For my research, I am asking the following question: How did the law shape the lives of women in American in the 19th century? Understanding what role the law played during this period will not only help the reader empathize with the female characters in Sweet Cicely, but it also allows him or her to judge the degree of accuracy of the details, which gives further insight into Marietta Holley’s writing style.
In order to answer this question fully, I will research the following information:
- What laws were established at this time? What was legal and illegal? Specifically, what laws were aimed towards women?
- What important events, movements, etc. (i.e. fight for women’s suffrage) happened at this time? Were they successful, or did they fail? Why?
- Was there anybody notable in the law at this time? Is the person male or female? What did they stand up for? How significant was his or her influence, if any, on society?
I plan to research this question by finding books at the library, articles from credible websites online, and possibly newspaper articles/journals if I can find anything relevant and useful.
3 comments:
Khang, the topic you are researching is quite interesting. But the law might be changed several times throughout the century, are you going to research the whole century? or there is a specific time frame you want to focus on?
This is a very good topic for research. Marietta Holley must have drawn from real life experiences in order to create a realistic portrayal of women's lives in the 19th century. However, it's good to question the validity of Holley's claims. I would suggest also doing some research on the ideals Holley used to write Sweet Cicely. That way, you can tie the history of the rights of women to the novel. I'm sure Holley's views on women doesn't encompass the views of all women during that time.
I always wondered how laws have changed within the past decades and century. It would be helpful to look into the history of the women who fought for women's suffrage, such as Susan B. Anthony.
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