The Business of Being a Woman
by Ida M. Tarbell (1857–1944)
- Free to read
- 2 hours to read
- 10 chapters
- Reading level: 10th to 12th grade
"The Business of Being a Woman" by Ida M. Tarbell is a sociocultural commentary published in the early 20th century. This work examines the changing roles and perceptions of women in society, focusing on how these shifts affect their identities and life choices. Tarbell scrutinizes the uneasy feelings of modern women and challenges the notion that the business of being a woman is inherently less significant than that of being a man. The opening portion delves into the character of the "Uneasy Woman," a figure representative of the American female experience in the period following women's emancipation. Tarbell reflects on her restlessness and dissatisfaction despite newfound freedoms, arguing that the fulfillment of being a woman revolves around the roles of domesticity and motherhood, often frustrated by societal expectations and the quest for equality. She offers insights into the struggles women face in balancing societal duties with personal aspirations, and critiques both men and women for their roles in perpetuating a system that undervalues women's work.
- Women · Social and moral questions
Read the opening
Chapter I
The Uneasy Woman
The most conspicuous occupation of the American woman of to-day, dressing herself aside, is self-discussion. It is a disquieting phenomenon. Chronic self-discussion argues chronic ferment of mind, and ferment of mind is a serious handicap to both happiness and efficiency. Nor is self-discussion the only exhibit of restlessness the American woman gives. To an unaccustomed observer she seems always to be running about on the face of things with no other purpose than to put in her time. He points to the triviality of the things in which she can immerse herself—her fantastic and ever-changing raiment, the welter of lectures and other culture schemes which she supports, the eagerness with which she transports herself to the ends of the earth—as marks of a spirit not at home with itself, and certainly not convinced that it is going in any particular direction or that it is committed to any particular worth-while task.
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About this edition
This free edition of The Business of Being a Woman by Ida M. Tarbell comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #16577, released 2005-08-21. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: American Literature, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Sociology.
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