The Bonds of Womanhood by Nancy Cott is comprised of persuasive arguments and forceful presentation. When one reaches the conclusion, one can be pleased about the construction of the argument as much as the message, history, and explanation she expresses in the text. However, when one examines other sources, such as "A Midwife's Tale", it seems as if Cott is missing an important part of the puzzle regarding gender history and women's issues.
Cott is of the opinion that the market revolution in early America was the origin of the creation of a distinct women's sphere of homeliness. She further argues that the position of women in a discrete private sphere can be named the "cult of domesticity". She finishes off by saying that the cult of domesticity enabled women to build connections through churches and fellow homemakers. These links aided in initiating the first feminist activities of the early nineteenth century. The work is regarded as the introduction for the contemporary view of new women's "anti-victimization" past.
According to Cott, during the early national period middle class whites recreated their roles of womanhood and manhood. The ideal woman was considered as someone who was a loving mother and a custodian of morality, and the ideal man as a motivated, self-made individual who had the ability to succeed in the commercial world.
The film "A Midwife's Tale" also addresses the gender issues of the period from 1790 to 1840. This film is shot documentary style and is based on the diary of a midwife living in the 1780's. This movie is an adaptation of the book A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812, by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich.
There are various instances in this work that show the role of women during that period. For example, premarital sex wasn't looked down upon during that period, but a woman would be questioned in the middle of extreme labor pains about the identity of the father of the baby.
