A Midwife’s Tale Essay Example

thoroughly defined and operated by powerful men. This exclusion of women from the circle of recognized power in medicine was taken to great lengths by male physicians.

The same behind-the-scenes impact of women is found in the areas of social convention and economics. Women contributed mightily in both areas, but, again, are given little credit in most historical accounts of the period. As Ulrich writes in one passage focusing on Ballard's "Economic and social differences might divide a community; the unseen acts of women wove it together" (96).

Ballard herself is exemplary in adhering to the social conventions which held women as the glue holding society together behind-the-scenes, informally, unofficially. The foundation of social convention was the belief that women were, indeed, creatures meant to soothe and heal---quietly and unobtrusively. In other words, social convention held that men might be loud and contentious and overtly controlling of others, but it was the role of the woman to reduce or eliminate or prevent such contentiousness wherever possible, to set an example for other females and to hold up the veil of social unity and social harmony.

With respect to the role of women in the economic activity of the town and the era, Ulrich notes that of the economic-related entries in the diary of "the wealthiest man in town" (28), "Almost all, including those for the Ballards, are listed under the name of the male head of household. Male products---lumber, fish, and furs---dominate the credit side of the ledger" (29). We might assume, as Ulrich notes, after reading such information, "that . . . women had no role in economic life beyond their

own households" (29).

The economy of the area and era was certainly male-dominated, but this does not mean that the women did not play a significant role in the functioning of the community's economic life. We should also note here that the full participation of women at the most fundamental levels of economic activity in the community once again also serves as social glue. Social convention prescribed that women do their quiet, harmony-creating work not only in soothing the contentiousness of men, but also in providing a context for productive activity in economic and other areas.

Ulrich refers to "an economy characterized by family production" (75). The unity and harmony of the community was advanced by the work of women in that economy. Ballard "not only employed her daughters . . . and her nieces, . . . but a succession of hired helpers. . . . [In addition,] she relied on married neighbors . . . to help her inexperienced girls warp the loom, the girls in turn weaving for other families. . . . The production of cloth wove a social web" (75).

The fact is clear that women played an important role in the carrying out of medical, social and economic activities. Without women and their significant contributions, the society of the era could not have existed and progressed as it did. At the same time, it is just as clear from the evidence presented in the diary that the roles of women were severely limited by social convention. They could not be doctors. They could not control the economic activity of the household or the town.

They

could contribute greatly, but only in the categories prescribed by social convention, that is, by men. Again, however, within these defined limits, women were able to take advantage of certain opportunities for gathering a quiet kind of power unto themselves. Women had such opportunities, and brave and determined women like Martha Ballard took advantage of them at every turn. Still, such opportunities were always presented in the context of a society dominated and defined by men.