"Thorne Malcolm's Dream by Unknown from the Wylie's August 1869 Edition "Ladies' Own Magazine"

"Thorne Malcolm's Dream by Unknown from the Wylie's August 1869 Edition "Ladies' Own Magazine"

Fictional portrayals of beggared, indigent widows in women’s magazines perpetuated commonly shared social perceptions, defining widows as defenseless, dependent, and, ultimately, to blame. Entitled “Thorne Malcolm’s Dream”, this narrative follows an upper-middle class wife and mother, who begins hearing a strange noise from her husband’s barn. Her sense of charity takes over, and she explores the barn to make certain that no one in need is inside. But her worst fears become realized, when she finds a widow and child in the barn. Upon being discovered, the widow pleads to be pitied, saying, “‘My husband died. I was alone is the world, had nothing to live on, and–and’ she could say no more for tears.” The widowed, destitute mother ends up being related to her husband. Through this the woman of the house discovers the widow had long ago married young and hastily, and without consulting her parents, heavily implying that her dire circumstances had been caused by her previous wrongs.

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August, 1869