this conception, a woman was considered a "true woman" if she "displayed the
virtues of piety, purity, domesticity, and submissivenessà American women found their true calling in the home, where they provided the comfort, happiness, and nurture lacking in the public world" (Nacy, 10).
Literature from the period provides an especially poignant window on the stereotypes and conceptions of the time. According to one book, it was the "foremost responsibility of a new wifeàto provide for her husbandàthe single spot of rest which a man has upon this earth for the cultivation of his noblest sensibilities" (Green, 27). Many authors from this period suggested that if a woman did not provide this kind of supportive atmosphere at home for her husband, he might begin to abuse alcohol or pursue other women. The men of the period, on the other hand, considered this to be only proper. Women were seen to be morally superior but intellectually and physically inferior: "a husband loved his wife and cherished her
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