Charlotte Perkins Gilmans Cupid in the Kitchen - 1276 Words

Charlotte Perkins Gilmans Cupid in the Kitchen As a reader in the 1990s its tempting to see Charlotte Perkins Gilmans Cupid in the Kitchen as revolutionary and ahead of its time. She proposes the complete professionalization of the nutritive and execretive functions of society, a radical, if not revolutionary notion. However, in the light of the fin-de-siecle birth of the modern feminist movement, Gilman is but one voice in many crying for economic and social justice for women. In effect, the rhetorical situation of 1898 demanded and created this discourse as it does all discourse (Bitzer 5). Gilmans Cupid is a natural and elegant response to the conditions which created it: the continuing surplus of unmarried†¦show more content†¦This event also inspired Gilmans work. In this respect, Gilmans Cupid is neither revolutionary nor ahead of its time. That it bemoans the status of women in society and demands new opportunities for employment makes this piece more typical than remarkable. That is not to say that it is trivial. Gilmans book was both topical and significant in 1898. But whats most interesting in the 1990s is how her work differs from that of her contemporaries. What makes it stand out? How is it revolutionary, and why has it been anthologized? To answer these questions, the reader must follow the work to where the energy in the prose leads. This calls for a close examination of the most striking feature of her work, the proposal itself. Gilmans vision is revolutionary, and in some respects, prophetic. She proposes that the domestic chores of cleaning and nutrition be professionalized. Because they are so important, she argues, these tasks should be performed by well educated and trained professionals. She suggests that urban families living in flats and apartments could eat at a central, professionally staffed kitchen. In the suburbs, several houses could be linked by a kitchen in a similar way (Gilman 217-19). Her system offers several advantages. Obviously, peoples nutritional requirements could be better met by a centralized, professionally-staffed kitchen. In allShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Comparative Advantage of Sexual Divisions of Labor5471 Words   |  22 Pagesshe saw as a virtuous and noble woman. Virginia Woolf, however, decried what she saw as the deplorable poverty of women in A Room of One’s Own. Her solution, however, only served to further separate the spheres of men and women. Finally, Charlotte Perkins Gilman similarly objected to the state of women in Women and Economics and ultimately proposed a society that abolished any division of labor along sexual lines. None of these authors seem to contest the presence of a comparative advantage