S.J. Hale "Home Department"

"The home department belongs exclusively to the wife. The province of the husband is to rule the house; hers to regulate its internal movements" (39).
Sarah Josepha Hale provides readers with an extensive outline of the expectations women were required to fulfill in her manual entitled, "Manners." Focusing primarily on etiquette and the behavioral rules women should exhibit, Hale argues womens' place was in the home and that men should provide the finances for the family. It is implied that the role of the wife is not to be in anyway of less importance to that of the husband as she is responsible for the internal happenings of the household. The use of the words "exlusively" and "regulate" help to support this theme that the women contributions to the household were of primary importance to create a positive society.

Cecilia Luppi