Victoria Zegler
HST 326: Women in America
November 14, 2011

Not To Live in Vain:
Faith and Ideals of Catherine Sedgwick

Love, involuntary and mysterious, holds a tight grip on the imagination. As young women, we ponder questions of marriage, careers and the ideals of love in our future. Ideals, such as these, were vital to the nineteenth century moralities. The principles of love and marriage provided models for women’s goals, as well as the opportunity to speak of their experience. Both of these ideals and the value of character represented the standards of perfection, which were essential to the sphere of life. Catharine Sedgwick, a fiction writer, subscribed to these high standards and refused to compromise. Her writings repeatedly emphasized the political and personal need for liberty and independence. The behavior of unmarried women in the nineteenth century provided an answer to their highly charged moral pursuit concerning duty, usefulness and love rather than the cultural elements concerning self-fulfillment. In order to find out who we are, we must understand where we come from. The seventeenth century Puritans first declared the importance of affection in marriage believing that to love one’s spouse was a duty. Young men and women were to choose someone they could learn to love but being in love was not necessary. It was companionship and respect, which shaped the solid foundations of a successful marriage. However, by the first decades of the nineteenth century, those stipulations were no longer seen as sufficient when it came to building a foundation. Matrimonies were now based on a strong and spiritual personal attraction. [1] Rather than marry someone they could learn to love, the men and women of this generation were now expected to marry someone they did love. [2] The evolution of human love can be associated with the exposure to revivalist Evangelicalism. It was Evangelicals who linked spontaneity of feeling with faith. [3] The Puritan view was reversed; it was now love that came first while sympathy and appreciation followed. This new understanding of spiritualization linked love with marriage, which allowed couples to focus on their happiness. By the nineteenth century the ideal of marriage based on love was widely accepted. The notion that marriage was to be based on romance rather than rational love indicated the understanding of human feelings. Catharine Sedgwick's reasons for breaking off her first engagement show the changing understanding of love and marriage. She explains to her brother Robert that her fiancé "has been s...

-112 -1854 -1860 -1920 -234 -290 -387 1 10 109 11 12 13 14 15 153 16 161 163 17 172 18 1800 1819 1830 1830s 1831 1836 1837 1849 1857 1858 1868 1871 1876 19 1961 1978 1984 1987 1989 2 2011 206 23 232 24 247 249 278 279 280 289 3 326 367 4 40s 420 5 50s 6 62 63 7 78 79 8 9 abil abl accept accord acknowledg actual adjunct admir adopt adventur advic advoc affect affin aimless albani all-american allow along alreadi although alway ambit america american anonym answer anybodi appoint appreci argu ask aspir associ assumpt athen attack attain attract author avoid awaken b barbara base becam becom began behavior believ benefit berg better beyond birth bless bond book born boston break bring brother brown build call came cannot cant capabl career catharin catherin centuri certain chamber chambers-schil chan chanc chang chapter charact charg charl choic choos chosen christian citi class clear clearer cms cogan cohort come common communiti companionship complet complex compliment compromis concept concern condit confess consequ continu convinc cott could coupl cours creat creatur croli crucial cultur cycl danger day dear death decad decid decis declar degrad delight demand design desir detail develop dewey diari differ dignifi digniti direct disciplin discov domest doubt duti earlier earth easili economi ed educ effort element elleri els emot emphas emphasi encourag end engag england ennui entri equal essenti etern evangel eventu everi evolut exact excel excus exist expect experi explain explan exposur express faith famili familiar fanci father feebler feel fellow femal femin feminin fiancé fiction field fill find finney first fit focus follow forc forev form former found foundat franc friend friendship fulfil furnish futur g ga gate gave general generat generous girl given goal god god-appoint god-given god-intend good gratitud great grip guidanc happi happier happiest heart heaven help high higher histor histori hold hopkin howev hst human humil husband ibid ideal ident imag imagin imit immens import imposs impress improv increas independ indic instead instrument integr intend interest involuntari iren j john journal june kept know labor ladi larcom larger last later lead learn less letter level liberti life like limit link literari literatur live longer look love luci made maid man mani manual march mari market marri marriag massachusett matrimoni may medium memoir men mhs mid mid-nineteenth might miser mission model moral motiv move much must mysteri nation nativ natur necessari need neither never new nineteenth nineteenth-centuri notion novemb object octob old one open opinion opportun order origin other ought outcom overal papa paper parent part particular partner path perfect perhap perish person peter pictur picture-perfect plenti point polit ponder poor popul portray possess potenti power prejudic prepar present pride principl prioriti privat process profit promis promot provid publish puritan purpos pursuit qualifi quenzler question quit quot r rais rate rather ration real realiti realiz reason recognit refer reflect refus regard regardless reiter relev relianc reliant reliev religion relinquish rememb repeat repres requir respect respons result rev revers revivalist reward right ripen risk road robert romanc romant routin sake salvat satisfact satisfi saw schiller scienc scrutini second sedgwick seen self self-actu self-direct self-disciplin self-fulfil self-possess self-reli self-scrutini sens sensat sent sentiment separ servic set seventeenth sex shape share show sight singl singlehood social societi solid someon someth sourc sovereign speak sphere spiritu spontan spous standard start state statesman stipul strang strength strong studi studley subscrib success suffici support suppos sympathi take task taught tender thank theme therefor think thirti tight togeth took total toward tradit true trust uhlenberg ultim undat understand understood/herself undignifi unhappi union unit univers unmarri unwed upon urg us use useless util vain valu vi vi-vii victoria view vii vital vocat voic warmer way wealth wed well whatev wherev white wide will wind withhold within woman womanhood women work world wors worthi write writer wrote yearn york young zegler