Power and Sex: Evolving Premarital Romance Norms
“’Tis beauty the doth oft make women proud;
‘Tis virture, that doth make them most admired;
‘Tis modesty, that makes them seem divine.”
-Shakespeare.
The quickly changing social rules and expectations of premarital life played a vital role in the lives of young women during the Progressive Era (1890–1920). These years wrought new, more empowering norms for young women that contrasted the strict etiquette that preceded this time period. In the decades leading up to the Progressive Era, premarital etiquette was, in large part, constructed in the name of “civilized morality” [1]. This term was born in a time of nation-wide reinforcement of ideals regarding sexual purity. Young women, at this time, found themselves entrapped by rigid social guidelines when it came to premarital life.
However, this trend slowly changed as the United States entered the Progressive Era.
The archived etiquette books of the Mother Home and Heaven collection illustrate a trend in the ever changing lives of young women during the Progressive Era—as premarital guidelines and regulations evolved, women found themselves capable of obtaining more autonomy and power than ever before. This collection reveals new rules regarding premarital etiquette as they emerged during the turn of the twentieth century. These expectations boldly emphasize the increasing of personal autonomy in women—a nuanced concept with regards to premarital romance.
[1] John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America
(Chicago: The University of Chicago Press), 173.