95

'WOMEN'SWORK AND EUROPEAN FERTILITY PATTERNS









Louise A. T i l l y

Michigan S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y



Joan W. S c o t t

Northwestern U n i v e r s i t y



Miriam Cohen

U n i v e r s i t y of Michigan









March, 1974









CRSO Working Paper if95 Copies a v a i l a b l e through:

C e n t e r f o r Research

on S o c i a l Organization

U n i v e r s i t y of Michigan

4001' LSA Bu i 1 d i ng

Ann Arbor, Michigan

48109 -1 382

WOMEN'S WORK AND EUROPEAN FERTILITY PATTERNS









Louise A. Tilly Joan W. Scott Miriam Cohen

Michigan State Northwestern University of

University University Michig.an

During the nineteenth century most commentators on the

"condition of the working classes" attributed large families

and frequent illegitimacy among the poor to social, economic

or moral pathology. For Engels overpopulated working class

families were the offspring of industrial capitalism. For

Malthus, they were evidence of imprudence, of an inability to

make rational calculations. For both, as for many government

investigators and social reformers, high rates of fertility

among married and single workers were both indicators and

causes of misery and deprivation. Since the nineteenth century,

of course, there have been many debates about the effects of

industrialization on the standard of living of workers and on

their demographic behavior. There have been some studies of

family size among occupational groups and there have been at-

tempts to describe and explain changes in working class fertil-

ity patterns. Most of these studies lack the explicit moral-

izing of the 19th century commentators, although some implicitly

retain those biases. Few, however, maintain that large families

and numerous bastards were positive developments.I

.- 2

Now Edward Shorter, in his recent article, "Female Emanci-

pation, Birth Control and Fertility in European History," ad-

vances such an argument. In an intriguing and provocative piece,

Shorter speculated that "female emancipation" led to increased

rates of legitimate and illegitimate fertility in Western Europe

at the end of the 18th century. His subject is not economic

deprivation; indeed that is an irrelevant consideration for him.

Instead, he maintains that industrialization early led to the

sexual emancipation of working class women by offering employment

opportunities for them outside the home. Work led to sexual

liberation, according to Shorter, by revolutionizing women's

attitudes about themselves. They became individualistie and

self-seeking, They rebelled against traditional constraints

and sought pleasure and fulfillment in uninhibited sexual activity.

In the absence of birth control, heightened sexual activity in-

evitably meant more children. Indeed, towards the end of the

nineteenth century, as information about contraception became

available, fertility rates sharply declined,

Shorter's is a novel interpretation with some important

contributions to women's history as well as to demographic

history. Above all, Shorter must be commended for bringing to-

gether hitherto scattered evidence about European fertility

patterns. He has clearly established that from about 1750-90

increases in illegitimate fertility rates paralleled increases

in legitimate fertility rates in much of Western Europe. At

the end of the nineteenth century both rates show a parallel

decline. In addition, Shorter insists that the social and

economic experience of women is central to fertility changes.

3



In so doing he implicitly challenges the conventional view of

women's history which sees political emancipation as the source

of all other changes in women's lives in the modern world. This

view, which echoes some of the more simplistic literature on

political development, suggests that a change in political con-

sciousness during the nineteenth century led to political en-

franchisement for women in the twentieth century, and only then

to their expanded social and economic activity. Shorter, on the

contrary, points out the social, economic and demographic changes

in women's lives that pre-dated political emancipation by more

than 100 years.

Despite these contributions, however, Shorter's article is

misleading. It confuses the connections between fertility pat-

terns and women's experience instead of clarifying them. If

Shorter accurately describes changes in fertility, he nonetheless

explains them incorrectly. And while he is justified in in-

sisting that women's history must be considered by historical

demographers, he fails to seriously examine that history. In-

stead he accepts without examination the conventional notion

that women in pre-industrial society were subordinate and power-

less. And he proceeds to incorporate this notion into his model.

The key to rising ferti,lity,for Shorter, is a change in popular

mentality, particularly in the attitudes of women. This change

logically follows, he asserts, from women's exposure to "the

values of the marketplace," when they work outside the home.

Work for pay makes them more independent and less powerless.

Their new values lead unquestionably to a "genuine change in

popular sexual behavior."

The clarity and simplicity of Shorter's logic may be per-

#





suasive, yet the historical evidence he offers is scant. His-

torians previous efforts to explain large-scale social change

in terms of altered mentalities have been notably unpersuasive.

Shorter's attempt fails, too, because he gives no direct evidence

for a change in attitude. In fact, Shorter's evidence that at-

titudes changed is only the consequence of that presumed change.

In other words, increased fertility rates are the only real

proof he has that women's attitudes and sexual behavior did change.

There is, despite Shorter's neglect of it, a growing body

of historical evidence about woman's role in pre-industrial and

industrial society. It seriously questions both Shorter's pre-

mise about the position of pre-industrial women and his central

assertion that a change in popular attitudes increased legiti-

mate and illegitimate fertility. Examination of that evidence

leads us to reject Shorter's explanation of the fertility changes

he describes. His model may be elegant and symmetrical, but it

is also ahistorical and profoundly inaccurate.

In this article we will first examine Shorter's hypothesis

in some detail. Then we will present the historical evidence

about women's work experiences before and during industrializa-

tion. Finally, we will offer an alternative model to explain

fertility changes which is based on that evidence.



Shorter's hypothesis

When Shorter began writing about illegitimacy, he attributed

its increase between 1790 and 1860 to a sexual revolution. But

he carefully related sexual behavior to social situations. Social

5

instability, he suggested, would tend to decrease the likelihood

that marriage would follow a sexual encounter; while in stable

social situations, marriage more regularly legitimized sexual

relationships. The model he constructed was a more complicated

one than we have described and we have serious disagreements with

it; but it is unnecessary in this article to review it at length.

The important point is that in his earlier work, Shorter indicated

that sexual relationships and marriage patterns (and hence fertil-

ity rates) were extremely sensitive to a complex of social and

economic realities and to changes in them. 3

In his more recent piece, Shorter has sharpened and simpli-

fied the argument. He.builds his case by correlating a number of

events: industrialization, migration, changes in women's work,

changes in fertility rates, etc. He then argues that since they

all have to do with fertility, they can be reduced to a single

causal sequence. That causal sequence is constructed on a pre-

mise about a change in women's attitudes. Structural considera-

tions are pushed aside, so are alternative explanations. Ac-

cording to Shorter, a change in fertility rates can only mean a

change in sexual practices, which has to mean a change in atti-

tudes, particularly of women. The sequence must be linear and

direct. Shorter assumes that legitimate and illegitimate fertility

rates rose after 1750 because newly "emancipated" single and mar-

ried women engaged in more frequent sexual intercourse in a

quest for sexual fulfillment. Their emancipation came from their

contact with the market economy.

~t seems a plausible proposition that people

assimilate in the market place an integrated,

coherent set of values about social behavior

and personal independence and that these values

quickly inform the noneconomic realm of in-

dividual mentalities. If this logic holds

true, we may identify e;cposure to the market

place as a prime source of female emancipation. 4



This statement, as its language clearly reveals, is based

on a chain of reasoning, not on historical evidence. Shorter

offers no evidence to prove that more women did work in the

capitalist market place in this period. He merely assumes that

they did. Similarly, he assumes that women at the end of the

eighteenth century had different family roles and attitudes from

their predecessors. And he assumes as well that changes in work

opportunities inevitably changed values. 5 Ideas, in his opinion,



immediately reflect one's current economic experience. ~husfor

Shorter, a mechanistic notion of "value transfer" bridges the

gap between changes in occupational structure and.!in collective

mentalities. "In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries

the market economy encroached steadily at the cost of the moral

economy, and the values of individual self-interest and compet-

itiveness that people learned in the market were soon transferred

1

to other areas of life,16

Shorter has sexual behavior echoing market behavior at every

point. "Emancipated" women have gained a sense of autonomy at

work that the subordinate and powerless women of pre-industrial

society lacked. That work, created as it was by capitalist

economic development, necessarily fostered values of individualism

in those who participated in it. Individualism was expressed in

part by a new desire for sexual gratification. Young women working

7



outside the home, Shorter insists, were by definition rebelling

against parental authority. Indeed, they sought work in order

to gain independence and individual fulfillment that could not

be attained at home. It follows, in Shorter's logic, that sexual

behavior, too, must have been defiant of parental restraint. As

the market economy spread there arose a new libertine proletarian

subculture, "indulgent of eroticism." Once married, the independent

young working women engaged in frequent intercourse because they

and their husbands took greater pleasure in sex and put more value

on companionship than had their traditional counterparts. Female

"emancipation" thus began among the young and poor. In the ab-

sence of birth control, the sexual gratification of single working

girls increased the illegitimate birth rate; that of married

working women inflated the legitimate birth rate. In this fashion

Shorter answers a central question of European historical demo-

graphy. The fertility increase in the late eighteenth century

was simply the result of the "emancipation', occupational and

sexual, of working class women.

Shorter then attributes the fall in fertility a-t the end of

the nineteenth century to the diffusion of birth control know-

ledge and techniques. Middle class women were the first to use

birth control. Later, it was adopted as well by lower class

women, "mentally prepared for small families" by their experiences

with motherhood and work. Presumably single lower class women

were even more willing to curb their fertility once they knew

how. Meanwhile, middle class women became personally emancipated.



The chronological coincidence of the search for individual auto-

nomy, which originated among the lower classes, and of techniques

8

of birth control, known first to the middle classes, caused

the late nineteenth century fertility decline. Shorter con-

cludes by suggesting that the movement for women's political

rights was the final outcome of the growth of capitalism, in-

dustrialization, and changes in women's work which had started

more than a century earlier.

It is now time to examine the historical evidence Shorter

neglected about woman's sole in pre-industrial society; about the

effects of industrialization on women's work; and about the mo-

tives which senti young girls out into the "marketplace" at the

end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century.

None of the evidence we have found supports Shorter's argument

in any way. Women were not powerless and subordinate in "tra-

ditional" families; indeed they played important economic roles.

Industrialization did not significantly modernize women's work

in the period when fert'ility rates rose; in fact, the vast

majority of working women did not work in factories, but at

customary women's jobs. Women became wage earners during the

early phases of industriali~ation~not

because they were rebel-

ling against their parents, but because they were sent out to

work in the service of the family interest. No change in atti-

tude increased the numbers of children working women bore. Rather

old attitudes and traditional behavior operating in changed cir-

cumstances led to increased illegitimate and legitimate fertility.

Women eventually did shed many traditional values, and by

the end of the nineteenth century some working w*ornenhad clearly

adopted "modern" life styles. The important point, however, is

that the years around 1790 were not a watershed in the history of

9



women's economic emancipation--despite the fact that women's

work moved outside the home, These were the crucial years for

the increases in fertility in Europe. All the evidence is not

in;: by any means. The evidence we offer, however, indicates 'th'at

in this period, khe women of the popular classes simply were not

undergoing a search for freedom or the experience of emancipation.

The explanation for changed fertility patterns lies elsewhere,

as we shall demonstrate in the last section of this article.





Women's Place in "Traditional" Families

Historical and ethnographic evidence suggests that the women

of the popular classes did not conform to Shorter's characteriza-

tion of them as subordinate, dependent and powerless. On the

contrary, ,;inthe seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

(as in present-day, less- developed areas in Europe) women usually

played an important economic role within the family.

The "popular classes" of pre-industrial society included

people from several different economic categories. In rural

areas they ranged from prosperous land-owning peasants to land-

less laborers who hired out as agricultural hands, domestic

servants, or .(increasingly from the seventeenth century on) workers

5n cottage industry. In cities, there were artisans at one end

of the spectrum and unskilled workers at the other. In both city

and country the lower orders included those with property--peasants

and artisans, (the latter owned their tools and conceived of their

skills as a form of property)-- and those without it (landless

laborers and unskilled urban laborers). Among both types--the

propertied and unpropertied--the family was the elementary unit

10

of work in pre-industrial Europe. All members of the family,

women and children as well as men, contributed to its well-

being. Women were partners in the enterprise, whether it was

a farm, a shop, or the less clearly defined economic unit of the

urban poor family.

In the pre-industrial family, the household was organized

as a family or domestic economy. Men, women and children worked

at tasks which were differentiated by age and sex, but the work

of all was necessary for survival. Artisans' wives assisted

their husbands .in their work as weavers, bakers, shoemakers or

tailors. Certain work, like weaving, whether carried on in the city

or the country, needed the cooperation of all family members. Children

and women did spinning and carding; men ran the looms. Wives

also managed many aspects of the household, including family

finances. In less prosperous urban families, women did paid

work which was often an extension of their household chores.

They sewed and made lace. They also took odd jobs, as carters,

laundresses and street cleaners. Unmarried women also became

servants. Resourcefulness was characteristic of poor women.

When they could not find work which would enable them to contri-

bute to the family income, they begged, stole or became prosti-

tutes. Olwen Hufton's work on the Parisian poor in the eighteenth

century and Alan Forrest's on Bordeaux both describe the crucial

economic contribution of urban working class women and the conse-

quent central role these women played in their fa mi lie^.^ Although

a woman depended on her husband's work for a large measure of the

family's support, he in turn could not do without hers.

In the country, the landowning peasants' family was also the

11

8

focus of all economic activity. The members of the family

worked together, again at sex-differentiated tasks. children,

boys and girls,.were sent to other farms as servants when their

help was not needed on the family farm. Their activity, nonethe-

less, contributed to the well-being of the family. They either

sent their earnings home, or, if they were not paid wages, their

and

absence at least relieved the family of the burden of-.feeding

boarding them. Women's responsibilities included care of the

house, barnyard and the dairy. They managed to bring in small

profits from marketing of poultry and dairy products and from

work in rural domestic industry. Management of the household and

particularly of finances led to a central role for women in these

families too. An observer in rural Brittany during the nineteenth

century reported that the wife and mother of the family made

"the important decisions, buying a field, selling a cow, a law-

suit against a neighbor, choice of a future son-in-law. "'For

rural families who did not own land women's work was even more

brought in wages earned in agricultural work, spin-

vital. .They.

ning, or petty trading. They contributed their share to the

family wage--the only economic resource of the landless family.

In city and country, among propertied and propertyless,

women of the popular classes had a vital economic role. ~t is,

of course, impossible to guess what sort of sexual relations

were practiced under these circumstances. We - say, however,

can

that women were not dependent and powerless in the economic

10

sphere. Their position in the family was hardly a subordinate

one. Hence it is impossible to accept Shorter's attempt to.deri-ve

place in th+ pre-

womeri's 'supposed-sexual subo'kdination'from their.'

dustrial household.

Women's Work

What happened in the mid-eighteenth century with the spread

of capitalism, the growth of markets, and industrialization?

Did these economic changes bring new work experiences for women,

with the consequences Shorter describes? Did women, earning

money in the capitalist market-place, find a new sense of self

that expressed itself in increased sexual activity?

In examining the historical evidence for the effects on

women's work of industrialization and urbanization, we find

that the location of women's work did change--more young women

worked outside the home and in large cities than ever before.

But they were recruited from the same groups which had always

sent women to work. And they entered occupations which tradition-

11

ally had employed women.

The female labor force of nineteenth century Europe, like

that of seventeenth and eighteenth century Europe, consisted

primarily of the daughters of the popular classes, secondarily

of their wives. The present state of our knowledge makes it dif-

ficult to specify precisely the groups within the working classes

from which nineteenth century women wage earners came. ~t is

clear, however, that changes in the organization of work must have

driven the daughters and wives of craftsmen out of the family shop.

