I really enjoyed these readings because it brought in women, who are historically the “other” sections in history books. I think that this is due to women being confined to the “domestic sphere” and their accomplishments were accredited to their husbands or unrecognized. Women were expected to be in charge of the household and raising and bearing children, and really did not the chance to expand into other work.
Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley did not go to school, but were educated by their father, and their slave master respectively. They are considered two brilliant poets whose words gave insight into their lives and beliefs. Yet, they were not originally published in the colonies, and both poets works were published in England.
Anne Bradstreet’s poems ranged from talking about the love of her husband, to the inevibility of death and the power of female leaders. Phillis Wheately fought racism through her poems and was considered an example of the intelligence of black people, used to further the abolition movement. Both women were religions and thier work referenced salvation, a common and important theme at the time.
Yet although these women are being talked about. They are commonly forgotten, Zinn says “invisable” in history. Women contributed more to society than what was expected of them, yet have no received recognition. It is 2020, and this is still a problem. Why are women considered extras in history books? Can this be changed? Inequality trends such as wage gap are still present. When women were forced into working in the industry with textiles they were paid almost nothing for their work. Today their is still a wage gap. While we have made progress, there is still a lot of work to be done. These themes are still extremely relevant.
I really liked the question you pose about if it’s possible to change the way we see woman in history. I think because of how times were then, our history is what it is, and we know it’s wrong. I also think in years to come, with all of the feminist movements we have going on, women in history will be seen as more important.
When reading the poems by Bradstreet and Wheatley I also analyzed the differences between the content of each poem. Although both were women who suffered because of their position in society, Bradstreet had a much different life than Wheatley. Bradstreet focused on the struggles of childbirth and having a husband that was rarely home while Wheatley focused on abolition and her race
Anne and Phillis made me think about women in another light. Like you said, they were educated by others, Anne her father and Phillis her slave master; they were educated by men. As we look back on history these two women are praised for their abilities, which makes me wonder… if the men in their lives decided that education was not important to women, would they have gone as far as they did? Probably not. It saddens me that much of our history about women depends on men.
I liked the question you asked about why are women considered extras in history books? I questioned this myself after reading about all of this brilliant women whom I had never heard of before. It is disheartening that even in modern day American when we know better we till push women’s historical importance to the side. Why don’t we discuss figures such as Bradstreet and Wheatley? How does half of the population continue to be overshadowed by men? I think it is important just as important if not more to learn about important women in history and their role. Even though the law prohibited women for doing anything outside of their “domestic sphere” women still found a way to make an impact on the world.