Anna Johnson's Canonball

Anna Johnson “On Needle-Work” Final copy

Women are valuable. This is a simple statement now widely accepted in places all over the world that was not accepted as truth in the early 1800’s. However, it was a statement that Mary Lamb’s essay, “On Needle-Work”, certainly supported. Throughout her essay Lamb shares with us her thoughts on what women’s place in business and the home should truly be and how society should view them; with respect and value. Mary Lamb deserves to be recognized in our canon of British Romantic Literature because through the writing of this essay she offers us a unique insight into the social condition of women in the early 1800’s. Lamb does this by giving a voice to the women of the working class, supplying the reader with her solutions to the inequality of the sexes, and by showing how cautiously the subject (women’s rights) had to be approached while at the same time subtly putting forth revolutionary ideas.

In Mary Lamb’s day those women who did needle work by the piece were extremely underpaid and for many women it was said that “it was only one slippery step above prostitution” (49). In her writing Lamb gives a voice to the women of this “industrious sisterhood” (50), and since she was once a part of it, she is able to give the reader insight into what the thoughts of working class women were in the 1800’s. This insight is a rare thing to find because not many working class women were educated enough to write down their thoughts. lucky for her readers, Mary Lamb had been educated at William Bird’s ‘dames-school’ for the impoverished daughters of the working classes for four years and continued educating herself after that by reading. In the first paragraph Lamb tells us how she herself passed eleven years working in the needle-work business. During that time she supported her disabled mother and senile father with her needle work before she ever became a writer. Some even speculate that a psychotic attack, in which she stabbed her mother to death, was brought on by the exhaustion of being involved in this grueling business. She tells us in the second paragraph that her primary motive for writing “On Needle-Work” is to “excite attention” (50) towards the needle work business, thereby making people more aware of the sufferings that women in this business had to go through on a daily basis.

Since women in the 1800’s were banished to the domestic sphere, their time was looked upon as restful and undemanding; however, Lamb says on page 50 that she believes “it is every woman’s opinion that the condition of men is far superior to her own.” (50). A woman dared not tell their husbands that they did not have the leisure to, as Lamb puts it, “seek out whatever amusements suit their tastes” (50) as men did. The husbands would just counter by asking in what manner the women had spent the day, leaving them feeling foolish and, as Lamb puts it, “perpetually lamenting her(their) own idleness” (50). For in society’s mind all she has to do is sit at home while her husband is working hard to pay rent and buy food. The dynamic is very much still the same today: The person earning the money in the family, whether it be a man or a woman, most likely feels as though they are doing more for their families and working harder. Even though that might not be the case, they feel as though they are superior to their partner. Lamb suggests that the needle-work women do at home be recognized as a contribution to the family’s yearly income. By calculating every evening the amount of money that had been saved by doing needle work in the family, instead of contracting it out, one could form a true notion of the “exact worth of this species of home industry” (52). This would make people think of women as also contributing to the family’s financial well-being, and allow men and women to be thought of more as partners instead of one being superior to the other. Women’s time would then be perceived to be productive and valuable to the family; needle-work would be recognized for its true monetary value; and more respect would be accorded to women in the needle-work field.

Throughout her writing in “On Needle-Work” Lamb also shows just how carefully the subject of women’s rights had to be approached in the early 1800’s. While supporting progressive views in her writing, she manages to counter balance those views with traditional ones thus making her points seem more rational and acceptable to polite society. For instance, although Lamb supports women being able to maintain their livelihood themselves, she also reinforces the existing social roles of women. She states that it is a woman’s duty to provide a comfortable home and “fit herself to become a conversational companion” (51) by studying the subjects on which her husband loves to talk, again keeping women chained to the household and subservient to their husbands. She also claims that certain occupations that belong to men would be transferred to the exclusive position of women, and they, as Lamb says, “would soon beat their rivals of the other sex in facility and neatness” (51). And yet she counters herself by saying that it would not be possible for this evolution to occur, for no one would spend time and money training a daughter in a trade when she would most likely be married and then maintained by her husband. By doing this she shows how she may propose some things that seem radical, but then she quickly brings it back down to reality, cautiously avoiding being labeled a radical for women’s rights.

While Lamb, in her essay, does endorse and reinforce the existing social roles for women, she also sets forth some revolutionary ideas, and she signals that she knows this to by signing her work Sempronia. By signing “On Needle-Work” Sempronia, Lamb is, most likely, referring to a woman who lived in Ancient Rome who was known as a revolutionary. Sempronia was accomplished in many things and was also described as having quality of “masculine boldness”. By using the name Sempronia, Lamb could be calling for a revolution in women’s rights and suggesting that women should adopt some qualities that society has deemed manly to become more respected and acknowledged in a work capacity.

