Difference between revisions of "Week 7 Questions/Comments-327 11"
From McClurken Wiki
| Line 40: | Line 40: | ||
I really enjoyed reading Martha Ballard's diary. I learned that Ballard had land, a big family, and resources to provide for her family. It is also important to note that because she could write daily about her life, she was probably seen as an important figure of the time period because we've learned in class that women who left written documents were usually related to important men of the time period. I really thought it was interesting to read about the hardships Ballard faced (with being sick) while her husband was away, and how she dealt with her sickness. --Catherine Kennedy | I really enjoyed reading Martha Ballard's diary. I learned that Ballard had land, a big family, and resources to provide for her family. It is also important to note that because she could write daily about her life, she was probably seen as an important figure of the time period because we've learned in class that women who left written documents were usually related to important men of the time period. I really thought it was interesting to read about the hardships Ballard faced (with being sick) while her husband was away, and how she dealt with her sickness. --Catherine Kennedy | ||
| + | |||
| + | I'm fascinated by the debate going on here regarding whether Ballard was unhappy or not. I'd have to agree that the diary itself only presents a very pragmatic view of her life. Even when reading more deeply, it is difficult to determine whether Ballard was devoted to her work and simply a deeply pragmatic person, or whether the spareness of her writings could be indicative of unhappiness in her life. I did find it surprising that her pragmatism didn't fracture when she was describing tragedy, as in Mrs. McMaster's stillbirth on September 11. She devotes as much time in her diary to the news of the McMaster family's tragedy ("...and her child was deceased. The funeral tomorrow") as she does to standard, successful birth (as of the September 13 birth "she was delivered [at] six o'clock, afternoon, of a daughter.") It's difficult to imagine, though, that Ballard could have devoted so much of her time and so much of her energy to something that did not bring her joy or at least a sense of accomplishment. I wish she had emoted more in her diary, so we could figure out how she actually felt about her life. -- Nicole | ||
