Three Wylie Women: A Generation of Late Nineteenth-Century Mothers
The Wylie Women reflect contradictions between the maternal ideal, represented in women’s advice literature, and the complex realities of Midwestern, middle-class childrearing in the late nineteenth-century. The generational study of Elizabeth Louisa Wylie Boisen, Margaret Wylie Mellette, and Sarah Seabrook Mitchell Wylie examines the effect of social and economic factors on mothering experiences, revealing a shared struggle to uphold the expectations of nineteenth-century women.
In celebration of Mother's Day, the Three Wylie Women exhibit was on display at Wylie House through May, 2018. For the exhibit, each room of the Wylie House featured a particular theme or aspect of the Wylie women's lives as mothers.
The Wylie House now invites you to explore nineteenth-century mothering through our online exhibition →
Tour a Specific Room of the Exhibit:
Entering the Exhibit: Late Nineteenth-Century Mothering at the Wylie House
The Dining Room: Introducing the Wylie Women
The Kitchen: Maternal Advice Literature and Lived Experience
The Parlor: Separation through Union
The Master Bedroom: Confinement
Upstairs: The Responsibilities and Struggles of Childrearing
The Boys’ Room: Maggie’s Story
The Guest Room: Financial Issues and Widowhood
Notes on Research and Further Reading