So opens the Forgotten Household Crafts book. Immediately I am realising I have completely misjudged the project, and that my views - beaten into be by society and the media over the years, are completely in opposition to those of Mr. Seymour.
As far as he is concerned there is no nobler profession - unless you are a farmer - and it angers him that the role of 'housewife' is so maligned. As I begin to read the book, I realise he is right, and I wonder where the idea that running a house is neither a) challenging nor b) time consuming comes from.
 |
| Ugh. |
Since completing my PhD I have effectively been a housewife, while I've tried to work out what my next steps are to be. Even with modern conveniences I find that keeping our home clean, tidy and organised takes up most of my time, and I've had to earmark my mornings for writing if I don't want to spend my entire life doing 'house work'.
While both Jon and I were working full time I think we began to realise that our lifestyle wasn't compatible with us both being in full-time work. If we wanted to keep chickens, make all our food from scratch, preserve food that's in season, run an allotment, mend clothes and furniture rather than replacing it, make people gifts AND have a clean, tidy and organised house, we either needed to be super-human or make some life changes.
And despite our range in superhero pyjamas, we were not developing anything approaching superpowers.
There was one section that really stuck out to me in the introduction. It refers to our attitude to work:
"I was talking to an old lady [...] and she gave me an account of a week's work when she was a child: washing on Monday, selling eggs and butter at the market on Tuesday, baking on Wednesday, and so on. "Wasn't it all a lot of work?" I asked her. "Yes," she said "but nobody had ever told us there was anything wrong with work.
"And what do people do with all the time they "save" by not having to look after their homes properly? Do they spend all that time improving themselves or their environment? They do not, for life without the firm base of a good home is unsatisfactory and unpleasing. So such people seize on any cheap thrill that comes along to allay the boredom. They besot themselves with the telly"
Speaking for myself, this pretty much sums up my life when I was working full time! My home was cluttered and unloved which made me stressed, and I didn't have the energy to do any of the things I wanted to do. I'd buy books and DVDs to allay my frustration, and spend my evenings watching television because I was so exhausted. I had a list of health problems as long as my arm - including PCOS, depression, IBS, anaemia, and I reckon I was about 6 months from a diagnosis of CFS. And all because society tells me I'm nothing without a 'career'? Hmm.
But this has all become a bit serious. I merely mean to indicate that perhaps Mr. Seymour has a point and we need to reclaim the word 'housewife' (or indeed 'househusband'). It does not mean a boring but perfectly dressed 1950s Stepford wife acquiescing to her husband's every whim while he lounges around reading the paper, which I will confess is what the word conjures up to me.
Ugh. I didn't do 5 years of postgraduate study to label myself with those prejudices.
I'm not going to try and redefine the word now, but I am realising that there's more to this project than simply learning to make butter. I suspect there's some sociology and feminism to delve into as well.
Jolly good, Mr. Seymour! You've thrown down the gauntlet, and I accept.
Onward!
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