Similarly population growth (a result of declining mortality and

younger age at marriage due to opportunities for work in cottage

industry) created a surplus of hands within therurban household

and on the family farm. Women in these families always had been

expected to work. Increasingly they were sent away from home to

earn their portion of the family wage.

The daughters (and sometimes the wives) of the popular

classes performed traditional types of women's work during most

of the nineteenth century. Domestic service, garment-making,

and textiles had long been the chief non-agricultural employers

of women. This continued to be the case during the nineteenth

century. In France, in 1866, 69% of working women outside agri-

culture were employed in these three fields; in 1896, the per-

12

centage was 59%. In England, the occupational opportunities

for women were similarly stable. In the 18401s,Ivy Pinchbeck,

notes, women served in traditionalfma-leoccupations--the largest

percentage were in domestic service, the next largest in textiles,

the next in clothing making. In her study of women in the labor

force in 1915, B.L. Hutchins noted that as late as 1911, two-

thirds of working women were in the same three fields: domestic

service (including laundry) 35%; textiles, 19.5%; garment,making

15.6%. 13

It is worthwhile to examine the case of England more closely.

England was the first country to industrialize. Its fertility

rates rose as the country industrialized. Yet contrary to Shorter's

assumption that new work experiences for women led to increased

fertility rates, there is no evidence to indicate that women's

work changed significantly at all. During the early phases of

British industrialization the proportion of women entering the

work-force did not increase. Niether did women work in factories

in significant numbers in the crucial late eighteenth century

period when fertility rates began to rise.

Aggregate statistics on the number of women workers before

1841 do not exist, but several studies have shown that opportunities

14

for women to participate in the economy actually shrank with

early industrialization. The reorganization of agriculture

displaced women who had worked on the family paot. (A portion

of these women did become wage laborers towards the end of the

eighteenth century, but only temporarily. Their numbers declined

towards the middle of the nineteenth century as did all employment

in agriculture.) In the manufacturing sector, the mechanization

of cotton spinning'first deprived women of that age-old occupation

at the end of the eighteenth century. Until the second decade

of the next century, women had to compete with children for jobs

assisting men, who operated the large new machines. ~t was not

until after the power loom was introduced into the factory (after

1820) that opportunities were created for large numbers of women

to participate in the factory work force. 14 The experience of

wool workers was similar. As the industry was concentrated into

workshops, long before power driven machinery was introduced,

women were excluded from the preparation process. Although some

women competed with men as handloom weavers in the early nineteenth

century, it was not until the 1860's that the power loom brought

many women into the wool factories. Because the mill-based woolen

industry was concentrated in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, magy

female domestic wool workers elsewhere were left permanently un-

employed. l5 Finally, as a consequence of changes in the organiza-

tion of craft work, many artisans' wives who had heretofore taken

an active part in their husbands' work were deprived of their

occupations.

Of course, not all women employed in manufacturing were en-

gaged in textile spinning and weaving. Women's occupations also

15



i n c l u d e d m i l l i n e r y , c o r s e t , b o o t and shoe-making, d r e s s and a r t i -



f i c i a l flower-making, book b i n d i n g , f o o d p r o d u c t i o n and c a n n i n g ,



and match-making." Such were t h e i n d u s t r i e s which employed women



p r i m a r i l y i n London and o t h e r c i t i e s . I n Birmingham, a n u n u s u a l



number of women engaged i n s m a l l m e t a l t r a d e s . I n t h e c o u r s e of t h e



n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , many of t h e s e a c t i v i t i e s were moved i n t o s m a l l

-2-







workshops and l a r g e r ' f a c t o r i e s , b u t t h i s happened long a f t e r



t h e f a c t o r y o r g a n i z a t i o n of t e x t i l e p r o d u c t i o n . ,16 Thus itvwas: p r i -



m a r i l y i n t h e t e x t i l e i n d u s t r y , and t h e n o n l y a f t e r t h e 1 8 2 0 ' s t h a t



.

t h e number o f . women. -faeltioY.yrworkers?l i n c r e a s e d ., rAshcfoirm&hetimpact o f



e a r l y i n d u s t r i a l F z a t i o n on women ' s work, I v y Pinchbeck concluded



that:



The i n d u s t r i a 1 r e v o l u t i o n [ i n t h e p e r i o d 1750-18501:

enormously i n c r e a s e d t h e employment o p p o r t u n i t y f o r .

men by new developments i n m i n i n g , e n g i n e e r i n g ,

t r a n s p o r t a t i o n and t h e e x p a n s i o n of o t h e r i n d u s t r i e s

b u t t h e r e was no c o r r e s p o n d i n g i n c r e a s e for,women

except ' i n t h i s sphere [ a s t e x t i l e opera t i v e s r ; i n

o t h e r ' d i r e c t . i o n s , t h e i r o p p o r t u n i t e s had a c t u a l l y

d e c l i n e d . l7'



I n England women moved v e r y s l o w l y i n t o "modern o c c u p a t i o n s " .



L e t u s compare t h e number of women i n t h e B r i t i s h p o p u l a t i o n from



1841-1911, t h e number of women i n t h e l a b o r f o r c e o u t s i d e a g r i c u l - ' '









t u r e a s a whole, and t h e number of women 'who w e r e o c c u p i e d i n work



o t h e r than domestic s e r v i c e . Our proxy f o r modern o c c u p a t i o n s , i t



s h o u l d b e n o t e d , ' i s .a rough one, i n c l u d i n g a l l n o n - s e r v a n t



non-agricultural. occupations. This includes not only f a c t o r y jobs,



b u t a l l m a n u f a c t u r i n g ' j o b s , i n w h a t e v e r k i n d of s e t t i n g , and -



non-manufacturing jobs, such a s t h o s e i n commerce and' t h e p r o f e s -



s i o n s , b u t excludes a g r i c u l t u r e . The f o l l o w i n g f a c t s a r e e v i d e n t .



F i r s t of a l l , t h e munber of women i n t h e l a b o r f o r c e o u t s i d e

a g r i c u l t u r e a t t h e m i d d l e of t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y was r e l a t i v e l y



s m a l l (24.4%) ; t h e n o n - a g r i c u l t u r a l f e m a l e work f o r c e d i d n o t i n -



c r e a s e a s q u i c k l y a s t h e female p o p u l a t i o n grew a f t e r mid-century.



The l a r g e s t p r o p o r t i o n o f women were, i n 1841, and remained s o i n



1891, engaged i n d o m e s t i c and o t h e r p e r s o n a l s e r v i c e o c c u p a t i o n s



such a s laundry. T h e r e was a n i n c r e a s e i n n o n - s e r v a n t o c c u p a t i o n s

between 1841 and 1 8 5 1 b u t between 1861 and 1891, s e r v a n t s i n c r e a s e d



a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y t h e same r a t e a s a l l o t h e r o c c u p a t i o n s . Up t o



1891, t h e g r o w t h "in modern o c c u p a t i o n s a b s o r b e d n e i t h e r t h e n a t u r a 1

i n c r e a s e i n t h e f e m a l e p o p u l a t i o n n o r t h e i n c r e a s e of unemployed



f e m a l e s which, a s n o t e d above, r e s u l t e d from s t r u c t u r a l changes



i n i n d u s t r y and a g r i c u l t u r e . ~ndmid-ninet&&nthncenfury~~ng&and

a



c e n t u r y a f t e r S h o r t e r ' s supposed r e v o l u t i o n i n women's work ex-



p e r i e n c e , a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n of working women were s t i l l i n domes-



t i c s e r v i c e , and -most o t h e r s .were s t i l l engaged i n t r a d i t i o n a l l y -



organized i n d u s t r i e s . ( I n a d d i t i o n t h e r e was a s u b s t a n t i a l i n -



c r e a s e i n w o m e n ' ~ ~ e m p l o y m e nitn commerce and p r o f e s s i o n s ; i n 1911;

500,000 women were employed i n t h i s s e c t o r . ) Throughout t h e g r e a t -



e r p a r t of t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , women's f a c t o r y work was a l m o s t

e x c l u s i v e l y i n t e x t i l e s , and t h e number of women employed i n f a c -



t o r i e s was a s m a l l p r o p o r t i o n of t h e e n t i r e f e m a l e work f o r c e . '







I n c i t i e s a l o n e , m a t t e r s w e r e no d i f f e r e n t . Urban women r e -

mained i n t r a d i t i o n a l o c c u p a t i o n s . Domestic s e r v i c e p e r s i s t e d a s



t h e most i m p o r t a n t o c c u p a t i o n . I n 1891, one t h i r d of a l l working



women were d o m e s t i c s e r v a n t s . I n 1910, t h e London County C o u n c i l



-

- .- .-

, .

= reported a s i m i l a r proportion. The n e x t l a r g e s t o c c u p a t i o n was



dressmaking, t h e n l a u n d e r i n g and t a i l o r . i n g . Of t h e m a n u f a c t u r i n g

r

/

17



e n t e r p r i s e s , many w e r e s t i l l d o m e s t i c e n d e a v o r s . A r e p o r t on women's



employment i n Birmingham b a s e d on t h e 1901 c e n s u s showed a r e l a t i v e l y



h i g h p r o p o r t i o n of wome-n i n t h e l a b o r f o r c e : 37%. Of t h e s e , a l m o s t



h a l f w e r e engaged e i t h e r i n d o m e s t i c s e r v i c e , c h a r r i n g , p r o f e s s i o n s



o r commerce. T h i s meant t h a t e v e n i n t h i s m a n u f a c t u r i n g c i t y , a b o u t



20% of women w e r e em6loyed i n i n d u s t r y , w i t h a b o u t h a l f t h a t number



s t i l l i n d o m e s t i c outwork. 18



S h o r t e r ' s n o t i o n t h a t t h e development of modern c a p i t a l i s m



b r o u g h t new k i n d s of work o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o working c l a s s women a s



e a r l y a s t h e m i d d l e of t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y i s wrong. It is t r u e



t h a t t h e r e was a veLry i m p o r t a n t change i n t h e l o c a t i o n of t h e i r work:



many r u r a l women were drawn i n t o c i t i e s t o work; many women worked



o u t s i d e t h e i r own homes. This did not revolutionize the occupational



s t r u c t u r e of working women. Throughout t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , t r a -



d i t i o n a l o c c u p a t i o n s c o n t i n u e d t o dominate women's employment. By



t h e end of t h e c e n t u r y , f a c t o r y employment was s t i l l minimal.



S h o r t e r i s a l s o i n c o r r e c t i n h i s a s s u m p t i o n t h a t t h e working



woman was a b l e t o l i v e h e r l i f e i n d e p e n d e n t of h e r f a m i l y b e c a u s e



s h e had t h e economic means t o do s o . working

Evidence f o r ~ r i t i s h



women i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h i s was n o t t h e c a s e . Throughout t h e n i n e t e e n t h



c e n t u r y , B r i t i s h working women's wages w e r e c o n s i d e r e d supplementary



incomes, s u p p l e m e n t a r y t h a t i s t o t h e wages of o t h e r f a m i l y members.



I t was assumed by employers t h a t women, u n l i k e men, w e r e n o t c o m p l e t e l y



r e s p o n s i b l e f o r e a r n i n g t h e i r own l i v i n g . Female wages were always



f a r lower t h a n male. I n t h e L a n c a s h i r e c o t t o n m i l l s i n 1833, where f e -



male wages were t h e h i g h e s t i n t h e c o u n t r y , f e m a l e s aged 16 t o 2 1



e a r n e d 7 s 3.5d weekly, w h i l e males e a r n e d 1 0 s 3d. Even l a r g e r

18



d i f f e r e n t i a l s o b t a i n e d among o l d e r w o r k e r s . In on don i n t h e 1 8 8 0 1 s ,



t h e r e was a s i m i l a r d i f f e r e n t i a l between t h e a v e r a g e e a r n i n g s of t h e



sexes. Seventy-two p e r c e n t o f t h e males i n t h e bookbinding i n d u s t r y



e a r n e d o v e r 30 s weekly; 42.5% of t h e women made less t h a n 12 s . In



p r e c i o u s m e t a l s , c l o c k s and watch m a n u f a c t u r i n g , 83.5% of t h e males



e a r n e d 30 s o r more weekly, f e m a l e s e a r n e d 9-12 s . Women i n s m a l l



c l o t h i n g workshops e a r n e d 10-12 s weekly, women engaged i n outwork ,







i n t h e c l o t h i n g t r a d e s o n l y 4 s a week. I n ~ i r m i n g h a m , i n 1900, t h e



a v e r a g e weekly wage f o r working women under twenty-one was 10 s , f o r



men 18 s. Women's work t h r o u g h o u t t h i s p e r i o d , a s i n t h e e i g h t e e n t h



c e n t u r y , was f o r t h e most p a r t u n s k i l l e d , o c c u p a t i o n s were o f t e n



seasonal o r irregular. Women were o f t e n o u t of work f o r many weeks



and months d u r i n g t h e y e a r

1.9

.

i

--

~ 1 s p c p o s s : i b l e ? t h a t f~thererE~Erex=many



s i n g l e women who c o u l d e n j o y t h e l i f e of e m a n c i p a t e d independence



when t h e m a j o r i t y c o u l d - n o t e v e n a f f o r d t o l i v e a d e q u a t e l y on t h e i r



p e r s o n a l wages?



Finally, t h r o u g h o u t t h e p e r i o d , B r i t i s h women t e n d e d t o g i v e up



work o u t s i d e t h e home when t h e y m a r r i e d . e

W c a n c i t e o n l y a few



examples h e r e , based7:mostly on a g e e v i d e n c e . I n 1833, t h e b u l k of



women i n t h e L a n c a s h i r e c o t t o n m i l l s w e r e between t h e a g e s of s i x t e e n



and twenty-one. I n 1841, i n s i x o u t of s e v e n d i s t r i c t s i n L a n c a s h i r e ,



75% o f t h e f e m a l e l a b o r f o r c e i n t h e c o t t o n m i l l s was unmarried. In



t h e woolen m i l l s of t h e n o r t h and i n G l o u c h e s t e r s h i r e , 5076 of t h e



working women l e f t t h e m i l l s a f t e r t h e a g e o f 21; of t h o s e remaining,



few w e r e m a r r i e d . I n London i n t h e 1 8 8 0 1 s , t h e g r e a t e s t number of



women i n t h e f e m a l e work f o r c e were between 15 and 25 y e a r s o l d . In



1911, i n a l l o f G r e a t B r i t a i n o n l y 9.6% of t h e e n t i r e m a r r i e d female

20

p o p u l a t i o n was employed.

Among t h e m a r r i e d women who d i d work, d o m e s t i c i n d u s t r y p r o v i d e d



o c c u p a t i o n s f o r t h e l a r g e s t number. I n E a s t London i n t h e 1 8 8 0 1 s ,



B o o t h ' s s u r v e y found t h a t most employed m a r r i e d women d i d homework.



I n Birmingham, twenty y e a r s l a t e r , m a r r i e d women were t h e l a r g e s t



p a r t of t h e d o m e s t i c l a b o r f o r c e , a s i n d e e d m a r r i e d women had been

21

f o r d e c a d e s i n most c o u n t r i e s of Western Europe. , , ...

:~Inocon.trast t o



middle c l a s s women, who c o u l d a f f o r d s e r v ~ n t s , t h e work e x p e r i e n c e *





f o r working c l a s s wives was n e i t h e r p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y n o r e c o n o m i c a l l y



r e w a r d i n g , e x c e p t i n t h e s e n s e t h a t it supplemented a n i n a d e q u a t e



f a m i l y wage. I f t h e s e women worked, t h e y w e r e t o r n between t h e c a r e s



o f a mother and t h o s e of a worker. I t i s no wonder t h e y much p r e -



f e r r e d t o s t a y home and s u p e r v i s e t h e i r own f a m i l i e s - - a preference



amply documented by t h e l a b o r f o r c e s t a t i s t i c s .



