The Meanings of Independence in the Oral Autobiographies of Rural Women in Twentieth-Century New York

Abstract

This essay explores what rural women called “independence” when they were growing up in New York State during the early twentieth century. They wanted to get an education and a job, but most saw nothing wrong with the prospect of farming except for the poverty it often entailed. They were most concerned about what, in retrospect, they called “male domination” and “female subordination,” which, at the time, was epitomized by the saying: “The man is the boss; the father is the head of the house.” In their eyes, working for wages before they married, contributing their savings to the down payment for the land they bought with their husband and, later on, sharing the farm work and earning money to support the family all put them in a better position in their marriage, helping to ensure that their opinions were listened to and that they provided for their children’s future.