Mary Lamb’s “On Needle-Work” gives the reader a clear picture of the social condition of women in the early 1800’s. Lamb writes from personal experience of what things were really like for the women in this period and tells us what could be changed in her society to improve these women’s lives. For that reason I suggest putting this work into our BRL canon, as it would give future students a broader knowledge and a deeper understanding of what women struggled with throughout their lives in the British Romantic period.

"On Needle-Work" Draft

Women are valuable. This is a simple statement that was not accepted as truth in the early 1800’s, but a statement that Mary Lamb’s essay, “On Needle-Work”, certainly supported. Throughout the essay Lamb shares with the readers her thoughts on what women’s place in home and business should be and how society should view them; with respect and value. Mary Lamb deserves to be recognized in the canon of British Romantic Literature because through the writing of this essay she offers us a unique insight into the social condition of women in the early 1800’s.

In Mary Lamb’s day women those who did needle work by the piece were extremely underpaid and for many women “it was only one slippery step above prostitution” (49). Lamb gives a voice to the women of this “industrious sisterhood” (50) and since she was once a part of it she can give the reader insight into what the thoughts of working class women were in the 1800’s. In the first paragraph Lamb tells us how she herself passed eleven years working in this business. She supported her disabled mother and senile father with her needle work before she ever became a writer. Some even speculate that a psychotic attack, in which she stabbed her mother to death, was brought on by the exhaustion of being involved in this grueling business. She tells us in the second paragraph that her primary motive for writing “On Needle-Work” is to “excite attention” (50) towards the needle work business, thereby making people more aware of the sufferings that women in this business had to go through on a daily basis.

Since women in the 1800’s were banished to the domestic sphere their time was looked upon as restful and undemanding, however, Lamb states that “I believe it is every woman’s opinion that the condition of men is far superior to her own.” (50). Women dared not tell their husbands that they did not have the leisure to, as Lamb puts it, “seek out whatever amusements suit their tastes” (50) for men would just counter by asking in what manner she had spent the day; therefore making her feel foolish and “perpetually lamenting her own idleness” (50). Lamb suggests that the needle work women do at home be recognized as contributing to the family’s yearly income. By calculating every evening the amount of money that had been saved by doing needle work in the family, instead of contracting it out, one could form a true notion of the “exact worth of this species of home industry” (52). As a result this would make women’s time productive and valuable to the family, as well as give more monetary value to needle work and more respect for the women in that field.

Throughout her writing Lamb shows just how carefully the subject of women’s rights had to be approached in the early 1800’s. While supporting progressive views in her writing she manages to counter balance those views with traditional ones thus making her points seem more rational and acceptable to polite society. For instance, Although Lamb supports women being able to support themselves she also reinforces the existing social role of women by saying that it is a woman’s duty to provide a comfortable home and “fit herself to become a conversational companion” (51) by studying the subjects on which he loves to talk. She also says that certain occupations that belong to men would be transferred to the exclusive position of women and they “would soon beat their rivals of the other sex in facility and neatness” (51). And yet it would not be possible for this evolution to occur, for who would spend time and money training a daughter in a trade when she would most likely be married and then maintained by her husband. By doing this she shows how cautious one had to be when writing on the topic of women’s rights to be non-alarming to gentlemen of the era.

While Lamb, in her essay, does endorse and reinforce the existing social roles for women, she also sets forth some revolutionary ideas and she signals that she knows this to by signing her work Sempronia. By signing, “On Needle-Work”, Sempronia Lamb is, most likely, referring to a woman who lived in Ancient Rome and was referred to as a revolutionary. Sempronia was accomplished in many things and was also described as having “masculine boldness”. By using the name Sempronia, Lamb shows that women must adopt some qualities that society has deemed manly to become more respected and acknowledged in a work capacity.

Mary Lamb’s “On Needle-Work” gives the reader a clear picture of what the social condition of women in the early 1800’s was like, not only because she was deeply involved with it, but also because she writes of what things were really like for the women in this period and tells us what could be changed in her society to improve these women’s lives. For that reason I suggest putting this work into our BRL canon, as it would give students a more beneficial knowledge and a better understanding of what women struggled with throughout their lives in the British Romantic period.