10
17 January 2023
Cult of Domesticity Essays
In the 19th Century, there was a prevalent belief called the cult of domesticity. In the cult of domesticity, women were expected to stay home in the private sphere while men went out into the world to jobs in the public sphere. They were expected to have qualities such as piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity. Women were also believed to be physically and mentally lesser than men. Kate Chopin wrote stories during this time. Chopin wrote a famous story called “The Story of an Hour,” which showed how women felt trapped in their lives. The cult of domesticity can be shown in Kate Chopin’s life and her story, including the public and private spheres in her life and submissiveness in the story. …show more content…

When Kate Chopin’s husband died, she attempted to take over his plantation. This did not work and she was unable to run the plantation. Since Chopin was a woman, many men believed that she would fail in running the plantation of her late husband. She did fail in running the plantation and many men believed that it was because she is a woman and women do not belong in the public sphere. Another way she went against the public and private spheres is when she wrote and published many stories and books. Since she published her stories and books, she went against the expectation that women should remain in the private sphere and that the public sphere is too scary for women and should only be for men. A different way her life describes the public and private sphere is when Chopin had six children. Women were expected to stay home and take care of the house and children. Overall, Chopin both obeyed and defied the expectations of the public and private

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