Position of Women in America as Revealed by Hilda Polacheck

America Since 1865
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Question 3
Through her autobiography, I Came a Stranger, Hilda Polacheck reveals the contradictions in women's role at that time. Hilda was born in Poland to traditional Jewish parents; therefore, her parts were clearly defined. A caregiver, mother and full-time wife looked like the destined path for her life to take; however, this changes with her father's death. Consequently, the family has to change their way of life for their survival in the United States. Her life trajectory significantly shifts the roles she will embody as a woman now exposed to American Society. As an American woman, she is expected to represent additional functions such as social activism resulting from more women relevancy in WesterSociety. This essay analyses the positions of women in American Society during the late 19th and early 20th century. Consequently, it explores whether women should perceive this period as a time of untold suffering or a time expanding possibilities.
Section A
During this time, women's role was predominantly characterized by honouring traditional functions such as cooking, nurturing, and being a wife. These practices were primarily standard in the rural areas where the families were much more prominent and relied on women providing labour in firms and bear children. Women were also expected to be subservient to their husbands in all regards, a common practice in almost every human society. Therefore, it comes to no surprise that the income brought forth by Hilda's mother was mainly catered to the education of her brothers and not hers. Despite being a brilliant student at the Jewish Training School, she was forced to leave and find work to cater to her family's needs, aged fourteen. Her expected commitment to traditions and family values saw her get married at an early age, and at thirteen, she was already a widow (Polacheck 2019).
The market revolution played a significant role in the drastic role change for women in America. American Society started leaning towards commercializing economic life, consequently slowly abandoning the subsistence farming way of life. For the first time, there were manufacturing industries; therefore, the home ceased to be the primary production place. This shift meant that some of the traditional roles of women diminished. For instance, as textile industries developed, women from states like Lowell, Massachusetts, spent less time spinning and weaving cloth (Dayton and Levenstein 2012).
Despite the increasing demand for women labour in industries, the American Society still held on to women's beliefs being the weaker sex. In the 19thCCenturyy, employment afforded to women was limited to factory labour or domestic work CITATION Cur13 \l 1033 (Curtis 2013). Other exceptions were teaching and writing; otherwise, other professions were unattainable to women. For instance, nursing was considered a perfect occupation for women; however, it is the male nurses that occupied the domain. Also, blatant forms of discrimination started to appear, such as the American Medical Association, founded in 1846, to bar women from membership. Hilda managed to beat the first hurdle by securing employment in such an environment. However, her ...