The late part of the 18th century in America is the period of developing the complicated relations between the European settlers and Native Americans. In spite of the fact that this topic is interesting and rather controversial, more attention should be paid to the discussion of the women’s lives in the situation of adaptation to living in the frontier communities. The personal stories of Martha Ballard and Mrs. Mary Jemison reflected in the diaries and narratives provide a lot of information on the realities of the women’s life in America of the 18th-19th centuries. The stories of Martha Ballard and Mrs. Mary Jemison as the primary sources are important to examine and analyze the women’s position in the early American society and to discuss the women’s everyday duties and responsibilities, communications, relations with the male population, social roles, family roles, education, and work.
Martha Ballard’s story represented in the woman’s diary is interesting because the readers of the diary can see the early American history through the eyes of an ordinary woman and with references to the smallest household details. Martha Ballard’s diary is the valuable source to learn the history of America because few women had the appropriate education in the 18th century to leave such detailed notes about their daily activities and changes in the society. Following Martha Ballard’s diary, it is possible to note that the woman’s role in the patriarchal American society of the 18th-19th century was strictly defined. The women’s responsibilities included mainly household activities and parenting.
The education was limited because many women were taught only to read, without paying attention to writing. However, some families, as the family of Martha, focused on exceptions for young girls, and these women were taught not only to sew, cook, and read but also to write (A Midwife’s Tale, 2000). It is important to note that the improvement of education for women affected the society significantly because women received more opportunities for demonstrating their identity, feelings, and emotions.
Being a midwife, Martha Ballard took an active position in the society and could interact much with different families. Referring to the diaries, it is possible to state that Martha had rather independent visions related to her professional activities, duties, and religion. The example of Martha demonstrates that women in the 18th-19th centuries could affect the development of the community significantly because they were responsible for such activities as interpersonal relationships and baby care (A Midwife’s Tale, 2000). From this point, if the men were responsible for the financial and political questions, women were responsible for the practical household tasks. In spite of acting in the shadow of men, women in the frontier communities played a significant role to regulate the social life, participated in the religious conflict, and tried to overcome the domestic violence and medical problems to stabilize the society.
The other side of the process is presented in the story of Mrs. Mary Jemison who was captivated by the Native Americans in the 18th century. Mary was not killed by the Indians, but she was adopted in the Indian family. Mary’s new name was Dickewamis. The woman started a new life in the Indian community where she played the traditional female role based on performing the household activities and daily routines. In spite of being captivated, Mary felt satisfied because of her new position due to the fact she could live in the Indian family and build her own family. However, she often thought about her relatives (A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison, 2003). The focus on Mary’s recollections, thoughts, and feelings presented in the captivity narrative helps the readers understand that early American women were, in many cases, satisfied with their social roles because of the aspects of their education in families.
Mary was happy to be taught how to nurse children and perform household duties as well as how to accompany hunters in their games. These activities provided Mary with the idea that she was the equal part of the Indian society as any other woman in the community (A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison, 2003). Nevertheless, it is impossible to speak about the idea of equality in relation to women and men as the representatives of the Indian or American society. In her story, Mary pays much attention to her relations with the Indian women, and these details provide the readers with the necessary information about the particular features of the social life. The discussion of men is closely associated with determining their roles as hunters, husbands, and fathers. Thus, the strict division of roles in the society is accentuated.
The personal stories of Martha Ballard and Mrs. Mary Jemison are important to learn the history of America with the focus on the history of women in the American society because these stories provide the details of the social life without falsifying them. From this point, the stories of Martha Ballard and Mrs. Mary Jemison provide the necessary support for the discussion of the women’s social roles of mothers, baby carers, nurses, and wives in America of the 18th-19th centuries.
References
A Midwife’s Tale. (2000). Web.
A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison. (2003). Web.