Cult of True Womanhood Intro

Is anyone perfect? Most people may say no because everyone has their faults. As far as time can tell woman always had expectations to live up to. For example, a woman sole purpose in life is to care for her husband and her children. At a young age, girls are told to help their mom with household chores then grow up to marry a well-off man and to care for him and his offspring. Men always wanted women to be inferior to them. Men wanted women to be religious, timid, domestic and obedient. During 1820-1860 men were scared that woman would realize that men need women more than woman need men. Time was changing as industrialization period was being introduced but the men did want their woman to change. Therefore, the cult of womanhood was created to help women live the life of a perfect woman. In the Cult of True Womanhood Historian, Barbara Welter explains the antebellum of the nineteenth century and describes an important stage in public expression of gender stereotypes (Pg. 180).The cult of womanhood would be described as guidelines that were created for women to live by. The cult of womanhood was created by “American culture and Americans hoped to promote industrialization while preserving some semblance of premodern values” (Pg 180). American men wanted to stay home and stay pure forever. With these newfound guidelines, there are some behavioral expectations that are required to be followed by all women. The “attributes of true womanhood could be divided into four cardinal virtues piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity” (Pg 181). If a woman fulfills all four cardinal virtues then “she is promised happiness and power” (Pg 181). “Religion or piety was the core of woman’s virtue, the source of her strength” (Pg 181). Religion was very important in the nineteenth century. Men were too busy working, building bridges and railroads so most of the time religion is neglected, so they seek a woman with strong religious values to fill the void in his