"...some one said that woman’s best work is that which is unseen by mortal eye...that this work is the steady uplifting and upholding of a higher standard of living; it is the reaching forward and upward, both for ourselves and others, towards a loftier life... Yes, it is hard. But, sisters, it is work that belongs to us. It is work that, if not done by us, will never be done at all. For man cannot do it - as far as the family is concerned...For as a rule, and it is a rule that has few exceptions, woman creates the atmosphere of the home." Mrs. Julia C.R. Dorr, The Household, Vol. V, 1872
Cult of Domesticity
The Cult of Domesticity, or Cult of True Womanhood. The beliefs embodied in this ‘Cult’ gave women a central but passive role in the family. Women’s God-given role, it stated, was as wife and mother and keeper of the household. Housework was based on efficiency. Children were to be cherished and nurtured. Morality was protected through Protestant beliefs and social protest against alcohol and poverty. It was the woman's responsibility to make her home as warm and inviting as possible to provide a haven for her family from the harsh outside world.