The work that I am about to discuss is a hidden gem that I found at the Newberry during my Undergraduate Seminar there. I used it as the bases of my research and I believe that the work says a lot about how women were viewed in Early Modern English society. Plus the cookbook located in this book was very long and full of recipes that ranged from duck to pickles. However, I'm pretty sure that the modern day woman would not be to impressed if she was expected to follow the guidelines laid out in this book, I know I wouldn't be.
The title of this book is also a long one, but I will just shorten it to, The Whole Duty of a Woman. The book describes in great detail how a young lady of good morals and prestige should behave in any sort of situation. I find it interesting that an early and more hostile women's self help book would contain a cookbook. I think that it shows historians how women were considered to be the main person who dealt with the preparation of food. Women being the main cooks in a household is an idea that has transcended throughout time and is still seen in today's society. I think that jokes about women's rightful place being in the kitchen are a strong indication of how some aspects of the past can be seen reflected in today's modern society. Although our cookbooks today don't also come with instructions on how to be a good virgin, wife, and widow.
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