History often portrays women as parties marginalized both by society and by patriarchy. Esther Burr and Martha Ballard actively fight this stereotype, but in very different ways. While both were colonial women, they had extremely different priorities. Martha Ballard was extremely involved in her work, both in the household warping pieces, and in the community, as a midwife. Esther Burr, as the wife of a prominent politician, clearly prioritizes her friendship with her correspondent over her traditional familial responsibilities. However, the women are similar in that they have concrete conceptions of self.
[...] While the women derive their identities from different sources, they both maintain a solid sense of priorities and portray women as active participants in colonial society. Bibliography Burr, Ester. The Journal of Esther Edwards Burr. Yale University Press: 1986. Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812. Vintage Books: 1991. Burr, Ester. The Journal of Esther Edwards Burr. Yale University Press: 1986 p 55 ibid 58 ibid ibid Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard Based [...]
[...] She writes, “Every Letter I have from you raises my esteem of you and increases my love to you- there is the very soul of a friend in all you write- You cant think how those private papers make long to see Burr says she her friend, indicating she clearly ranks her friendship with this woman as one of the priorities in her life. Burr expresses the need to be physically close to her friend when she says, you don't come this spring I shall dispare of ever seeing you in these parts, for if you r-y as I think you will before a nother spring I suppose we shall see no more of you in our Clearly, Burr valued her relationship with Prince extremely highly. [...]
[...] In contrast, Martha Ballard uses her diary primarily as a ledger of her economic transactions and as a way of keeping track of the babies she has delivered. Regardless, a reader can make some inferences into the sense of identity that Ballard projects. Ballard's identity is tied to her work, both as a midwife and in her house. She expends endless energy “tarrying” from one house to another delivering children. Moreover, even in her old age, she still manages her household and participates in the domestic economic. [...]
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