Did Victorian-era Americans partake of tobacco products with ignorant bliss? Or were they aware of health dangers? And were those health dangers remotely accurate (compared to today)?
Join me for a look at various newspaper articles, medical journal pieces, vintage photographs, and more. I’ll allow you to draw your own conclusions.
Victorian-era expectations regarding women’s province (the home), placed responsibility for happiness, economy (and perceived respectability), and her husband’s “comfort” at home, wholly within her reach–and the consequences (good and bad) entirely on her shoulders. This vintage newspaper article, “Truths for Wives”, is a classical example of pervasive attitudes in the nineteenth century. While starkly dissimilar to today’s societal expectations, this short article from 1860 sheds much light on Victorian expectations–including winning and keeping a husband’s love.
