Catharine Beecher
a study in American domesticity
Although she is often remembered only as the sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher, there was a time in Catharine's life when she was more widely known than any member of her family. A teacher, a writer on moral and religious topics, and an avid publicist for women's education, she became a household name in the 1840s because of the enormous success of her Treatise on Domestic Economy. This comprehensive guide to all aspects of domestic self-management was part of her effort to create a female domain from which cultural power could be exercised. Her life-span encompassed a critical time for women: the movement for women#x19;s rights was born, and the genteel cult of the lady and the customs of domesticity took hold. Present-day attitudes about the family and images of masculine and feminine roles are still strongly shaped by nineteenth-century ideas. The author examines that era through the life of one of its major protagonists.
