Knoxville Whig and chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1875-1882, 1875-06-30
Woman's Work.
LFrom the Chri,tIan Re.i.ter. Juno b

From the Christian REGISTER. June I2I
As to the Increase of woman's work We
must call to mind the great change made
in the style of living throughout the land
Fifty or a hundred years ago there were
10 carpets on the sitting-room in many
! farmers houses, and no sitting-room but
the kitchen; no dning-room but the
kitchen, and often no sleeping apartment
for the old folks but the kitchen also
| There was no carved and upholstered
| furniture to be busted there were nc
napkins to be washed there were few
dresses to be washed there were few to
be made. The sewing machine, sent by
some OF the genil of Aladdin, or by Divine
| Providence, for wOman's relief and bless.
! ing, she has turned into her curse, malt
| Ing. as some one has said, forty tucks
in her petticoat instead of one as before, -
and covering herself and her babies all
\ over with frippeIies of embroidery, and
| frills, and flounces, aud polonaises, until
| her tussy dress looks as If she had robbed
the rag-bag. The demands of fashion
and of style are severe. 1t is difficult to
deny them. The men expect their wives
10 look like other women, and not like
"frights.' And only really eXtraordina-
ny 'tpllt hllON HOW 10
live and dress in such way as to MAIN
tain their personal dignity, and at the
same time save themselves from unneces-
sary work.
There has not been enough of inven-
ton used to tighten the labors Of the
household. No woman ought to llnead
the bread she makes, or do the work of
washing or of ironing, or wash dishes, or
Il, a..
stove, or pump water; and every one
ought to refuse much other work woman
Is always doing. She ought to buy. not
dumb-betty, but an irOn-betty, set it on
table with lamp under it, or on the
kitchen stove, and when the steam begins
to rise set it to turn the crank that should
knead the bread, scrape the pot, rub and
wiring the clothes and iron them at the
mangle, and wash the dishes. and draw
the water, and perhaps do much beside.
We haven't the machinery, do you say?
1t is easier to make it than it was to in
vent watch or a sewing machine and
il men had universally to do the house
work, they would have their iron-betties
as much as mowers and tedders. and
would no more do the work of the kitchen
with their hands alone than they would
discard the pillow and scratch up burrows
with their finger nails. Why don't we
have the machinery: We shall have it as
soon as the Sorosis care more for house
hold work than they do for criticising the
poetry of the last magazine or as soon
as by women's meetings and women's
lectures, the wants of the kitchen get to
be rs publicly known as the demands of
the mechanic in his shop and the farmer
in his field.
Yet we must not make the mistake of
thinking that women. relieved from
much of eXhausting toll, will all 20 to
reading and writing, to featuring and
printing. Some perhaps will read Greek
that never read it before. and some, who
ought to give the benefits of their genius
to the public, will appear in the pulpit or
at the bar, with books that the public will
not willingly let die, or make discoveries
in science of the highest value but the
literary and learned class of men or
women is small, and always will be. And
there is still an immense attraction ia
manual labor, much more than the read
ing and writing class or people of bust
ness suppose. Let us have more lei IRE,
more ease, more quletude of life Shut.
thank heaven bread must be got by the
sweat OF the brow. and there is 10 king
dom Of God Oh earth from which hard
work is excluded.