Author:
Pascoe, Peggy.
Imprint:New York : Oxford University Press, 1990.
Descriptionxxiii, 301 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.
Bibliography Note:Includes bibliographical references (p. [269]-291).
Note:At first glance the connections between a home for Mormon polygamous women in Salt Lake City, a program to educate young Indian women on the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska, a home for unwed mothers in Denver, and an institution to assist Chinese prostitutes in San Francisco seem tenuous at best, but Pascoe (University of Utah) has produced the best study yet on women's skillful manipulation of Victorian attitudes in the American west. From 1874 to 1939 eastern Protestant missionary women established a tenuous foothold in western culture by combining social housekeeping--the advent of institutions as solutions to society's ills--with a prevailing ideology that assigned women superior piety and purity. Their goal was the emanicipation of women; their common enemy was the control and dominance of men. This engrossing book outlines the relationships among the matrons of the home, the expectations of the fundraisers, society's rather bemused tolerance toward the missionary societies' attempts at good works, and the currency that became the medium of reward to the matrons and governing boards: gratitude couched in Christan moral homilies. When these missionary women enlisted help from the "enemy" and the division between male and female interests blurred, the institutions they established melted into a mix of American progressive culture. Pascoe traces the subtle shifts in ideology that in turn spawned, supported, then spurned the institutional home as a means for eastern women to establish a position of moral authority in the urban west. The book is graced by clear, precise writing about women's issues unhindered by shrillness and whining. A scholarly joy to read, it will complement collections of western and women's history. -- Choice review
Note:Recommended as a Choice Outstanding Title
