Expectations of a 1920’s Housewife
A MODEL HOUSEWIFE.
In the first place she is the most thoroughly cheerful and happy-looking woman you will meet in a day’s travel; and although she is thirty-five years old she does not look thirty. This is because she never allows the petty cares of housekeeping to worry and plow lines across her face. She does one thing at a time, never making the error of undertaking a dozen duties at once.
Good Judgment.—The model housewife keeps a scrupulously neat home, but in no room is comfort sacrificed for the sake of appearance. She has neither too much furniture nor bric-a-brac. She dresses her children neatly but plainly.
Agreeable and Systematic.—This very sensible woman is a loving wife and agreeable companion to her husband. She knows how to save time and thus finds opportunity to read, and is able to discuss topics of interest with her husband in the evening by the fireside. She is a gentle mother to her little ones, and when she says “no” she keeps her word. She is never impatient with the baby when he is sleepy and clings to her skirts. Instead of spanking him, she takes the tired little form to her arms and rocks it to sleep.
Taste and Sympathy.—Her husband is not very wealthy and she does not strain the last nerve to dress as well as her more wealthy neighbors, but her taste is so correct that these same neighbors envy her stylish appearance. She is also a neighbor and does not gossip. If there is sickness she is willing to aid the suffering, and she does not forget the old and poor in the neighborhood.
Source: The Household Guide by Prof. B.G. Jefferis M.D.,Ph.D.
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