Occupations for Women: A Book of Practical Suggestions for the Material Advancement, the Mental 

and Physical Development, and the Moral and Spiritual Uplift of Women was published in 1897 by the Success Company. Both the book’s design and content fit into a suffragette reformist narrative of who a woman should be, and what a woman should do. While this narrative is different from many others at the time,  it still ultimately leaves no room for working-class and minority women and fits in with larger ideas about whose voice and experience matters.  

The book is beautifully designed in a way that is not unusual for the period, in addition to communicating messages about gender and expectations for women. The cover is a dusty rose pink with Art Nouveau stylized lettering and floral motifs. The cover contains gold embellishments, dark green ink, and a darker pink shade. The cover shows a woman rowing towards “success.” The book is five hundred and four pages long. It is split into chapters featuring advice and specific career options. The book contains lots of images. These include photographs, paintings and ink line drawings. The photographs are mostly of note-worthy women. The paintings are of professions Willard discusses. There are drawings at the start of each chapter.  These usually feature images from mythology or nature. Particularly common are boats, flowers, cupids, and birds. Other books from the period aimed at women often include similar feminine motifs [1]. Other books published by the Success Co. aimed at men had fewer floral and fanciful images [2]. This suggests the publishers wanted to reinforce ideas of gender through the book’s design. Perhaps the publishers did not trust women to buy their books without beautiful images. Perhaps they felt the need to downplay controversial topics by using these classical feminine images. 

The life experiences of the book’s author are also useful for understanding the book’s perspective. The author, Frances E. Willard, was born to educated, white parents in 1839 [3]. She grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin [4]. She was a teacher and temperance worker before becoming President of the National Christian Women’s Temperance Union [5]. She spent much of her career as a speaker and writer. She travelled across the country to speak about the ills of alcohol and the virtues of abstinence. Occupations for Women was published in 1897. This was only a year before her death, in 1898 [6]. 

The book’s elaborate design makes sense, considering Willard’s reformist politics. It also makes sense given the time-period. The Arts and Crafts movement was at its peak between 1880 and 1900. The movement focused on rejecting mass-production and bringing art to the poor [7]. Politically this would have been appealing to Willard. However, these decorative products were often unaffordable for the poor [8]. This made the movement meaningful mostly for the upper and middle classes. 

The actual contents of the book also show the tension between advising women to work and still appealing to a kind of person who wouldn’t actually need to work. The book advises women towards entering the workforce. However, it frames labor as a purely political decision. Willard presents work as a way to gain independence, and show ability. This aligns with the suffrage and temperance politics of the late 19th century. However, it was unrealistic for all but elite white women. Women of color and poor women across the country were already forced into labor to survive [9].

Occupations for Women is part of a Temperance and Suffrage movement narrative that reshapes what (elite, white) womanhood looks like. In the 1890s reformers argued against the idea that women should just be mothers and homemakers. This book encourages women to look outside the home for fulfillment. This narrative pushes back against the more domestic visions of femininity. However, it does not question white womanhood as the only norm. The question that Willard answers in the book is whether one should stay at home or choose to work. It is a question which only applies to a small group of women. This is presented as a universal narrative of the time.  However, minority women and working class women are left out of the narrative. While Occupations does contain a chapter on work for “colored girls”, the audience is still white women [10]. Her goal is not to educate non-white women about different careers. Willard’s point is that there were more opportunities for all women, and the reader should be grateful. 

(–Livia Miller & Athena Hallberg)

[1]-

Roe, Marion Edmunds, “How Six Girls Made Money, Or, Occupations for Women.” (Mount Morris, Ill.: Brethren’s Publishing Company, 1887.)

The Young Ladies’ Treasure Book. A Complete Cyclopædia of Practical Instruction and Direction for All Indoor and Outdoor Occupations and Amusements Suitable to Young Ladies, (London: Ward and Lock Co., 1884. Oxford University.)

[2]-

Marden, Orison Swett. Little Visits With Great Americans: Or, Success Ideals and How to Attain Them. (New York: Success Co., 1905.)

[3]-

Abbot, Willis J. Notable Women in History: The Lives of Women Who in All Ages, All Lands and in All Womanly Occupations Have Won Fame and Put Their Imprint On the World’s History (Philadelphia, 1913) 299

[4]-

Ibid., 300

[5]-

Ibid., 300

[6]-

Ibid., 302

[7]-

Meggs, Philip B., and Alston W. Purvis. Meggs’ History of Graphic Design. (Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, N.J, 2006.), 167. 

[8]-

Ibid.

[9]-

Hesse-Biber, S. N., and Carter, G. L., Working women in America: Split dreams.  (New York, 2000), 27-32

[10]-

Willard, Frances E., Helen M. Winslow. Occupations for Women: A Book of Practical Suggestions for the Material Advancement, the Mental and Physical Development, and the Moral and Spiritual Uplift of Women. NY: (Cooper Union, Success Co., 1897), 377-382.

 

Bibliography: 

Bettley, James, and National Art Library. The Art of the Book: From Medieval Manuscript to Graphic Novel. London: V&A Publications, 2001.

Meggs, Philip B., and Alston W. Purvis. Meggs’ History of Graphic Design. 4th ed. Hoboken, N.J.: J. Wiley & Sons, 2006.

Marden, Orison Swett. Little Visits With Great Americans: Or, Success Ideals and How to Attain Them. New York: Success Co., 1905.

Marden, Orison Swett. Rising in the World: Or, Architects of Fate; a Book Designed to Inspire Youth to Character Building, Self-culture and Noble Achievement. New York: Success Co., 1894.

Marden, Orison Swett, and G. R. Devitt. Success Library. New York: Success Co., 1901-1902.

Roe, Marion Edmunds, How Six Girls Made Money, Or, Occupations for Women. Mount Morris, Ill.: Brethren’s Publishing Company, 1887.

Willard, Frances E, My Happy Half-century: The Autobiography of an American Woman. London: Ward, Lock & Bowden, limited, 1894.

Willard, Frances E, Occupations for Women: A Book of Practical Suggestions for the Material Advancement, the Mental and Physical Development, and the Moral and Spiritual Uplift of Women. Cooper Union, N.Y.: Success Co., 1897.

The Young Ladies’ Treasure Book. A Complete Cyclopædia of Practical Instruction and Direction for All Indoor and Outdoor Occupations and Amusements Suitable to Young Ladies, London: Ward and Lock Co., 1884. Oxford University.

Hesse-Biber, S. N., & Carter, G. L.  Working women in America: Split dreams. New York.  2000. 

Abbot, W. J. Notable women in history: The lives of women who in all ages, all lands and in all womanly occupations have won fame and put their imprint on the world’s history. Philadelphia. 1913.