Nothing t h e n a b o u t t h e s t r u c t u r e , t h e wages, o r t h e n a t u r e of



women's work from 17'50 t o 1850 (and much l a t e r ) c o n f i r m s S h o r t e r ' s



s p e c u l a t i o n t h a t i t . o f f e r e d women a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o emancipate them-



s e l v e s from t h e c o n f i n e s of t r a d i t i o n a l f a m i l y a r r a n g e m e n t s . I n the



pre-industrial f a m i l y women had made a n i m p o r t a n t economic c o n t r i b u -



t i o n ; i n e a r l y i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n women's work moved o u t of t h e home



but stayed i n traditional fields. Most women worked when t h e y were



d a u g h t e r s , c o n t r i b u t i n g t h e i r wages t o t h e f a m i l y needs. Women who



worked a s wives a l s o worked i n t h e i n t e r e s t of t h e i r f a m i l i e s .







why Women Worked



S h o r t e r a t t r i b u t e s t h e work of women o u t s i d e t h e home a f t e r 1750,



p a r t i c u l a r l y t h a t of young, s i n g l e women, t o a change i n t h e i r o u t -



look: a new d e s i r e f o r independence from p a r e n t a l r e s t r a i n t s . He

a r g u e s t h a t s i n c e s e e k i n g work was a n i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c r e b e l l i o n



a g a i n s t t r a d i t i o n a l i s m , sexua 1 b e h a v i o r , too, was d e f i a n t of p a r e n t a l



authority. The f a c t s a r e t h a t d a u g h t e r s o f t h e p o p u l a r c l a s s e s w e r e

most o f t e n s e n t i n t o s e r v i c e o r t o work i n t h e c i t y by t h e i r f a m i l i e s .



T h e i r work r e p r e s e n t e d a c o n t i n u a t i o n o f p r a c t i c e s customary i n t h e



f a m i l y economy. When r e s o u r c e s w e r e s c a r c e o r hands a t home t o o



numerous, c h i l d r e n c u s t o m a r i l y s o u g h t work o u t s i d e . ~ h -e h r

work was -

a n e x t e n s i o n of t h e f a m i l y economy, and t h e y c o n t i n u e d t o c o n t r i b u t e

t h e i r e a r n i n g s t o t h e family*.22' ->Work outsi.de,-&he~ h ~ r ~waSybyonocmeans

ne

synonymous w i t h freedom, f o r young women most o f t e n s o u g h t t h a t work



a s a means.-of b e t t e r s e r v i n g t h e f a m i l y i n t e r e s t .



I n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n and u r b a n i z a t i o n c r e a t e d new problems f o r



r u r a l f a m i l i e s and g e n e r a t e d new o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r them a s w e l l . In



most c a s e s , t h e y s t r a t e g i c a l l y a d a p t e d t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l p r a c t i c e s t o



t h e new c o n t e x t . Thus, d a u g h t e r s s e n t o u t t o work went f a r t h e r away



from home t h a n had been customary. Most s t i l l d e f i n e d t h e i r work i n



t h e f a m i l y i n t e r e s t 'and, d u t i f u l l y , s e n t t h e i r wages home. Sometimes



a r r a n g e m e n t s f o r payment w e r e made between a g i r l ' s p a r e n t s and h e r



employer --money o r f o o d s t u f f s were d e l i v e r e d d i r e c t l y t o t h e p a r e n t s .



I n o t h e r c a s e s , t h e g i r l s t h e m s e l v e s r e g u l a r l y s e n t money home. Com-



m e n t a t o r s o b s e r v e d t h a t t h e g i r l s c o n s i d e r e d t h i s a normal a r r a n g e m e n t ,



p a r t of t h e i r o b l i g a t i o n t o t h e f a m i l y .

he c o n d i t i o n s of m i g r a t i o n f o r young working g i r l s emphasized

t h e i r t i e s t o f a m i l y and i n many ways l i m i t e d t h e i r independence. In



I t a l y and F r a n c e , f a c t o r y d o r m i t o r i e s housed f e m a l e w o r k e r s , and nuns



r e g u l a t e d t h e i r b e h a v i o r and s o c i a l l i v e s .

23

-

InhkhesneGdle- t f a d e s i n



B r i t i s h c i t i e s , e n t e r p r i s i n g women w i t h a l i t t l e c a p i t a l t u r n e d t h e i r

21



homes i n t o l o d g i n g h o u s e s f o r piece-workers i n t h e i r employ. And,



w h i l e t h e s e o f t e n p r o v i d e d m i s e r a b l e l i v i n g c o n d i t i o n s , t h e y nonethe-

24

less o f f e r e d a household (and r u l e s of c o n d u c t ) f o r a young g i r l .



Domestic s e r v i c e , t h e l a r g e s t s i n g l e o c c u p a t i o n f o r women was a l s o t h e



most t r a d i t i o n a l and most p r o t e c t i v e o f a young g i r l . She was b e i n g



s e n t from one household t o a n o t h e r and t h u s was g i v e n a c e r t a i n



security. C h a t e l a i n a r g u e s t h a t d o m e s t i c s e r v i c e was a s a f e form of



m i g r a t i o n i n F r a n c e f o r young g i r l s from t h e c o u n t r y . The g i r l had a



p l a c e t o l i v e , a f a m i l y , food, l o d g i n g and s h e need n o t f e n d f o r her-

25

s e l f i n t h e unknown b i g c i t y a s soon a s s h e a r r i v e d . 1

;t sisr~rue~:that



o f t e n s e r v a n t s longed t o l e a v e t h e i r p l a c e s , and t h a t t h e y c h a f e d



under t h e d i c t a t e s of t h e i r mistresses (and t h e advances of t h e i r



masters). But t h a t does n o t change t h e f a c t t h a t , initially, their



m i g r a t i o n was s p o n s o r e d by a s e t of t r a d i t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s which



l i m i t e d t h e i r i n d i v i d u a 1 freedom.



I n fact, i n d i v i d u a l freedom d i d n o t seem t o b e a t i s s u e e i t h e r



f o r t h e d a u g h t e r s of t h e 'landed o r t h e l a n d l e s s , a l t h o u g h c l e a r l y



t h e i r experiences d i f f e r e d . I t seems l i k e l y t h a t p e a s a n t f a m i l i e s



m a i n t a i n e d c l o s e r t i e s w i t h t h e i r d a u g h t e r s , e v e n when t h e g i r l s



worked i n d i s t a n t c i t i e s , The f a m i l y i n t e r e s t i n t h e farm ( t h e prop-



&

e r t y t h a t was t h e b i r t h r i g h t of t h e l -n e a g e and n o t of any i n d i v i d u a l ) :



was a p o w e r f u l i n f l u e n c e on i n d i v i d u a l b e h a v i o r . Thus farm g i r l s



working a s d o m e s t i c s c o n t i n u e d t o send money home. Married daughters



working a s d o m e s t i c s i n Norwegian c i t i e s s e n t t h e i r c h i l d r e n home t o

26

b e r a i s e d on t h e farm by g r a n d p a r e n t s . ' But-evenewhen t i e s oXi t h i s ~ ~



w e r e not maintained, i t was n o t from r e b e l l i o u s m o t i v e s . Rudolf Braun



d e s c r i b e s t h e l a t e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y s i t u a t i o n of p e a s a n t s i n t h e



h i n t e r l a n d of Z u r i c h . These p e a s a n t s w e r e w i l l i n g t o d i v i d e t h e i r

22



h o l d i n g s f o r t h e i r c h i l d r e n b e c a u s e of new work o p p o r t u n i t i e s i n



cottage industry. These young p e o p l e m a r r i e d e a r l i e r t h a n t h e y wauld



have i f t h e f a r m had b e e n h e l d u n d i v i d e d , and t h e y q u i c k l y e s t a b l i s e d



t h e i r own f a m i l i e s . Braun s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e young workers soon l o s t



touch with t h e i r parents. The p r o c e s s , a s he d e s c r i b e s i t however



was n o t a r e b e l l i o n . R a t h e r t h e young p e o p l e went i n t o c o t t a g e i n -



d u s t r y t o l e s s e n t h e b u r d e n t h e y r e p r e s e n t e d f o r t h e f a m i l y . 27 The,se



m o t i v e s were welcome'd and encouraged by t h e p a r e n t s . Family bonds



were s t r e t c h e d and b r o k e n , b u t t h a t was a consequence, n o t a c a u s e ,



of t h e new o p p o r t u n i t i e s ' E o r work.



S i m i l a r l y , among u r b a n a r t i s a n s , o l d e r v a l u e s informed t h e



a d a p t a t i o n t o a new o r g a n i z a t i o n of work and t o t e c h n o l o g i c a l change.



I n i t i a l l y a r t i s a n s a s w e l l a s t h e i r p o l i t i c a l spokesmen i n s i s t e d t h a t



t h e o l d v a l u e s of a s s o c i a t i o n and c o o p e r a t i o n c o u l d c o n t i n u e t o



c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e i r work r e l a t i o n s h i p s i n t h e new i n d u s t r i a l s o c i e t y .



A r t i s a n s u b c u l t u r e i n c i t i e s d u r i n g t h e e a r l y s t a g e s of i n d u s t r i a l i z +



t i o n was n o t c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a n i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c , s e l f - s e e k i n g ideolo-



g y , a s t h e work of E . P . Thompson, Olwen H u f t o n , A l l a n F o r r e s t ,



A l b e r t S o b o u l , Remi Gossez and o t h e r s h a b , - , s l e a r l y .shown:- ~ 2 8 W i t h no

/









e v i d e n c e t o show t h a t u r b a n a r t i s a n s a d o p t e d t h e v a l u e s of t h e market-



p l a c e a t work, S h o r t e r ' s d e d u c t i o n a b o u t a " l i b e r t i n e p r o l e t a r i a n



s u b c u l t u r e " has n e i t h e r f a c t u a l nor - l o g i c a l v a l i d i t y . I t seems more



l i k e l y t h a t a r t i s a n f a m i l k e s , l i k e p e a s a n t f a m i l i e s , s e n t t h e i r wives



and d a u g h t e r s t o work t o h e l p b o l s t e r t h e shaky economic s i t u a t i o n of



t h e family. These women undoubtedly j o i n e d t h e r a n k s of t h e u n s k i l l e d



women who, f o r c e n t u r i e s , had c o n s t i t u t e d t h e u r b a n female w o r k f o r c e .



Wives and d a u g h t e r s of t h e u n s k i l l e d and p r o p e r t y l e s s had worked

f o r c e n t u r i e s a t s e r v i c e and m a n u f a c t u r i n g j o b s i n c i t i e s . They d i d

k? '

s o i n t h e f a m i l y i n t e r e s t , a n i n t e r e s t d e f i n e d by need r a t h e r t h a n by

p r o p e r t y o r sk'll. S u b s i s t e n c e r e q u i r e d a c o n t r i b u t i o n from e a c h



f a m i l y member; e v e r y o n e depended on e v e r y o n e e l s e . The women i n t h e s e



f a m i l i e s c o n t i n u e d t o work d u r i n g t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , b u t t h e r e



w e r e more of them b e c a u s e t h e p r o p o r t i o n s of u n s k i l l e d p r o p e r t y l e s s

workers increased. E i g h t e e n t h and e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y c i t i e s



grew p r i m a r i l y by m i g r a t i o n . The u r b a n working c l a s s was t h u s con-



s t a n t l y renewed and ' e n l a r g e d by a s t r e a m of r u r a l m i g r a n t s . Agricul-



t u r a l change d r o v e r u r a l l a b o r e r s and p e a s a n t s c i t y w a r d a t t h e end of



t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y , and t e c h n o l o g i c a l change d r o v e many a r t i s a n s



and t h e i r f a m i l i e s i n t o t h e r a n k s of t h e u n s k i l l e d . Women worked

o u t s i d e t h e home t h e n b e c a u s e t h e y had t o . Their a t t i t u d e s did not



n e c e s s a r i l y change. On 3zhe c o n t r a r y , . s t r u c . t u r a l changes i n c r e a s e d t h e ,





numbers o f women wage e a r n e r s ; -*but:?the w.omen t h e m s e l v e s .were, m o t i v a t e d by

v a l u e s l o n g f a m i l i a r t o t h e women of t h e p o p u l a r c l a s s e s . Family

i n t e r e s t and n o t s e l f - i n t e r e s t was t h e . u n d e r l y i n g motive f o r t h e i r work.







The O r i q i n s o f I n c r e a s e d I l l e q i t i m a c y



The c o m p o s i t i o n a l changes which i n c r e a s e d t h e numbers of un-



s k i l l e d , p r o p e r t y l e s s workers and r a i s e d t h e p r o p o r t i a n of t h e m r i n

u r b a n p o p u l a t i o n s a l s o c o n t r i b u t e d t o a n i n c r e a s e i n r a t e s of i l l e -



gitmacy. Women i n t h i s g r o u p of t h e p o p u l a t i o n always had c o n t r i b u t e d

most i l l e g i t i m a t e b i r t h s . A l a r g e r number of women i n t h i s g r o u p ,



t h e r e f o r e , meant a g r e a t e r i n c i d e n c e of i l l e g i t i m a t e b i r t h s .

A r e c e n t a r t i c l e by P e t e r L a s l e t t and K a r l a O o s t e r v e e n s p e a k s



d i r e c t l y t o s h o r t e r ' s speculations: " .,. The assumption t h a t i l l e g i t -

/ 24



imacy f i g u r e s d i r e c t l y r e f l e c t t h e p r e v a l e n c e of s e x u a l i n t e r c o u r s e



o u t s i d e m a r r i a g e , which seems t o be made whenever s u c h f i g u r e s a r e



u s e d t o show t h a t b e l i e d j s , a t t i t u d e s and i n t e r e s t s have changed i n



some p a r t i c u l a r way, c a n b e shown t o b e v e r y shaky i n i t s f o u n d a t i o n s . "



Using d a t a from C o l y t o n , c o l l e c t e d and a n a l y z e d by E.A. Wrigley, they



a r g u e t h a t one i m p o r t a n t component i n t h e i n c i d e n c e o f i l l e g i t i m a c y



i s t t h e e x i s t e n c e of i l l e g i t i m a c y - p r o n e f a m i l i e s , which b r i n g f o r t h



bastards generation a f t e r generation. N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e y warn,



" t h i s p r o j e c t e d s u b - s o c i e t y n e v e r produced a l l t h e b a s t a r d s , a l l t h e



bastard-bearers ." 29

Our e x p l a n a t i o n of u r b a n i l l e g i t i m a c y i n v o l v e s t h e n o t i o n of a



sub-culture l i k e t h e one advanced by L a s l e t t and O o s t e r v e e n . In this



c a s e i t i s a working c l a s s s u b - c u l t u r e i n which a l t e r n a t i v e marriage-



t h e f r e e o r c o n s e n s u a l union--was common long b e f o r e t h e m i d - e i g h t e e n t h



century. Unions of t h i s t y p e sometimes preceded l e g a l m a r r i a g e by a



p e r i o d o f y e a r s , sometimes t h e y r e p l a c e d l e g a l m a r r i a g e f o r a c o u p l e ' s



e n t i r e p e r i o d of c o h a b i t a t i o n . The s o u r c e of t h e p r a c t i c e was a n



economic one. Whereas young p e o p l e from a r t i s a n and p e a s a n t f a m i l i e s



i n s u r e d t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n of s k i l l and p r o p e r t y by m a r r y i n g l e g a l l y ,



t h e c h i l d r e n of t h e poor had no s u c h r e s o u r c e s t o p r o t e c t . Their



j o b s were t h e i r o n l y s e c u r i t y , no c o n t r a c t c o u l d p r o t e c t t h o s e .



