Question

Which of the following best describes the general expectations about middle-class White women’s roles in the first half of the nineteenth century?
A. Middle-class White women were expected to focus on their role as mothers, wives, and homemakers.
B. Middle-class White women were expected to focus on their roles as managers of property and business interests.
C. Middle-class White women were expected to focus on their roles as primary financial contributors to family wealth.
D. Middle-class White women were expected to focus on their roles as religious instructors, teachers, and nurses.

Answer 1

A. Middle-class White women were expected to focus on their role as mothers, wives, and homemakers.

Explanation: In the first half of the 19th century the "cult of domesticity" or "separate spheres" ideology held that middle-class women’s proper place was in the home as moral guardians, caretakers of children, and managers of household affairs.