ABSTRACT

Strong-minded women interested in social, familial, and legal reform debated over women’s role and power in effecting social change. Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, the domestic sphere, which according to popular ideology was the most proper sphere for women, was considered the most appropriate arena for women to exert their influence and power. Women were supposedly given reign over the home, and thus responsibility for the moral fiber of their families and communities. Some women accepted this responsibility while others argued that such power was an illusion.