Hence, t h e r e was no r e a l need f o r a l e g a l a c t of m a r r i a g e .



The numbers of f r e e u n i o n s i n c r e a s e d g r e a t l y a s u n s k i l l e d men



and women m i g r a t e d from r u k a l a r e a s t o c i t i e s . They i n c r e a s e d n o t



b e c a u s e t h e new m i g r a n t s s u d d e n l y a d o p t e d t h e v a l u e s o f a s u b c u l t u r e



i n t o which t h e y moved, b u t b e c a u s e t h e f r e e u n i o n was o f t e n a p r a c t i -



c a l form of m a r r i a g e 60r t h e u r b a n poor. That i t was d e f i n e d a s a

p r e l u d e t o o r a form o f m a r r i a g e (whether o r n o t i t e n d u r e d ) i s

c r u c i a l , £03 t h i s i n d i c a t e s t h a t t r a d i t i o n a l e x p e c t a t i o n s m o t i v a t e d



t h e behavior t h a t led t o illegitimacy. Not a change i n a t t i t u d e ,



b u t a change i n c o n t e x t and c i r c u m s t a n c e , r e s u l t e d i n i n c r e a s e d r a t e s

of i l l e g i t i m a c y i n t h e l a t e e i g h t e e n t h and e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s .



L e t us examine more c l o s e l y t h e ways i n which young working g i r l s



became t h e m o t h e r s of i l l e g i t i m a t e c h i l d r e n .



A number of p r e s s u r e s i m p e l l e d young working g i r l s t o f i n d mates.



One was t h e l o n e l i n e s s and i s o l a t i o n of work i n t h e c i t y . Another



was economic need; wages were low and employment f o r women was un-



stable. The l o g i c a l move f o r a s i n g l e g i r l whose c i r c u m s t a n c e s had

t a k e n h e r f a r from h e r f a m i l y would b e t o f i n d a husband w i t h whom



s h e might r e e s t a b l i s h t h e f a m i l y economy, t h e o n l y v i a b l e economic u n i t



s h e knew. Y e t a n o t h e r p r e s s u r e was t h e d e s i r e t o e s c a p e t h e c o n f i n e s



of d o m e s t i c s e r v i c e , t h e o c c u p a t i o n which more and more young women



w e r e entering .

Could n o t t h i s d e s i r e t o e s t a b l i s h a f a m i l y b e what t h e d o m e s t i c



s e r v a n t s , d e s c r i b e d by t h e Munich p o l i c e c h i e f i n 1815, s o u g h t ? No

q u e s t f o r p l e a s u r e i s i n h e r e n t i n t h e f a c t t h a t " s o many young g i r l s



l e a v e s e r v i c e . . .But t h e y d o l i t t l e r e a l work and l e t t h e m s e l v e s b e

s u p p o r t e d by b o y f r i e n d s ; t h e y become p r e g n a n t and t h e n a r e abandoned. ,130

A s a d and d i s t o r t e d v e r s i o n of the t r a d i t i o n a l family, b u t an attempt



a t it nevertheless. R e c e n t work h a s shown, i n f a c t , t h a t f o r many



F r e n c h s e r v a n t s i n t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , t h i s k i n d of t r a n s f e r t o



u r b a n l i f e and a n u r b a n husband was s u c e s s f u l . 3 1



Was i t a s e a r c h f o r s e x u a l f u l f i l l m e n t t h a t prompted young women



t o become "engaged" t o young men and t h e n s l e e p w i t h them i n t h e



e x p e c t a t i o n t h a t m a r r i a g e would f o l l o w ? Not a t a l l . I n r u r a l and

urban areas pre-marital sexual relationships were common. 32 The urban

subculture was not "indulgent of eroticismMf it merely accepted con-

sensual unions. What Shorter interprets as sexual libertinism, as

evidence of an individualistic desire for sexual pleasure is more

likely an expression of the traditional wish to marry. The attempt

to reconstitute the family economy, in the context of economic de-

privation and geographic mobility produced these unions.

Consensual unions had two different kinds of consequences for

those who entered them; but both resulted in illegitimate children.

One consequence, the more stable, was common law marriage, a more or

less permanent relationship. The other was less stable and involved

desertion of the woman, or a series of short-lived encounters, or

prostitution. Middle class observers were most disturbed by the un-

stable side of consensual union, and especially by the increase in the

numbers of abandoned pregnant women and prostitutes.

Many asked how these women let themselves get into difficult'and

immoral situations. When they asked-:khe_wdmen4directly,

&the,answer

was most freguently that the man promised to marry them. In Nantes,

in the eighteenth century, information drawn from women's declarations

to midwives at childbirth shows that mothers of illegitimate children

were, for the most part, servants and working women. (The fathers were

more likely to be from the lower classes only at the end of the century.)

These women testified that promises of work and of marriage were usually

the prelude to intercourse with the fathers of their bastards.3 3 1n - '









Aix in 1787-88, according to Cissie Fairchild, the declarations de

grossesse, show that about one-half of the abandoned mothers had been

living away from their families when they became pregnant and that the

27



vast majority of all illegitimate pregnancies were preceded by

promises of marriage. 34 A needleworker explained her plight to Henry

Mayhew in 1851: "He told me if I came to live with him he'd care I

should not want, and both mother and me had been very bad off before.

He said, he'd make me his lawful wife ..."35

Marriage failed to take place for many reasons. The absence of

the traditional conseraints--family, local community and church--

led to the disappointment of marital expectations. Lack of money or

a lost job, the opportunity for work in a distant city, all kept men

from fulfilling their promises. And the woman's family was nowhere at

hand to enforce the promise. Eighteenth century evidence from Lille;

also based on women's declarations during childbirth, shows that most

unmarried mothers were women who had come to work in the city as tex-

tile workers or as servants, all poorly paid occupations. Fully 70%

of these women came from families broken by the death of at least one

parent. The men involved were in professions marked by unstable

tenure, such as servants, traveling workers or soldiers., Lottin con-

cludes that work outside the family weakened family authority and

"faciliated the emancipation of the girls." But like Shorter, his

evidence for this statement is only illegitimate birth statistics.

Lottin's other point seems more likely in light of the evidence about

the occupations and backrounds of the women he has studied: "All the

same, seducers could pursue their ends more easily, because they did

not fear an avenging father, often violent, ready to make them pay for

the dishonor. ,136

Richard Cobb's sympathetic evocation of lower class life during

the Year r I I I -of theZFrench Revolution notes-that '~lwomen~arid

girl_s born

28



i n t h e p r o v i n c e s w e r e e a s i e r t o r e c r u i t t o p r o s t i t u t i o n and were



less p r o t e c t e d . ( "They w e r e a l s o much more e x p o s e d t o s e d u c t i o n and



t o unemployment . . . ) . . . p r o s t i t u t i o n w i t n e s s e s f o r t h e f e m i n i n e popu-



l a t i o n a s a whole, emphasiqed- i t s f l u i d i t y , i t s i n s e c u r i t y , t h e



enormous r i s k s e n c o u n t e r e d by t h e p r o v i n c i a l g i r l . . ." I n t836, i n



P a r i s , Parent-Duchatelet r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e m a j o r i t y of t h e p r o s t i -



t u t e s h e s t u d i e d were r e c e n t m i g r a n t s . Almost a t h i r d w e r e house-



hoild s e r v a n t s a n d many had b e e n i n i t i a l l y s e d u c e d by p r o m i s e s of



m a r r i a g e , abandoned p r e g n a n t o r w i t h a n i n f a n t . He a l s o remarked on



t h e i n s t a b i l i t y of women's employment which d r o v e them t o p r o s t i t u -



t i o n when t h e y c o u l d n o t f i n d work. 37 Some y e a r s l a t e r - , a n d . a c r o s s



t h e c h a n n e l , abandoned women t o l d Henry Mayhew some of t h e r e a s o n s



t h a t t h e i r hoped-for marriages never took p l a c e : sometimes t h e r e



was n o money f o r -a p r o p e r wedding; sometimes t h e men moved on t o



s e a r c h f o r work; sometimes p o v e r t y c r e a t e d u n b e a r a b l e e m o t i o n a l



s t r e s s .'38. . O v e k + l l , t h e - t r a d i o n a l c o n t e x t s which i d e n t i f i e d a n d



demanded " p r o p e r " b e h a v i o r w e r e a b s e n t . T h e r e i s o b v i o u s l y much



s t i l l t o b e l e a r n e d a b o u t young w o r k i n g g i r l s and a b o u t t h e b e h a v i o r



a n d m o t i v e s of t h e i r s u i t o r s . The c e n t r a l p o i n t h e r e i s t h a t no



m a j o r change i n v a l u e s o r m e n t a l i t y was n e c e s s a r y t o c r e a t e t h e s e



c a s e s of i l l e g i t i m a c y . Rather, t r a d i t i o n a l expectations operating



i n a changed c o n t e x t , y i e l d e d u n a n t i c i p a t e d (and o f t e n unhappy)



results.



I f t h e y w e r e l e f t w i t h i l l e g i t i m a t e c h i l d r e n f a r from t h e i r



f a m i l i e s , young women were f o r c e d t o become i n d e p e n d e n t . But t h e i r s



was a n i n d e p e n d e n c e o r s e l f - r e l i a n c e b a s e d on d e s p e r a t i o n and d i s -



i l l u s ionment, n o t t h e c a r e f r e e , s e l f - s e e K i n g , i n d i v i d u a l i s m of

29



S h o r t e r ' s "wish t o ' b e f r e e . " E v i d e n c e f o r t h i s c a n b e found i n t h e



r e a s o n s f o r t h e i r ' p r o s t i t u t i o n g i v e n by women i n t h e Year 111: " t o .



g e t bread, " " t o b e a b l e t o l i v e , " " t o f e e d my c h i l d , " " t o pay f o r a

w e t nurse." T h e s e women's l i v e s w e r e m i s e r a b l e a n d u n s e t t l e d ; t h e y



l i v e d h e r e a n d t h e r e , making money a s t h e y c o u l d . (The Nantes il-



legitimacy b i r t h d e c l a r a t i o n s a l s o r e v e a l e d t h e grim housing condi-



t i o n s i n which t h e s e b i r t h s o c c u r r e d . ) "What a r e we?" e x c l a i m e d a



Paris prostitute, "Most o f u s a r e u n f o r t u n a t e women, w i t h o u t o r i g i n s ,



w i t h o u t e d u c a t i o n , s e r v a n t s , maids f o r t h e most p a r t . . . " 3 9 . ~-These

-





b i t t e r t o n e s a r e e c h o e d by t h e London working g i r l s who t o l d



Henry Mayhew t h a t t h e y "went wrong" i n o r d e r t o s u p p o r t t h e i r c h i l d r e n .



P r o s t i t u t i o n i n t u r n produced more i l l e g i t i m a t e c h i l d r e n . Many



p r o s t i t u t e s w e r e d o m e s t i c s e r v a n t s o r g i r l s from t h e g a r m e n t i n d u s -



t r y o u t of work--women whose need s e n t them i n t o t h e s t r e e t s . I n an



i r o n i c way, e v e n t h i s k i n d of a c t i v i t y had i t s t r a d i t i o n a l r o o t s .



H u f t o n ' s c a t a l o g o f t h e r e s o u r c e s d e v e l o p e d by lower c l a s s women i n



p r e - R e v o l u t i o n a r y F r a n c e i n t h e i r r o l e s a s p r o v i d e r s of f o o d i n c l u d e s



b e g g i n g , r e n t i n g o u t t h e i r c h i l d r e n t o o t h e r b e g g a r s , f l i r t a t i o n and



sexual favors. Many of t h e g i r l s t e s t i f y i n g t o Mayhew of t h e i r



"shame" e x p l a i n e d i t a s t h e o n l y way t o p r o v i d e f o o d f o r t h e i r



c h i l d r e n a n d k e e p them o u t of t h e workhouse. This attitude-would



have b e e n r e c o g n i z e a b l e t o t h e p e a s a n t woman, a l t h o u g h s h e would



have found t h e l i f e - s t y l e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h i t u n f a m i l i a r and a b h o r r e n t :



t h e woman's body was h e r l a s t r e s o u r c e i n a d e s p a r a t e e f f o r t t o



support her family.



The s h e e r i n c r e a s e i n t h e anumbers of p r o s t i t u t e s a n d d e s e r t e d



p r e g n a n t women was n o t a l o n e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e i n c r e a s e i n i l l e -

30



gitimacy r a t e s . The development of c h a r i t a b l e i n s t i t u t i o n s d e v o t e d



t o t h e c a r e o f i l l e g i t i m a t e c h i l d r e n l e n g t h e n e d t h e l i v e s of t h e s e



children or, a t least, registered their births. From t h e mid-



s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y on, r e f o r m e r s , who e s t a b l i s h e d new f o u n d l i n g



h o s p i t a l s o r improved o l d o n e s , e x p l i c i t l y d e f i n e d t h e i r g o a l a s



t h e e l i m i n a t i o n of i n f a n t i c i d e . S t . V i n c e n t d e P a u l ' s work i n



P a r i s , f o r example, c u l m i n a t e d i n t h e d e d i c a t i o n of t h e ~ i c g t r e o r

f



t h i s p u r p o s e i n 1690. A F o u n d l i n g H o s p i t a l was opened i n D u b l i n i n



1704. And, i n 1739, t h e London h o s p i t a l was i n c o r p o r a t e d , " t o pre-



v e n t t h e f r e q u e n t m u r d e r s of poor m i s e r a b l e c h i l d r e n a t t h e i r b i r t h ,



and t o s u p p r e s s t h e inhuman custom o f e x p o s i n g new-born infants t o



p e r i s h i n t h e streets. " S i m i l a r l y s u c h h o s p i t a l s were opened i n



S t r a s b o u r g ( i n 1748) and i n Moscow a n d S t . P e t e r s b u r g d u r i n g t h e



r e i g n of C a t h e r i n e . Malthus, i n f a c t , c r i t i c i z e d t h e Russian in-



s t i t u t i o n s f o r d i s c o u r a g i n g marf i a g e b y making i t t o o e a s y f o r



i l l e g i t i m a t e c h i l d r e n t o be c a r e d f o r b y o t h e r s . *' The - i n c i d e n c e d o f



i n f a n t i c i d e i n t h e s i x t e e n t h and s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s h a s n e v e r



b e e n q u a n t i f i e d , a s f a r a s w e know, b u t q u a l i t a t i v e e v i d e n c e sug-



g e s t s t h a t d e a t h was t h e common f a t e of t h e c h i l d r e n o f i l l i c i t



u n i o n s , w h e t h e r t h e mother was d e s e r t e d o r t h e p a r e n t s s i m p l y t o o



poor t o s u p p o r t a n o t h e r c h i l d . The h o s p i t a l s , of . . c o u r s e , o f t e n



simply i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d i n f a n t i c i d e , b u t they guaranteed r e g i s t r a -



t i o n of t h e b i r t h i n h o s p i t a l b a p t i s m a l r e c o r d s . The 1 8 t h c e n t u r y



f o u n d l i n g h o s p i t a 1 " c i v i l i z e d " t h e c a r e of i l l e g i t i m a t e c h i l d r e n by



b a p t i z i n g them, b u t i t f a i l e d i n t h e m a j o r i t y of c a s e s t o n u r t u r e



t h e s e c h i l d r e n t o adulthood.



P r o s t i t u t e s a n d d e s e r t e d women were n o t t h e o n l y m o t h e r s of

31



i l l e g i t i m a t e c h i l d r e n i n t h e e i g h t e e n t h and n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s .



