For the most part, the Revolutionary Era reinforced many of the roles women played in society. Native American women would continue to lose status as the country grew and they continued to be pushed from their native lands. African-American women would neither gain nor lose ground; they were still slaves with all the subjugation associated with their status. White women did not gain any material freedoms, such as owning property or the ability to divorce, but they did gain a measure of independence in that some women began to speak out against wrongs, such as slavery. Later, more women would begin to fight for women's rights, and women would begin to write, speak out, and discuss the changes they wanted to see in society.
In the beginning, this short work indicates the prejudice of men toward women who did not take their "work" seriously, that is, the work of taking care of a family. The nephew makes fun of the woman, indicating she cannot possibly take good care of her family if she is a "blue stocking," or a writer. He has his mind made up before he even visits his friend, and this indicates the rigidity of men and their thinking at the time, and how unwilling they were to give up their stranglehold on women and their "family duties."
The story attempts to challenge traditional roles of womanhood at the time, but today, it simply reinforces them. The men "indulge" the woman her little pastime of writing because she saved her husband during a time of...
Thus, the woman took on both male and female roles and received no help from anyone else. She was expected to maintain a perfect home and keep it afloat. Today, most couples share roles a bit more equally, and so, even though this essay attempted to paint the "blue stocking" in a positive light, it simply shows how unequal men and women's roles were at the time.
The piece is supposedly written by a woman, who stands up for her sister by defending her ability to do everything at once. This is a supportive relationship in a way, but it seems as if a better relationship might have been to pitch in and help, or show the error of expecting perfection from the woman homemaker and business-owner.
Probably this piece garnered little respect from men, the people it was generally aimed at. If anything, they might have lorded it over their own wives as evidence they could not manage a home effectively. Many women might have seen it as condescending and perpetuating the myth of feminine perfection that men created and held women up to. A woman who could not keep a home was worthless in society at the time, and anything else she desired came after a long list of home and familial duties. Thus, it seems like this piece might have elicited respect or pity from a few, but most would have simply seen it as a silly little work with no real meaning or purpose.
References
Practical Blue Stocking."
