Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Women and Economics (Annotated) Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Differentiated book- It has a historical context with research of the time-Women and Economics by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It is a book written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, published in 1898. It is considered by some to be the best work of the writer, and like others of her writings, it examines the themes of the transformation of marriage, family and home, and its Central argument is "the economic independence and specialization of women as foundations for the improvement of marriage, motherhood, domestic industry, and racial improvement." The 1890s was a period of intense political debate and economic challenge, where the feminist movement claimed the female vote among other reforms. Women found themselves "joining the workforce in important ways, seeking new opportunities, and shaping new definitions of themselves." It was at the end of this tumultuous decade that Gilman's book emerged. Gilman argues primarily that women must change their cultural identities. From the beginning, he mentions that the human being is the only species where women depend on the male gender to survive. Women pay the debt of this dependency through domestic or sexual services Gilman argues that women "work harder and longer than most men, and not only in the tasks of motherhood." Additionally, Gilman says that men direct female activities.