More o f t e n , i n d e e d , b a s t a r d s w e r e t h e p r o d u c t s o f s t a b l e c o n s e n s u a l



u n i o n s which sometimes e v e n ended a s l e g a l m a r r i a g e s . The numbers



of t h e s e u n i o n s i n c r e a s e d a s t h e p o p u l a t i o n of u n s k i l l e d , p r o p e r t y -



l e s s w o r k e r s grew i n c i t i e s . These u n i o n s were n o t a new phenome-



non;' i n s t e a d t h e y r e p r e s e n t e d t h e c o n t i n u a t i o n of a p r a c t i c e l o n g



common i n t h e u r b a n working c l a s s m i l i e u . From m i d - s e v e n t e e n t h



c e n t u r y Aix comes t h i s comment on t h e u r b a n poor: "They a l m o s t n e v e r



1

know t h e s a n c t i t y of m a r r i a g e a n d l i v e t o g e t h e r i n s h a m e f u l f a s h i o n . 1 ~ 4



F r a n k l i n F o r d c h a r a c t e r i z e s m i d - e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y S t r a s b o u r g a s "a



s o c i e t y where c o h a b i t a t i o n s f r e q u e n t l y began w i t h t h e forma 1



announcement of i n t e n d e d m a r r i a g e . This p r a c t i c e d i d not enjoy f u l l



s o c i a l o r r e l i g i o u s approval t o be s u r e , b u t n e i t h e r d i d it. c r e a t e



any p a r t i c u l a r s c a n d a l . " C h i l d r e n b o r n o u t of wedlock were £ r e -



q u e n t l y l e g i t i m a t e d by m a r r i a g e , F o r d s a y s , b u t e v e n when t h i s d i d



n o t h a p p e n , t h e mother ' s f a m i l y r e c o g n i z e d i t s r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r

42

her child. S i m i l a r - - p r a c t i s e s w e r e n o t e d - b y Fre-deric Le'. P l a y i n h i s



b i o g r a p h i e s o f u r b a n w o r k e r s i n t h e m i d d l e of t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y



a n d by n o v e l i s t s of working c l a s s l i f e s u c h a s E m i l e Z o l a . Agulhon



a l s o d e s c r i b e s t h e e x i s t e n c e of f r e e u n i o n s among t h e working c l a s s



of T o u l o n b e f o r e 1849. 4 3 d

The s o c i e t y o f S t . ~ r n c e n t e P a u l t r i e d . t o



d i s c o u r a g e t h e p r a c t i c e by s p o n s o r i n g l e g a l m a r r i a g e . Indeed i n



L i l l e w o r k e r s were s a i d t o marry young, b u t m a r r i a g e would have b e e n



" d i f f i c u l t - f o r - - m a _ n y of. t h e s e u n f o r t u n a t e s i f it had n o t b e e n f o r

'44

c h a r i t y coming t o t h e i r a i d . " D u r i n g - t h e Commune o f ~ 1 8 7 1 ;a c c o r d i n g



t o E d i t h Thomas, f e m a l e working c l a s s m i l i t a n t s i n s i s t e d t h a t t h e i r



own custom of f r e e u n i o n b e w r i t t e n i n t o t h e r a d i c a l , a n t i - c l e r i c a l

program of the communards. (Cobb notices, by the way, that many of

these militantes had been seduced and deserted at some point in

their own lives, and that many came from broken homes or were them-

selves illegitimate. This suggests that vulnerable women without

family ties or protection might be most likely to become involved in

free unions themselves. Again, the sub-culture of urban poverty is

a perpetuation of traditional practises, not the product of "female

45

liberation" or market-place values.)

Free unions increased as more and more young men and women left

their native towns and villages and moved to larger towns or cities.

For some, there was no point in legalizing a union because there was

no property to protect. For others, consensual union was the pre-

lude to marriage, the period during which women worked and accmu-

lated the dowry required for a "proper" marriage. Children born in

this period were legitimated at the wedding ceremony. Often young

people did not marry because they did not know priests or ministers

who would marry them. Many, too, scorned the rituals of the church.

Others simply were too busy working, and if they were migrants they

may well have been ignorant of the place one went to secure a civil

act. In some German states, marriage was forbidden to those without

sufficient economic resourses. Couples simply lived together without

the blessing of the state.4 7

Legal sanctification, after all, was not central to the idea of

the family among the popular classes. There seems, instead, to have:

existed a moral concept of the family similar to the "moral economy"

of the popular classes. The moral economy, as E.P. Thompson describes

it, involved state-regulated economic relationships, which guaranteed

justice and fairness in commercial dealings. There was no state

33



i n t e r f e r e n c e , of c o u r s e , i n t h e n o t i o n o f t h e "moral f a m i l y . " In-



s t e a d m a r r i a g e was b a s e d on t h e c o n s e n t o f t h e p a r t n e r s and t h e i r



a c c e p t a n c e o f mutua 1 r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . The s t a t e r e g u l a t e d p u b l i c



m a t t e r s s u c h a s t r a d e ; p r i v a t e m a t t e r s were l e f t t o i n d i v i d u a l s ,



e s p e c i a l l y when n o h r o p e r t y was i n v o l v e d . I n d e e d , t h e common law



m a r r i a g e i n E n g l a n d and t h e c o n s e n s u a l u n i o n i n F r a n c e were b o t h



r e c o g n i z e d i n law. I n France, a witnessed a c t f o r marriage i n



a d d i t i o n t o m u t u a l c o n s e n t of t h e p a r t n e r s , became law o n l y i n t h e



mid-sixteenth century.48. I t may w e l l be- t h a t - a l & h o u g h c e n t r a l i z i n g



s t a t e s a n d c h u r c h e s imposed l e g a l r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r m a r r i a g e , popu-



l a r t r a d i t i o n s continued nonetheless. It i s c l e a r t h a t e i g h t e e n t h



c e n t u r y f o o d r i o t e r s were g u i d e d by n o t i o n s of a " m d r a l economy",



d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t t h e y l i v e d i n a m a r k e t economy. 4 9 ; 1t may a d s o



b e t h a t t h e s e same p e o p l e h e l d t o t h e i d e a of t h e " m o r a l " f a m i l y ,



long a f t e r church and s t a t e i n s i s t e d t h a t m o r a l i t y included l e g a l



sanctification. There i s a g r e a t d e a l t o be l e a r n e d a b o u t t h e i d e a s



and p r a c t i c e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h consensua 1 unions. The i m p o r t a n t



p o i n t , however, i s t h a t s u c h u n i o n s were a n o l d custom which con-



tinued i n t o the nineteenth century.



I l l e g i t i m a c y was t h e p r o d u c t o f f r e e u n i o n s , and f r e e u n i o n s



i n c r e a s e d d u r i n g t h e l a t e e i g h t e e n t h and e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s .



They i n c r e a s e d , i n t u r n , n o t b e c a u s e p e r s o n a l f e e l i n g s a b o u t s e x



changed n o r b e c a u s e i n c i d e n c e s of i n t e r c o u r s e i n c r e a s e d b u t b e c a u s e



i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n a n d u r b a n i z a t i o n moved many p e o p l e o u t of t h e i r



t r a d i t i o n a l o c c u p a t i o n a 1 , s o c i a l and g e o g r a p h i c c o n t e x t s . ~obility,



i n f a c t , was t h e r e c u r r i n g e x p e r i e n c e f o r t h o s e p e o p l e r e s p o n s i b l e



f o r i n c r e a s e d i l l e g i t i m a c y from a b o u t 1750 t o 1850. 50. G e o g r a p h i c

m o b i l i t y meant t h a t men and women l e f t f a m i l i a r and f a m i l y s e t t i n g



and t h e r e f o r e l o s t t h e p r o t e c t i o n and c o n s t r a i n t t h e y provided. Ge+



g r a p h i c m o b i l i t y a l s o b r o u g h t more p e o p l e i n t o u r b a n working c l a s s



n e i g h b o r h o o d s where m a r i t a 1 h a b i t s were t h o s e o f t h e p r o p e r t y l e s s .



Occupa t i o n a 1 c h a n g e s a l s o moved women i n t o b u l n e r a b l e and economi-

c-.









c a l l y i n s e c u r e p o s i t i o n s a s d o m e s t i c s e r v a n t s a n d garment w o r k e r s



i n - l a r g e cities. And o c c u p a t i o n a l c h a n g e s a l s o a c c o u n t , i n p a r t ,



f o r t h e b e h a v i o r of men i n r u r a l a s w e l l a s u r b a n c o n t e x t s . Landless



laborers, l i k e u r b a n m i g r a n t s , were o f t e n f a r f r o m t h e i r f a m i l i e s .



They had n e i t h e r p r o p e r t y , n o r s k i l l a n d t h e i r j o b s w e r e u n s t a b l e ,



r e q u i r i n g f r e q u e n t moves a c c o r d i n g t o s e a s o n a n d t o h a r v e s t s c h e -



dules. Whether o r n o t women moved a l o n g w i t h men, t h e women were



vulnerable t o desertion.



S h o r t e r h i m s e l f d e s c r i b e s t h i s k i n d of s k t u a t i o n , i n d i s c u s -



l

s i n g t h e f a c t o r s which l e d t o i l l e g i t i m a c y i n ~ s r a areas. I i k 2 n e 2 ~ h t

w o r k e r s Seduced young g i r l s and t h e n moved on. "The h a p l e s s young



g i r l s were s t i l l g i k i n g t h e t r a d i t i o n a l r e s p o n s e t o what t h e y



t h o u g h t was t h e c u s t o m a r y s i g n a l . " S h o r t e r h e r e acknowledges t h e



t r a d i t i o n a l i s m o f t h e r u r a l women's r e s p o n s e , b u t he i n s i s t s t h a t



the men h a d changed t h e i r a t t i t u d e s . Again t h e evidence f o r t h i s



a l l e g e d m e n t a l i t y change i s t h e c o n s e q u e n c e of it--abandoned preg-



n a n t women. W i t h o u t a d d i t i o n a l e v i d e n c e w e must r e j e c t S h o r t e r ' s



e x p l a n a t i o n a n d i n s i s t i n s t e a d t h a t economic p r e s s u r e s which

51

f o r c e d t h e men t o move l e d them t o abandon t h e i r g i r l f r i e n d s .



R i s i n g r a t e s of i l l e g i t i m a c y , then, did not s i g n i f y a "sexual



revolution. " They f o l l o w e d , i n s t e a d , f r o m s t r u c t u r a 1 and compo-



s i t i o n a l c h a n g e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h u r b a n i z a t i o n and i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n .

35



T h e r e i s no e v i d e n c e , moreover, t h a t t h e s e changes immediately gave



r i s e t o changes i n a t t i t u d e . On t h e c o n t r a r y , men and women engaged



i n i n t e r c o u r s e w i t h t r a d i t i o n a l e x p e c t a t i o n s , b u t i n changed o r



changing c o n t e x t s . A s a result, illegitimacy increased.







A Model f o r t h e R i s e and F a l l of European F e r t i l i t y R a t e s



W have d e a l t s o f a r w i t h t h e r i s e i n i l l e g i t i m a t e f e r t i l i t y

e



which o c c u r r e d i n most of Europe towards t h e end of t h e - e i g h t e e n t h



century. S h o r t e r a l s o s e e s t h i s a s t h e c e n t r a l i s s u e t o b e ex-



p l a i n e d , b u t he p l a c e s i t i n a much l a r g e r c o n t e x t : t h e r i s e of



a l l f e r t i l i t y , l e g i t i m a t e and i l l e g i t i m a t e i n t h e e i g h t e e n t h cen-



t u r y , and t h e d e c l i n e of b o t h k i n d s of f e r t i l i t y a t t h e end of t h e



nineteenth century. H i s model i s i n a c c u r a t e and we would l i k e t o



o f f e r a n a l t e r n a t i v e t o it.



e

W s t a r t with declining mortality. Early in the eighteenth



c e n t u r y , i n much of Western Europe, m o r t a l i t y began t o d r o p , p r e -



sumably a s a r e s u l t of i n c r e a s e d f o o d s u p p l y . Subsistence c r i s e s



e n d e d ; and t h e r a t e of p o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h i n c r e a s e d . The growth i n



p o p u l a t i o n was a l m o s t s u r e l y d i s t r i b u t e d d i f f e r e n t i a l l y by c l a s s .



The w e a l t h y and t h e upper l e v e l s of t h e p o p u l a r c l a s s e s ( p r o p e r -



t i e d p e a s a n t s and p r o s p e r o u s a r t i s a n s ) e x p e r i e n c e d reduced a d u l t



and c h i l d m o r t a l i t y e a r l i e r i n t i m e t h a n d i d t h e poor and unproper-



tied. A s more of t h e c h i l d r e n of t h e s e groups survived t o adulthood,



t h e problems of " p l a c i n g " them and of a v o i d i n g t h e f r a g m e n t a t i o n of



p r o p e r t y became a c u t e . Thus one s o u r c e of i n c r e a s e d numbers of



p r o p e r t y l e s s p e o p l e was t h e s u r p l u s c h i l d r e n o f more p r o s p e r o u s



f a m i l i e s , who were f o r c e d t o s e e k a l i v i n g w i t h no e x p e c t a t i o n of



inheritance .

36



F o r t u n a t e l y , new occupa t i o n a 1 o p p o r t u n i t i e s w e r e a n o t h e r by-



product of p o p u l a t i o n growth. I n c r e a s i n g p o p u l a t i o n meant i n c r e a s e d



demand. T h i s , t o g e t h e r w i t h a complex of t e c h n o l o g i c a l a n d a g r i c u l -



t u r a l c h a n g e s , l a u n c h e d i n England t h e p r o c e s s which became i n d u s -



trialization. But even i n England, and - f o r t i o r i throughout t h e

a



r e s t o f E u r o p e , t h e e a r l y e f f e c t of i n c r e a s e d demand was t h e expan-



s i o n of c o t t a g e i n d u s t r y , of m a r k e t a g r i c u l t u r e a n d o f consumer and



s e r v i c e i n d u s t r i e s i n a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a n d commercial c i t i e s . Despite



t h e i r abundance, however, t h e s e j o b s o f t e n t u r n e d o u t t o b e q u i t e un-



s t a b l e , a s B r i t i s h s t o c k i n g f r a m e k n i t t e r s and handloom weavers o r



F r e n c h c o t t o n t e x t i l e w o r k e r s l e a r n e d a f t e r 1780. I n consumer



s e r v i c e s a n d d o m e s t i c s e r v i c e , a s i n c o t t a g e i n d u s t r y , employment



f l u c t u a t e d enormously according t o s e a s o n s and b u s i n e s s c y c l e s .



F a r from home, c u t o f f from p o s s i b l e p r o p e r t y o w n e r s h i p , and



i n d i f f i c u l t economic s t r a i t s , t h e men and women i n c o t t a g e , consu-



mer a n d s e r v i c e i n d u s t r i e s , a c t e d i n what c o n t e m p o r a r i e s c a l l e d



" i m p r o v i d e n t " ways: t h e y m a r r i e d y o u n g e r and d i d n o t c o n t r o l t h e i r



f e r t i l i t y a s c o m p u l s i v e l y a s p e a s a n t a n d a r t i s a n f a m i l i e s t e n d e d t o . 5 2-



The abandonment of l a t e m a r r i a g e i t s e l f meant t h e y had r e l i n q u i s h e d



t h e c h i e f means u s e d by t h o s e f a m i l i e s t o c o n t r o l f e r t i l i t y . In



a d d i t i o n , f e r t i l i t y r o s e b e c a u s e t h e young w i f e had t o work. Often



t h e p r i m a r y c a u s e f o r t h e e a r l y m a r r i a g e was t h e economic need of



each partner: s u b s i s t e n c e r e q u i r e d t h a t t h e y b o t h e a r n a wage.



When m a r r i e d women worked, t h e y n u r s e d t h e i r b a b i e s a s h o r t e r t i m e ,



if a t all. (The e x t e n s i o n of t h e c u s t o m o f w e t - n u r s i n g t o workers'



babies did not indicate the mother's w i l l f u l neglect, but the pressing

'53 The r e d u c t i o n o f t h e s u c k l i n g p e r i o d d e c r e a s e d

need f o r h e r t o work).



t h e i n t e r v a l b e t w e e n b i r t h s and i n c r e a s e d m a r i t a l f e r t i l i t y among



. . ?, . -.



>

- a

'>:-

37

younger c o u p l e s . O l d e r women, w i t h s e v e r a l c h i l d r e n t o c a r e f o r ,



were l e s s l i k e l y t o work, hence more l i k e l y t o n u r s e . Thus t h e



b i r t h i n t e r v a l was l o n g e r l a t e r i n t h e f a m i l y c y c l e . Yet a t h i r d



f a c t o r i n r i s i n g m a r i t a l f e r t i l i t y was i n f a n t m o r t a l i t y . In cities,



among u n s t a b l y employed f a m i l i e s h i g h r a t e s of i n f a n t m o r t a l i t y



a c t u a l l y c o n t r i b u t e d .-to a reduced i n t e r v a l between b i r t h s , i f the



mother had n u r s e d : When. t h e i n f a n t , - d i e d a n d the:-mother s t o p p e d nur-



s i n g , a n o t h e r pregnancy 'wo,uld o c c u r . 54 A t least three factors



t h e n , c o n t r i b u t e d 'to a n i n c r e a s e i n m a r i t a l f e r t i l i t y : a drop i n



t h e a g e of m a r r i a g e , a d e c l i n e i n t h e numbers of n u r s i n g mothers,



and a n i n c r e a s e i n i n f a n t m o r t a l i t y among t h e u r b a n poor. In



a d d i t i o n , t h e numbers of people i n v o l v e d i n "i n p r o v i d e n t " marriages

i n c r e a s e d a s more p e o p l e j o i n e d t h e r a n k s of t h e p r o p e r t y l e s s . The



economic and p h y s i c a l c i r c u m s t a n c e s of t h e p r o p e r t y l e s s i n c i t y and



country led t o an increase i n t h e i r m a r i t a l f e r t i l i t y . This increase



r e q u i r e d no change i n a t t i t u d e . It d i d r e q u i r e occupational



o p p o r t u n i t i e s which e c o n o m i c a l l y and p h y s i c a l l y moved young men and



women away from t h e i r f a m i l i e s of o r i g i n and o u t s i d e of t h e i r fami-



l i e s ' s p h e r e of i n t e r e s t . I t a l s o r e q u i r e d a n economic s i t u a t i o n i n



which c o u p l e s formed economic u n i t s b a s e d on t h e work of b o t h p a r t -



ners. I n t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , c o n t i n u i t i e s i n s e x u a l customs and



unchanged a t t i t u d e s a b o u t s e x c o u l d b r i n g a b o u t r a d i c a l l y a l t e r e d



consequences.



I l l e g i t i m a t e f e r t i l i t y a l s o i n c r e a s e d b e c a u s e of a growth i n



t h e p o p u l a t i o n of p r o p e r t y l e s s working men and women. ~eographic



m o b i l i t y and o c c u p a t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t y meant t h a t t h e t r a d i t i o n a l



p r a c t i c e of s e x b e f o r e m a r r i a g e d i d n o t always l e a d t o m a r r i a g e and

38



t h a t c o n s e n s u a l u n i o n s i n c r e a s e d i n number. I n r u r a l a r e a s , geo-



g r a p h i c a l l y m o b i l e men e s t a b l i s h e d r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h women, became



b e t r o t h e d , engaged i n i n t e r c o u r s e a n d t h e n moved on. In cities,



engagement l e d t o abandonment, o r t o a f r e e u n i o n . I n a l l cases,



i l l e g i t i m a c y was a b y - p r o d u c t . The m i g r a t i o n o f " s u r p l u s " c h i l d r e n ,



t h e n , r e s u l t e d i n a l a r g e r p o p u l a t i o n o f m o b i l e men and of s e x u a l l y



v u l n e r a b l e women, f a r from t h e p r o t e c t i o n o f t h e i r f a m i l i e s . The



c o n s e q u e n c e s of the' i n c r e a s e i n t h i s p o p u l a t i o n were 1) i n c r e a s e d



i n c i d e n c e of abandoned p r e g n a n t women; 2 ) i n c r e a s e d p r o s t i t u t i o n



of abandoned o r unemployed women; 3 ) i n c r e a s e d i n c i d e n c e and d u r a -



t i o n of c o n s e n s u a l o r f r e e u n i o n . A l l t h r e e of t h e s e a l t e r n a t i v e s



produced i l l e g i t i m a t e c h i l d r e n .



I l l e g i t i m a t e and l e g i t i m a t e f e r t i l i t y r o s e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y , then,



b e c a u s e o f a complex o f c h a n g e s stemming from d e c l i n i n g m o r t a l i t y



during the eighteenth century. T h e s e c h a n g e s i n c r e a s e d t h e numbers



of young p e o p l e p h y s i c a l l y and m a t e r i a l l y removed f r o m t h e i r f a m i -



l i e s and from work w i t h i n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l h o u s e h o l d . They were a l s o



removed f r o m t h e c o n s t r a i n t s on p e r s o n a l a n d m a r i t a l b e h a v i o r of



p r o p e r t y ; f o r them, t h e l i n k between m a r r i a g e and p r o p e r t y had been.



broken. T h e r e i s l i t t l e evi.dence t o i n d i c a t e , however, t h a t s e x u a l



a t t i t u d e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e of women, changed. Instead the various



a t t e m p t s a t union whether s u c c e s s f u l o r n o t , r e p r e s e n t e d t h e p u r s u i t



of o l d e r g o a l s , a n e n d o r s e m e n t of t r a d i t i o n a 1 male-female relation-



ships. I n e v e r y k i n d of s i t u a t i o n , t h e woman's g o a l , a t l e a s t , seems



t o have b e e n t o r e s t a b l i s h t h e f a m i l y economy, t h e p a r t n e r s h i p of



economic e n t e r p r i s e . These women s o u g h t n o t s e x u a l f u l f i l l m e n t , b u t



economic c o o p e r a t i o n . T h a t t h e y o f t e n f a i l e d t o f i n d i t , and t h a t

39



t h e i r a t t e m p t s t o f o r m a f a m i l y t o o k a v a r i e t y of f o r m s , d o e s n o t



prove a n y t h i n g about t h e i r m o t i v a t i o n . The form o f male-female re-



l a t i o n s h i p s was c r e a t e d b y s o c i a l a n d economic c i r c u m s t a n c e s , n o t



by t h e s e x u a l a t t i t u d e s of t h e p a r t n e r . And i t i s t h o s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s



t h a t must b e examined i f r i s i n g r a t e s of f e r t i l i t y a r e t o b e e x -



pla ined.







Why d i d f e r t i l i t y d e c l i n e t o w a r d t h e e n d of t h e n i n e t e e n t h



century? Above a l l , b e c a u s e of t h e i n c r e a s e d a v a i l a b i l i t y of b i r t h



c o n t r o l information. And s e c o n d l y , b e c a u s e i n f a n t m o r t a l i t y d e c l i n e d



among t h e working c l a s s e s and economic p r o s p e r i t y i n c r e a s e d . The



e x p l a n a t i o n o f f e r e d by James a n d O l i v e Banks f o r t h e d e c l i n e of



m i d d l e c l a s s f e r t i l i t y a p p l i e s a s w e l l t o working c l a s s m a r i t a l



fertility. They a r g u e t h a t m i d d l e c l a s s f a m i l y s i z e s h r a n k b e c a u s e



of t h e p a r e n t s ' e x p e c t a t i o n s a b o u t t h e i r own s t a n d a r d of l i v i n g and



because of t h e i r r i s i n g ambitions f o r t h e i r children.55' Among.,the -



working c l a s s e s , d e c l i n i n g i n f a n t m o r t a l i t y began t o have a n impact



only towards t h e end of t h e n i n e i e e n t h c e n t u r y . For t h e f i r s t time,



t h e c h i l d r e n of w o r k i n g c l a s s f a m i l i e s w e r e n o t winnowed d r a s t i c a l l y



by d e a t h . A t t h e same t i m e , i n most of E u r o p e , e d u c a t i o n a l oppor-



t u n i t y became a v a i l a b l e f o r t h e w o r k i n g c l a s s e s . Finally, the



s t a n d a r d of l i v i n g o f w o r k e r s improved i n t h i s p e r i o d w i t h two i m -



portant results: 1) many m o t h e r s o f young c h i l d r e n c o u l d withdraw



f r o m o u t s i d e work b e c a u s e t h e f a m i l y c o u l d l i v e on t h e h u s b a n d ' s



wages; a n d 2 ) c h i l d r e n w e r e n o l o n g e r needed a s a d d i t i o n a l wage



earners. With f e w e r c h i l d r e n a m a n ' s wages went f a r t h e r and t h e r e



would b e more money f o r e d u c a t i o n - 0 . f c h i l d r e n (An i n v e s t m e n t i n e d u c a -



t i o n w a s a c o n t r i b u t i o n - t o a c h i l d ' s f u t u r e a n d m i g h t f u n c t i o n as

, *

skill and property had earlier.) At this point, it was clearly in

the interest of the working class family to limit its fertility. And the

means were available to do so. Birth control was adopted by the

working class and its martial fertility fell.

What about illegitimate fertility? In an article written with

Knodel and Van de Walle, Shorter preemptorially discounts any kind

of prosperity model.

It is unlikely that higher incomes moved unwed mothers

to curb their illegitimate fertility so as to plan

better the educational future of their bastards on

hand. Possibly improvements in the standard of living

during the last quarter of the nineteenth century

restricted illegitimate fertility through some other

mechanism. But ad hoc rummaging about for alternate

linkages in an 'economic prosperity' model is unlikgp

to result in any generalizable kind of explanation.

Shorter and his associates assume here that individual decisions--

of unwed mothers-- lay behind falling illegitimacy rates. Yet it

can be shown that fin-de-siLcle prosperity did bring about some

compositional changes in European populations which tended to reduce

the size of 'the population which produced illegitimate births. First,

the numbers of women in sexually vulnerable situations, particularly

servants and other female migrants to cities, began to wane. From

about the last decade of the nineteenth century the rate of increase

of women in domestic service began to drop; eventually the number of

57

domestic servants absolutely declined.

. -- _factory

Both the increase ..in

jobs for women and the increase in working class prosperity reduced

the numbers of women working on their own, far from their families.

Second, increased prosperity led to a decrease in the numbers of

extremely mobile, propertyless men restlessly moving in sezarch of

work. Third, increased prosperity led to a new emphasis on marriage,

as the urban working classes began to acquire goods and even landed

property in working class suburbs. Formal and legalized marriage

which spelled out the disposition and use of this property led to a

decline in consensual unions. So did the diffusion of middle class

personal values to workers, by the efforts of reformers and by educa-

tional opportunities for workers' children. unwed mothers whose

illegitimate children were the results of seduction and abandonment

or of prostitution might not be able to decide to marry, but couples

whose children were equally illegitimate could get to the alter when

conventional marriage meant improved opportunity for themselves and

their children. Regular employment and better wages clearly opened

up new vistas for workers and the custom of free union became less

widespread. As middle class values of individualism began to be

economically .functional for workers, these values infoqmed their

economic, organizational and emotional lives. Working class men and

women continued to marry for many kinds of reasons, but love and

sentiment began to become more important.

The movement'toward the cities, of course, did not end with the

nineteenth century. Why did later urbanization and geographic mo-

bility not result in compositional changes like those of the late

eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries? First of all, the cities

were no longer the same types of administrative and commercial centers

with greatest employment opportunity in unstable areas. Industrial

growth broadened and changed occupational opportunities in twentieth

century cities. Furthermore, most rural migrants to these cities were

not as economically vulnerable as their nineteenth century predecessors.

They now came from rural areas where fertility was also controlled.

Their families thus had greater resources with which to sponsor

42



their migration and maintain contacts with them.

In mid-twentieth century Europe, however, there are situations

similar to those of the early.nineteenthcentury. Migrants of dif-

ferent racial or national backrounds have employment experiences

similar to those of nineteenth century rural migrants. Men's jobs

are unstable; women are in low-paying, sexually vulnerable positions

as domestics or unskilled service workers. Ironically, the

established working-class of these modern European cities is as

unsympathetic to the economic claims as was the nineteeth century

middle class.

45.

Conclusion

Women's work in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth

centuries was not "liberating' in any sense of that term. Women

stayed in traditional occupations. They were so poorly paid that

economic independence was precluded. Furthermore, they did the

work they did as a service.for .the family interest. ?;lrheevidence

.availablepoints to several causes for illegitimacy, none of them

related to the "emancipation" of women: physical separation of

women from the protection of their families and their economic need;

the mobility of men which increased the incidence of marriaqes manquhs

(sexual intercourse following a promise of marriage which was never

fulfilled!. Finally, analysis of the effects of population growth

on propertied peasants and artisans shows that the bifurcation of

marriage and property arrangements changed the meaning of marriage

for propertyless people and led to increased numbers of men and

women living in free unions. Our alternative model has the advantage

of being built on historical evidence. Much more of this evidence is

needed before the model can be confirmed positively. Nevertheless

the negative evidence which we have offered for Shorter's model and

his own lack of evidence lead us to believe that less sensational

but no less dramatic, more complex but less speculative, explanations

are in order for the fertility changes in Europe from 1750 to 1900.

This examination of the history of working class women and their

families in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries has shown that

continuities in mentality mark the fertility rise. The fertility

fall, a consequence of the spread of birth control and economic

58

prosperity opened the way for a changed consciousness among women.

OE

N TS







1. F. Engels, The C o n d i t i o n o f t h e Workinq C l a s s i n England



i n 1844 (London, 1 8 9 2 ) ; Thomas Malthus, F i r s t Essay on



P o p u l a t i o n 1798 ( r e p r i n t e d , Ann Arbor, 19 ).



A r e v i e w o f much o f t h e c u r r e n t l i t e r a t u r e c a n b e found



i n E. A. Wrigley, P o p u l a t i o n and H i s t o r y (N. Y. 1969),



e s p e c i a l l y c h a p t e r s 4 and 5.



The s t a n d a r d o f l i v i n g c o n t r o v e r s y i s reviewed and comment-



e d upon i n E. J. Hobsbawm, "The B r i t i s h S t a n d a r d o f L i v i n g



1790-1850," i n Hobsbawm, ed., L a b o u r i n s Men, Essays i n t h e



H i s t o r y o f Labour (N. Y. 1964). I n t h i s connection s e e



a l s o E. P. Thompson, The Making o f t h e E n g l i s h Working



C l a s s (London, 1 9 6 3 ) .



Among s p e c i f i c s t u d i e s o f p o p u l a t i o n a r e : H. Bergues, and



others, La p r e v e n t i o n des n a i s s a n c e s dans l a f a m i l l e . Ses



o r i s i n e s dans l e s temps modernes ( P a r i s , 1960) ; K. H.



C o n n e l l , The P o p u l a t i o n of I r e l a n d 1750-1845 (Oxford, 1950) ;



E. and L.

~eniel Henry, "La p o p u l a t i o n d ' u n v i l l a g e du



Nord de l a F r a n c e , Sainghin-en- elant to is, . de...1.665 -2~,1851,



Population, 20 (1965),563-602; K. M. Drake, Marriaqe and



P o p u l a t i o n Growth i n Norway 1735-1865 (Cambridge, 1969) ; . -.









H. J. Habakkuk, "Family S t r u c t u r e and Economic Change i n



N i n e t e e n t h Century Europe, " i n N. W. B e l l and E. F. Vogel,



eds., A Modern I n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e Family (N. Y., 1960) ;



G. Ohlin, " M o r t a l i t y , Marriage and Growth i n P r e - i n d u s t r i a l



P o p u l a t i o n s , " P o p u l a t i o n S t u d i e s , X I V ( 1 9 6 1 ) , 190-197;



E. A. Wrigley, I n d u s t r i a l Growth and P o p u l a t i o n Chanqe



(Cambridge, 1961) .

2. Edward S h o r t e r , "Female Emancipation, B i r t h C o n t r o l and



F e r t i l i t y i n European H i s t o r y , " American H i s t o r i c a l Review,



78. ( ~ u n e ,1 9 7 3 ) , 605-640.



3. Edward S h o r t e r , " I l l e g i t i m a c y , S e x u a l Revolution and S o c i a l



Change i n Modern Europe, " J o u r n a l o f I n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y



H i s t o r y , I1 (Autumn, 1 9 7 1 ) , 237-272. O t h e r a r t i c l e s by



S h o r t e r which t r e a t t h e same q u e s t i o n a r e "Sexual Change



and ~ l l e g i t i m a c y : The European Experience," i n Robert J.



Bezucha, ed., Modern European S o c i a l H i s t o r y (Lexington,



Mass., 1972) and " C a p i t a l i s m , C u l t u r e and S e - x u a l i t y : Some



Competing Models," S o c i a l S c i e n c e Q u a r t e r l y , (September,



1 9 7 2 ) , 338-356. See . a l s o S h o r t e r , John Knodel and E t i e n n e



Van de Walle, "The Decline o f Non-Marital F e r t i l i t y i n



Europe, 1880-1940," P o p u l a t i o n S t u d i e s , 25 (1971), 375-393.



I t s h o u l d b e n o t e d t h a t S h o r t e r ' s v a r i o u s s t a t e m e n t s of



t h e problem a r e n o t a l l e q u a l l y s p e c u l a t i v e o r e q u a l l y



i n s i s t e n t on t h e c e n t r a l r o l e o f m e n t a l i t y change. In



particular, t h e a r t i c l e w i t h t h e demographers Knodel and



Van de Walle i s much more r e s t r a i n e d t h a n l a t e r s t a t e m e n t s ,



and & a r l y s p e l l s o u t t h e i n t e r v e n i n g v a r i a b l e s between



i n t e r c o u r s e and i l l e g i t i m a t e b i r t h s which S h o r t e r l a t e r



b r u s h e s a s i d e , i g n o r e s , o r a r g u e s a r e i n s u f f i c i e n t explan-



a t i o n s t o a c c o u n t f o r f e r t i l i t y changes,



4, C

"Female Emancipation, ~ i r t h o n t r o l and F e r t i l i t y , " 622.



5. The weakness o f S h o r t e r ' s e v i d e n c e on t h e s e p o i n t s i s



striking. The s o u r c e o f h i s d e s c r i p t i o n o f p e a s a n t and



working c l a s s women's r o l e s i n t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i e t y i s

M C ) l l e r l s s t u d y of t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y p e t t y b o u r g e o i s



f a m i l y i n Germany. For h i s p r o p o s i t i o n about t h e f r e e



and e a s y s e x u a l i t y of t h e e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y



European working c l a s s , S h o r t e r draws h i s evidence from



post-World War I1 West Germany. The evidence f o r changed



f a m i l y r e l a t i o n s h i p s r i s i n g o u t o f new s e x u a l a t t i t u d e s



i s based on e v i d e n c e and c o n c l u s i o n s o f o t h e r s c h o l a r s



whose i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s a r e . e i t h e r t w i s t e d b y S h o r t e r o r



inapplicable. Furthermore much o f t h i s evidence i s b o t h



l o g i c a l l y and c h r o n o l o g i c a l l y i n a p p r o p r i a t e . I t i s 1)



N e i l S m e l s e r ' s d e s c r i p t i o n o f " t h e r e v e r s a l of t r a d i t i o n a l



age and s e x r o l e s a s women and c h i l d r e n went i n t o t h e



factory;" 2) Peter Stearns ' perception i n l a t e nineteenth



c e n t u r y ( " i n c o n v e n i e n t l y l a t e " ) B r i t a i n of a new independ-



ence f o r working c l a s s women; 3 ) Rudolf B r a u n ' s d e s c r i p -



t i o n of t h e i n a b i l i t y t o cook o f n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y women



f a c t o r y workers. I n addition, Shorter (while recognizing



i t s l i m i t a t i o n s ) o f f e r s t h e t e s t i m o n y of mid-nineteenth



c e n t u r y Bavarian middle c l a s s o b s e r v e r s who saw i n t h e



mores o f t h e p o p u l a r c l a s s e s a r e b e l l i o n o f young unmarried



women a g a i n s t p a r e n t a l and s o c i a l a u t h o r i t y . "Female



C

~ m a n c i p a t i o n , ~ i r t h o n t r o l and ~ e r t i l i t y , "615-617.



6. :Ibid, 621.



7. Olwen Hufton, "Women i n R e v o l u t i o n , 1789-1796," P a s t and



P r e s e n t , 53 (1971), 93; Alan F o r r e s t , "The Condition o f



t h e Poor i n evolutionary Bordeaux," P a s t and P r e s e n t ,



59 ( 1 9 7 3 ) , 151-152. See a l s o N a t a l i e Z. ~ a v i s ," C i t y

Women and R e l i g i o u s Change i n Sixteenth-Century F r a n c e , "



i n Dorothy G i e s McGuigan, e d . , A Sampler o f Women's



Studies, (Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1973), 21-22, and Michael



Anderson, Family S t r u c t u r e i n Nineteenth Century L a n c a s h i r e ,



(Cambridge, 1971) , 96.



8. On t h e f a m i l y b a s i s o f t h e p e a s a n t economy s e e ~ a n i e l



Kerblay and R.E.F.

Thorner, ~ a s i l e Smith, eds., A. V.



Chayanov on t h e Theory of P e a s a n t Economy, (Homewood, I l l . ,



1966) , 21, 60; Teodor Shanin, "The P e a s a n t r y a s a P o l i t i c a l



F a c t o r , " i n Idem., ed., P e a s a n t s and P e a s a n t S o c i e t i e s :



Books,

s e l e c t e d Readinqs ( ~ . e n g b i n 1971). 241-244; Basile



Kerblay, "Chayanov and t h e Theory of P e a s a n t r y a s a



S p e c i f i c Type o f Economy," i n I b i d . , 151. For Western



Europe s e e Giunta p e r l a ~ n c h i e s t a g r a r i a e s u l l e

A



condizioni d e l l a c l a s s e agricola, A t t i , (Rome, 1 8 8 2 ) ,



passim. ; Y B r e k i l i e n , La

. vie Quotdienne des paysans en



Bretagne au X I X e s i g c l e , ( P a r i s , 1 9 6 6 ) ; Henri Mendras,



The Vanishing P e a s a n t . I n n o v a t i o n and Change i n French



Aqriculture, (Cambridge, Mass. , 19 ) , 74-76; Jean-Marie



Gouesse, " P a r e n t & , f a m i l l e e t mariage e n Normandie aux



X V I I e e t X V I I L e s i ~ c l e s , " Annales. Economies, S o c i g t e s ,



C i v i l i s a t i o n s , 27e Annee (July-October, 1 9 7 2 ) , .1146-1147



and Annexe V, 1153-1154; Martin Nadaud, Memoires de



Leonard, a n c i e n garcon macon ( P a r i s , 1895, r e i s s u e d , 1948) ,



130; Michael Drake, P o p u l a t i o n and S o c i e t y i n Norway, 1735-



1865

-

9

(Cambridge, 1969) , 137-144, including long quotes



from E i l e r t Sundt, On Marriaqe i n Norway.

9. B r e k i l i e n , 69.



10. On t h i s p o i n t s e e E i l e e n Power, "The P o s i t i o n of Women,"



i n Susan G. Bell, ed., Women: From t h e Greeks t o t h e



French R e v o l u t i o n (Belmont, C a l i f o r n i a , 1 9 7 3 ) , 166.



1

1 . For an e l a b o r a t i o n of t h i s s e e J o a n W. S c o t t and Louise A,



T i l l y , "Women's Work and t h e Family i n N i n e t e e n t h Century



Europe, " unpublished p a p e r , 1973.



12. T. Deldycke, H, Gelders, and J.-M. Limbor, La. P o p u l a t i o n

-

'









a c t i v e e t s a s t r u c t u r e , p r e p a r e d under t h e s u p e r v i s i o n of



P. Bairoch, ( B r u s s e l s , 1969), 169.



13. I v y Pinchbeck, Women Workers and t h e I n d u s t r i a l Revolution,



1750-1850 (New York, 1930), 84. S i m i l a r d i s t r i b u t i o n s can



b e found i n Germany and I t a l y . See Adna F e r r i n Weber, The



Growth of C i t i e s i n t h e Nineteenth Century (New York, 1967),



375; and Louise A. T i l l y , "Women a t Work i n Milan, I t a l y ,



1880-World War I , " unpublished p a p e r r e a d t o t h e American



H i s t o r i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n , December, 1972.



14. Pinchbeck, op. c i t . , 117, 152-153; N e i l Smelser, S o c i a l



Change i n t h e I n d u s t r i a l Revolution: An A p p l i c a t i o n o f



Theory t o t h e B r i t i s h Cotton I n d u s t r y (Chicago, 1 9 5 9 ) , 184



and f f .



5.

l:- k 8 -

~ i n i m e c ,-, 121:-"-'155.-156.':



16. Edward Cadbury, M. C e c i l e Matheson and George Shann,



Women's Work and Waqes: A Phase of L i f e i n An I n d u s t r i a l



City, (Chicago, 1 9 0 7 ) , 44-46, and Gareth Stedrnan J o n e s ,



O u t c a s t London (Oxford, 1971) , 83-87.



17. Pinchbeck, 315.

18. Cadbury, Matheson, Shann, 44-45.



19. PEnchbeck, 193 (quoted from t h e F a c t o r y m om mission, 1834,



XIX, 3 3 ) , C h a r l e s Booth, L i f e and Labour o f t h e People of



e

London (London, N w York, 1895), I V , "Population Classified



b y Trades, " passim., Cadbury, Matheson and Shann, 1 2 1 ,



Stedman J o n e s , 83-87.



20. Pinchbeck, 219, Booth, I X , 52, Deldycke, e t a l . , 185.

I

21. Booth, I , passim., :Cadbury, Matheson and Shann, 14.



22. S c o t t and T i l l y , op. c i t . See a l s o Rudolf Braun, "The



Impact o f C o t t a g e I n d u s t r y on an A g r i c u l t u r a l P o p u l a t i o n , "



i n David Landes, ed., The R i s e o f C a p i t a l i s m (New York, 1 9 6 6 ) ,



61-63 ; R. -H. Hubscher, "Une c o n t r i b u t i o n h l a connaissance



des m i l i e u x p o p u l a i r e s r u r a u x au XIXe s i s c l e : Le l i v r e de



compte d e l a f a m i l l e F l a u h a u t , 1881-1877," Revue d ' h i s t o i r e



&conomique e t s o c i a l e , 47, ( 1 9 6 9 ) , 395-396; Evelyne S u l l e r o t ,



H i s t o i r e e t s o c i o l o q i e du t r a v a i l f e m i n i n ( P a r i s , 1 9 6 8 ) ,



91-94; Anderson, 2 2 ; P e t e r S t e a r n s , "Working C l a s s Women



i n B r i t a i n , 1890-1914," i n Martha V i c i n u s , ed., S u f f e r and



Be S t i l l (Bloomington, Ind., 1 9 7 2 ) , 110; Marie H a l l E t s ,



Rosa, The L i f e of an I t a l i a n ~ m m i q r a n t (Minneapolis, 1970),



138-140; F r e d e r i c Le Play, L e s O u v r i e r s Europeens, V, 122;



Drake, 138; Anderson, 22; f o r American comparisons, see



Robert Smuts, Women and Work i n America (New York, 1959), 9.



23. Ets, 87-115; I t a l y , U f f i c i o d e l Lavoro, R a p p o r t i s u l l a



i s p e z i o n e d e l l a v o r o (1 dicenibre 1906-30 giugno, 1908),



P u b b l i c a z i o n i d e l U f f i c i o d e l Lavoro, S e r i e C , 1909, 93-94;



S u l l e r o t , 91-94.

E i l e e n Ye0 and E. P. Thompson, The Unknown Mayhem (New



York, 1 9 7 2 ) , 116-180; S u l l e r o t , 100.



Abel C h a t e l a i n , " M i g r a t i o n s e t d o m e s t i c i t e feminine



u r b a i n e en France, V I I I e sikcle-XXe s i & c l e , Revue d ' h i s t o i r e



economique e t s o c i a l e , 47 ( 1 9 6 9 ) , 508.



Drake, 138.



Braun, 63-64.



Thompson, Hufton, F o r r e s t , op, c i t , ; A l b e r t Soboul, Les



(

Sans-Gwlottes . p a r i s i e n s - e n 1 ' an 11-- P a r i s , 1958) ; Remi



Gossez, Les O u v r i e r s d e P a r i s , Vol. I ( P a r i s , 1967).



P e t e r L a s l e t t and K a r l a Oosterveen, "Long-term Trends i n



B a s t a r d y i n England. A Study o f t h e I l l e g i t i m a c y F i g u r e s



i n t h e P a r i s h R e g i s t e r s and i n t h e Reports of t h e R e g i s t r a r



General, 1561-1960," P o p u l a t i o n S t u d i e s , 27 ( J u l y , 1973),



257-8, 284.



Quoted i n S h o r t e r , "Female Emancipation, B i r t h C o n t r o l and



F e r t i l i t y , " 618. Sex r a t i o s d i s c u s s e d i n Weber, 285-300,



320, 325-327, Weber a l s o shows t h a t c i t i e s i n which t h e r e



w e r e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r women t o work had h i g h e r n u p t u a l i t y .

Theresa McBride, " R u r a l T r a d i t i o n and t h e Process o f



n

~ o d e r n i z a t i o : Domes t i c S e r v a n t s i n Nineteenth Century



F r a n c e , " unpublished d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n , Rutgers Univer-



s i t y , 1973.



S h o r t e r , Knodel, Van d e Walle, 384, c i t i n g Wikman on



p e a s a n t b u n d l i n g customs. Le P l a y , Vol. V, 150-154.



S h o r t e r , "Sexual Revolution and S o c i a l Change," 258;



J a c q u e s DePauw, "Amour i l l e g i t i m e e t s o c i e t e a Nantes au

XVIIIe s i ' e c l e , Annales. .

ES .C., 27e annee (July-October,



1972), 1163-1166. I t s h o u l d b e noted t h a t DePauw (1176)



finds s t a b l e couples rare. Given t h e c i r c u l a t i o n of



m i g r a n t s d e s c r i b e d b y Agulhon ( s e e below, n o t e 43) t h i s



is not surprising. Even i f c o u p l e s were s t a b l e , t h e y were



l i k e l y t o b e g e o g r a p h i c a l l y mobile.



34. C i s s i e C a t h e r i n e F a i r c h i l d s , " P o v e r t y and c h a r i t y i n Aix-



en-Provence, 1640-1789," unpublished d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n ,



Johns ~ o p k i n su n i v e r s i t y , 1972.



35. Yeo and Thompson, 148.



36. A l a i n L o t t i n , " N a i s s a n c e s I l l e g i t i m i e s e t f i l l e s - m s r e s ';1



L i l l e au XVIIIe s i & c l e , " Revue d ' h i s t o i r e moderne e t



contempofSine,XVII (1970), 309.



37. Richard Cobb, The P o l i c e and t h e People. French P o p u l a r , P r o t e s t



1789-1820, (Oxford, 1970) , 235, 238; Alexandre P a r e n t -



D u c h a t e l e t , De l a P r o s t i t u t i o n dans l a V i l l e De P a r i s



( P a r i s , 1 8 3 6 ) , 73-75, 93-94. Duchatelet a l s o notes t h a t



most women who were p r o s t i t u t e s e i t h e r had l o s t t h e i r



p a r e n t s , o r had been abandoned b y t h e i r f a m i l i e s , o r had



been e x p e l l e d from t h e i r homes. One-quarter of t h e women



were themselves i l l e g i t i m a t e i n t h e p e r i o d 1828-1832.



Vol. I , 107.



38. i

Yeo and Thompson, 116-180; s e e a l s o Massimo ~ i v Bacci,



A Century of Portuquese F e r t i l i t y ( p r i n c e t o n , 1 9 7 1 ) , 71-73,



c i t e d by S h o r t e r , Knodel and Van de ~ a l l e ,382.



39. Cobb, 234, 237, 238.

40. ~ n c y c l o p e d i aB r i t a n n i c a , 1911 e d i t i o n , Vol. X, 246-747,



"Foundling h o s p i t a l s ; " F r a n k l i n Ford, S t r a s b o u r q i n



rans sit ion (New York, 1 9 6 6 ) , 177-179. The graph o f



i l l e g i t i m a c y i n P a r i s s u p p l i e d b y S h o r t e r , "Sexual Revolu-



t i o n and S o c i a l Change," 2 6 5 , i s b a s e d on f i g u r e s i n E ,



C h a r l o t and J. Dupaquier, "Mouvement a n n u e l de l a p o p u l a t i o n



d e l a V i l l e de P a r i s d e 1670 k 1821," Annales de Demoqraphie



h i s t o r i q u e , (&1967),

- 512-513 from which S h o r t e r c a l c u l a t e d a

.J









r a t i o of e n f a n t s t r o u v 6 s ( f o u n d l i n g s ) p e r one hundred



baptisms. I t i s p e r f e c t l y c l e a r t h a t t h e i n s t i t u t i o n of



t h e reformed f o u n d l i n g h o s p i t a l i n 1690 meant a g r e a t l y



i n c r e a s e d number of f o u n d l i n g s i n t h e n e x t decade. See



a l s o , William Langer, "Checks on P o p u l a t i o n Growth: 1750-



1850, " S c i e n t i f i c American, ( F e b r u a r y 1 9 7 2 ) , 92-99. Langer' s



d i s c u s s i o n o f i n f a n t i c i d e a t t h e end o f t h e e i g h t e e n t h



c e n t u r y s u g g e s t s t h a t b i r t h s were r e g i s t e r e d b e f o r e t h e



baby d i e d , whether of n e g l e c t by i t s mother o r wet-nurse,



J u s t a s c e r t a i n groups o f women were more v u l n e r a b l e t o



s e d u c t i o n and i l l e g i t i m a t e motherhood, t h e s e same women



were a l s o more l i k e l y t o b e accused o f i n f a n t i c i d e because



they could n o t hide t h e i r actions. McBride, c i t i n g Ren6



Bouton, L I I n f a n t i c i d e , e t u d e morale e t j u r i d i q u e ( P a r i s ,



1897), 171, n o t e s t h a t s e r v a n t s were t h e l a r g e s t o c c u p a t i o n



o f women t o b e accused o f i n f a n t i c i d e .



41. F a i r c h i l d s , c i t i n g La m e n d i c i t e a b o l i e dans l a v i l l e d l A i x



l

p a r 1 ' ~ S p i t a q e n e r a l ou Maison d e c h a r i t e , an undated



pamphlet which s h e d a t e s from t h e l a t e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y ,

42, Ford, 178.



43, Agulhon, Une V i l l e 0 u v r i g r e au temps du s o c i a l i s m e

~aurice



utopique, Toulon de 1815 a 1851 ( p a r i s , t h e Hague, 1970),



99,



44. P i e r r e ~ i e r r a r d , La v i e o u v r i g r e L i l l e sous l e Second



Empire, ( P a r i s , 1 9 6 5 ) , 118-120. Both t h e P i e r r a r d and



Agulhon d e s c r i p t i o n s immediately b r i n g t o mind t h e s i t u a t i o n



i n contemporary L a t i n America, d e s c r i b e d f o r Mexico by



Oscar L e w i s , F i v e F a m i l i e s (New York, 1 9 5 9 ) , f o r Argentina,



by Gin0 Germani, " I n q u i r y i n t o t h e S o c i a l E f f e c t s o f



U r b a n i z a t i o n i n a Working-Class S e c t i o n oE G r e a t e r Buenos



A i r e s , " i n P h i l i p Hauser, ed., Urbanization i n Latin



American (New York, 1 9 6 1 ) , 206-233, f o r Peru i n conversa-



t i o n s w i t h Eleanor Shepherd and James Lang, b o t h o f whom



l i v e d and worked w i t h t h e poor i n t h a t c o u n t r y . Shorter



discusse;' t h e " c u l t u r e of p o v e r t y " argument and allows



t h a t t h e p r o p e r t y l e s s c o n d i t i o n of a g r i c u l t u r a l l a b o r e r s



and c o t t a g e and f a c t o r y workers meant t h e y d i d n o t need



" t o observe s o c i a l r u l e s c a l c u l a t e d t o preserve t h e



c u s t o d i a l f a m i l y i n t a c t through t h e y e a r s . " Nevertheless,



h e concludes by i n s i s t i n g on " p s y c h o l o g i c a l changes,;.



w i t h i n t h e minds o f i n d i v i d u a l workers a s a r e s u l t of



exposure t o marketplace v a l u e s , " " C a p i t a l i s m , C u l t u r e and



S e x u a l i t y , " 345-348; 354; 355,



45. E d i t h Thomas, L e s P e t r o l e u s e s ( P a r i s , 1 9 6 3 ) , 20-23; Richard



Cobb, "The Women of t h e Commune," i n Second I d e n t i t y .



Essays on France and French H i s t o r y (London, 1 9 6 9 ) , 231.

Parent-Duchatelet's f i g u r e s on p r o s t i t u t i o n i n P a r i s



confirm t h i s p o i n t . He a l s o n o t e s t h a t common-law



m a r r i a g e was common among t h e P a r i s i a n working-class,



Vol. I , 107.



46. A p e r s o n a l l e t t e r d a t e d December 10, 1973 from Robert



Wheaton t o C h a r l e s T i l l y s t a t i n g a s i m i l a r argument came



t o o u r a t t e n t i o n s e v e r a l days a f t e r t h i s paragraph was



written. Shorter himself, "Sexual Revolution and S o c i a l



Change," 257, s e e s t h e l a c k o f p r o p e r t y a s c r u c i a l :



" [ p o p u l a t i o n growth] d e c a p i t a t e d t h e a u t h o r i t y of t h e family



by c r e a t i n g s o many c h i l d r e n t h a t p a r e n t s had n o t h i n g t o



p a s s on t o t h e i r extra-numerous o f f s p r i n g and hence no



c o n t r o l over t h e i r behavior."



47, S h o r t e r , "Sexual Revolution and S o c i a l Change," 253-255.



Here S h o r t e r r e c o g n i z e s t h e v a r i a b l e i n c i d e n c e of m a r r i a g e



a s an i m p o r t a n t p o t e n t i a l s o u r c e of i l l e g i t i m a c y . See



a l s o John Knodel, "Law, Marriage and I l l e g i t i m a c y i n Nine-



S

teenth-Century Germany," ~ o p u l a t i o n t u d i e s , 20 (1966-1967),



279-294. For t h e i n f l u e n c e of t h e o l d and new Poor Laws



on m a r r i a g e and i l l e g i t i m a c y , s e e U. R. Q. Henriques, "Bastardy



and t h e N w Poor Law," P a s t and P r e s e n t , 37 ( 1 9 6 7 ) , 103-129.

e



48. Regine Pernoud, "La v i e d e f a m i l l e du Moyen Age 2 l l A n c i e n



Regime," i n Robert P r i g e n t , ed., Renouveau des i d k e s s u r



l a f a m i l l e , ( p a r i s , 1 9 5 4 ) , 29.



49. E. P. Thompson, "The Moral Economy of t h e E n g l i s h Crowd i n



t h e E i g h t e e n t h Century, " P a s t and P r e s e n t , 50 ( 1 9 7 1 ) ,



76-136.

50. S h o r t e r , " C a p i t a l i s m , C u l t u r e and S e x u a l i t y , " 342; "Sexual



Change and I l l e g i t i m a c y , " 247. S h o r t e r , Knodel and Van de



Walle, 390, acknowledge t h a t c i t i e s were t h e p l a c e i n



which i l l e g i t i m a t e f e r t i l i t y f i r s t r o s e , t h u s a s s i g n i n g



some c a u s a l r o l e t o r u r a l - u r b a n m i g r a t i o n .



51. S h o r t e r , " C a p i t a l i s m , C u l t u r e and S e x u a l i t y , " 3 4 2 ; . E . A.



York, 1 9 6 9 ) , 151-156 f f

Wrigley, ~ o p u l a t i o nand H i s t o r y ( ~ e w



e x p l o r e s e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y p o p u l a t i o n growth and some of



i t s s o c i a l concom&ttants. Shorter accepts t h e i n i t i a l



importance o f p o p u l a t i o n growth i n "Sexual Change and



~ l l e g i t i m a c y , " 249, a s w e l l a s t h e c o n n e c t i o n of m i g r a t i o n



and i n c r e a s e d i l l e g i t i m a c y and t h e end o f t h e l i n k a g e o f



m a r r i a g e and p r o p e r t y s e t t l e m e n t .



52. On improvident m a r r i a g e s , s e e Henriques, 111-112. e

The N w



Poor Law, Henriques shows, s h i f t e d t h e onus o f i l l e g i t i m a c y



from p u t a t i v e f a t h e r t o mother i n hopes o f r e d u c i n g i l l e g i t -



imacy and ending improvident m a r r i a g e s , "even i f it d e p r i v e d



t h e c u r r e n t g e n e r a t i o n of g i r l s o f b e i n g made ' h o n e s t women'



and t h e c u r r e n t g e n e r a t i o n o f c h i l d r e n o f a home." Braun,



59, a l s o d i s c u s s e , ~ ~

what contemporaries c a l l e d "beggar



weddings" i n t h e Z u r i c h h i n t e r l a n d . Cf. M a t t i Sarmela,



R e c i p r o c i t y Systems of t h e R u r a l S o c i e t y i n t h e F i n n i s h -



C

~ a r e l i a n u l t u r e Area w i t h S p e c i a l Reference t o S o c i a l



I n t e r c o u r s e o f t h e Youth ( ~ e l s i n k i ,1 9 6 9 ) , a r e f e r e n c e



provided t o u s by S h o r t e r . Sarmela, 57, shows t h a t a



1739 Swedish law a p p l i e d t o F i n l a n d t r i e d t o c o n t r o l t h e



economic freedom o f l a n d l e s s p e o p l e (1739) w h i l e a n o t h e r

..

1:

law (1734) e s t a b l i s h e d m a r r i a g e a s w e l l a s b e t r o t h a l a s



t h e o f f i c i a l b i n d i n g r i t e , 86. The temporal c o i n c i d e n c e



o f t h e s e two laws i s i n s t r u c t i v e and, i n f a c t , f i t s o u r



model.

53, The i n v e s t i g a t o r s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e Roussel committee



of t h e French N a t i o n a l Assembly i n 1874 r e p o r t e d t h a t



women who worked o u t s i d e t h e home w e r e t h o s e who most



o f t e n r e s o r t e d t o t h e u s e of wet-nurses. I n a r e a s where



women p r a c t i c e d domestic i n d u s t r y , on t h e o t h e r hand,



c h i l d r e n were n u r s e d a t home and i n f a n t m o r t a l i t y was a l s o



lower. During t h e 1 8 4 0 ' s and 5 0 ' s i n France, t h e p e r i o d

. ,'





,- of expansion o f women's work i n u n s k i l l e d garment t r a d e s



i n c i t i e s , t h e wet-nurse " i n d u s t r y " boomed. Reformers



s o u g h t t o s t o p t h e p r a c t i c e by f i n d i n g a l t e r n a t i v e s t o



poor women working o u t s i d e t h e home, o r by i n s i s t i n g t h a t



child-care f a c i l i t i e s b e a v a i l a b l e n e a r where mothers



worked. I n 1837-38 it was s u g g e s t e d , f o r example, t h a t



t h e a g e n c i e s which p l a c e d c h i l d r e n w i t h wet-nurses b e t r a n s -



formed i n t o a g e n c i e s t o d i s t r i b u t e a i d t o poor f a m i l i e s .



F i n a n c i a l a i d would make it p o s s i b l e t o b r i n g a n u r s e i n t o



t h e home o r , b e t t e r s t i l l , t o k e e p t h e mother a t home w i t h



her child. A b i l l i n v o l v i n g t h i s was i n t r o d u c e d i n 1842



and a g a i n i n 1866, b u t never became law. The Loi Roussel



of 1874 a t t e m p t e d o n l y t o r e g u l a t e wet-nursing e s t a b l i s h -



ments. Annales de l'Assembl&e N a t i o n a l e , T. X X X I I , 5 juin



- 7 juillet, 1874, Annexe No. 2446 ( P a r i s , 1 8 7 4 ) , annexe,



48-133. See e s p e c i a l l y pages 54, 59, 74, 84-5 (which

p o i n t s o u t t h a t i n f a n t m o r t a l i t y is h i g h e s t i n regions



w i t h l a r g e c i t i e s i n p a r t b e c a u s e of t h e l a r g e numbers



of working m o t h e r s ) , 98, 119-120.



54. John Knodel, "Two and a Half C e n t u r i e s of Demographic



H i s t o r y i n a Bavarian V i l l a g e , " P o p u l a t i o n S t u d i e s , 24



( 1 9 7 0 ) , 353-376.



55. J. A. Banks, P r o s p e r i t y and Parenthood: A Study o f Family



P l a n n i n q among t h e V i c t o r i a n Middle C l a s s e s (London, 1954).



See a l s o , C h a r l e s T i l l y , " P o p u l a t i o n and Pedagogy i n



France, " H i s t o r y o f Education Q u a r t e r l y (Summer, 1973),



113-128.



56. S h o r t e r , Knodel and Van de Walle, 393.



57. See t h e h i s t o r i c a l t a b l e s on l a b o r f o r c e composition f o r



France, England, Germany and I t a l y i n T. Deldycke, e t a l ,



La P o p u l a t i o n a c t i v e e t s a s t r u c t u r e f o r t h e p r o p o r t i o n a t e



d e c l i n e i n domestic s e r v i c e a s a woman's occupation.



58. e

W wish t o thank Kathryn Kish S k l a r f o r communicating h e r



l e t t e r ( w r i t t e n j o i n t l y w i t h E l l e n Dubois) t o us i n ad-



vance of i t s p u b l i c a t i o n i n t h e American H i s t o r i c a l Review.



e

W a l s o have d i s c u s s e d o u r argument w i t h and r e c e i v e d



h e l p f u l c r i t i c i s m from C h a r l e s T i l l y , Michael Hannigan,



Lawrence Stone and P e t e r L a s l e t t .