ABSTRACT
As the nineteenth century progressed, for many it appeared to be increasingly more disaffected and disordered, so that the home was perceived more and more as a foundation and a source of sanctuary in a turbulent society. The things sacred to the soul and life are of it. Distinctively religious then should the home be made by the reader, and every father and mother be known as the priest and priestess of the domestic altar. The American educator Hiram Orcutt emphasised the importance of the mother in the home: The mother is the father’s ‘helpmeet’, his honored queen, and the sharer of his authority and responsibility in the important work of education: indeed, she is the central light and animating spirit of every true home; and hence from her emanates the educating and moulding power in every family.
