Good Wives: Images and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England, 1650-1750 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

A Book Review by Mary C. Ciaccio

March 2009

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich chose the title Good Wives for her manuscript that tells the story of the lives of women in seventeenth-century New England. Why did she designate it Good Wives and not Goodwives? It appears to be an examination of the values of women. So what kind of women were the Good Wives and the Goodwives? When Goodwives were called Goody Plummer or Goody Grafton, for example, they were considered ordinary, everyday women that did a ‘good’ job according to societal expectations, not to mention her husband’s. Yet common, ordinary wives are Goodwives, not idyllic and perfect Good Wives. Since Ulrich chose Good Wives as the title of her book, one can only assume that she wants the reader to interpret that these commonplace, ordinary and normal women were actually idyllic and perfect women, in an obscure sort of way. Women readers will applaud the elevation of the mundane role of Goodwives to that of Good Wives.

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich notes that when twentieth century readers examine a gravestone of an early American woman engraved with such pieties as holiness, prayerfulness, meekness, patience, self-denial, faithfulness, and charity they are likely to approach these traits with impatience and cynicism. On the contrary, I think readers of current times would then have better insight into the definition of past, as well as present, women roles. Interestingly, the roles of seventeenth century women have weathered trials and tribulations and are now present in our everyday lives. Things have changed little for many women.

“In the study of early New England, gender is as important a category as race, wealth, age, geography, or religion,” Laurel Thatcher Ulrich writes in Good Wives: Images and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England, 1650-1750. Role definition for women is studied in Good Wives to give us a view into the lives of seventeenth century New England women as housewives, deputy husbands, consort, mother, mistress, neighbor, Christian, and heroine. Ulrich looks carefully at these eight roles and how they were influenced by the constraints of society and church. The reader is able to connect with the women whose stories are told throughout the book. Actual accounts authenticate the lives of New England women through probate records of inventories and other court affair records.

Ulrich organized the eight roles under the role umbrellas of three Biblical women that were often mentioned in preachers’ sermons in early America. Accounts of economic life focused on Bathsheba, a willing family servant. The issues of sex and reproduction were under the category of Eve, and stories of religion and aggression were grouped under the heroine, Jael.

Since Bathsheba was described as a virtuous and willing servant to her family, she was the depiction of the economic influence of these roles. Under Bathsheba’s umbrella, Ulrich told stories that gave the reader better insight into the roles of housewives, deputy husbands, neighbors and gentlewoman. Beatrice Plummer’s brewing tubs and butter churn epitomized home manufacturing. (33) Hannah Grafton’s punch bowl and her hardware shop represented commerce and self conscious civilization of coastal towns. (33) A third woman, Magdalen Wear, possessed an iron pot that characterized the minimal simple life of the frontier. (33) There were also many opportunities for wives to expand on the roles of their husbands and to enhance their households by taking on the role of deputy husband. Gentlewomen upgraded the ordinary housewife. She polished, refined and embellished ordinary house chores and their homes.

The matters of sex and reproduction affecting early American women were organized under the Biblical role-model, Eve. Ulrich wrote that “Eve’s sexual nature was a ‘necessary Good’, but must be restrained by marriage; her spiritual equality was ordained by God, but could not be allowed to upset a civil order in…which females were subject to males.” (107)The role of consort put women in partnership with their husbands on both a sexual and spiritual level within their marriage.

In another aspect of these matters, the stories that Ulrich chose gave a disturbing view of conquest and seduction. Inappropriate sexual experiences women endured, whether at the hands of their husbands or individuals outside the marriage, carried common threads of fear, shame, unspoken complaints, pregnancy, and responsibility. Women innately knew the importance of being the ultimate supporter to each other in situations that men could never understand. Despite an external support system, a system of repression emerged at the beginning of the nineteenth century producing an internal guilt of wrongdoing.

Jael, the Biblical heroine that killed Sisera as he entered her tent, was used to portray the role of heroic women. Many early American women found themselves in situations that forced them to become heroes. Accounts of men, women and children captured by Indians told stories of women displaying bravery and assertiveness that outsmarted their captors and saved lives. “The ability to assume male roles temporarily and then shrink back into submissiveness has been a traditional female quality-especially in wartime.” (170)

Ulrich took a social approach to enlightening readers of the daily, normal lives of women. She brought the stories to life by comparing and contrasting their homes, their communities and every day happenings within. Her findings were well supported by accounts of real women that were discovered through court records and inventories taken of the homes after the death of the woman of the house. Most effectively, Ulrich could direct the reader to the vast similarities between women of seventeenth through twentieth century women. I believe the similarities greatly outweigh the differences.

Ulrich also supported her stories of seventeenth century roles of women by noting works of preachers of the times. Published sermons were full of details of the lives of the colonists and aided in piecing together the history. Cotton Mather, minister of Boston’s North Church, wrote many sermons based on activities of women, including the trials based on witchcraft accusations.

Good Wives is definitely a book that can be used in the classroom. It greatly increased my knowledge of women and their lives in the seventeenth century and the roles that they played. Ulrich gave a revealing view of what everyday life was like in the early colonial days. This knowledge base would be pertinent to teaching students when learning what our Americans were like at the very beginning of our country. I would recommend this highly appealing read to another teacher or anyone who is looking for insight into our society’s framework.

I feel honored to review a book written by 300th Anniversary University Professor of Harvard University, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. She has also authored A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard Based on her diary, 1785-1812 (1990) which won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1991. It later became a basis for a PBS documentary. Another of her well-known books is titled, The Age of Homespun Objects and Stories in the Making of an American Myth (2001). Most recently she served us with Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History (2007). With her focus on American social history, women’s history and material cultures we have been given an abundance of information to enhance our knowledge and lives.

“Well-behaved Women Seldom Make History” ~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich