Discussion Questions
November 18, 2008
- According to Abbott, why don 't women want the vote?
- From Abbott, what do we learn about the middle class
perception of women? What are the perceived differences between the sexes?
- How do you think women would have reacted to the
arguments by Abbott? Why?
- What is the argument by Addams? What are the
differences between the sexes according to her, and how does her
interpretation of the sexes differ from that of Abbott?
- What were the general arguments made against the
advancement of women? Is there a single debate or issue around which it seems
to form? How, for example, does the Literary Digest view the issue?
- Are even those who promote women's rights able to remove
themselves from the arguments based on spheres of activity and womanly
virtues? If not, why not? How might that be evident in the
readings?
- Overall how do you reconcile these views of women with
the realities of industrialization at the time? For whom do these women speak
and do they really grasp the true nature of their society?
- According to Stanton, why is equality necessary?
- What does the article on bicycling tell us about middle class women
at the turn of the century?