Women’s History Month: Eleanor Hart
Today’s post for day five of Women’s History Month is another member of the Miami Herald’s women’s pages: columnist Eleanor Ratelle who wrote under the name “Eleanor Hart.”
Eleanor’s papers are at the HistoryMiami Archives. They include several of Eleanor’s scrapbooks with entries from “A Column With Heart.” The advice column ran in the women’s section of the Miami Herald in the 1950s and 1960s.
One of her most direct address to gender roles was in relation to an October 5, 1966 from reader, C.M.R. He identified himself as the husband of a stay-at-home wife with six children. He wrote:
“I read the series by Lois Benjamin about the so-called ‘working mother’ I say that because the mother who really works is the one who stays at home and cares for the needs of her children and her husband. The mother who seeks employment outside of the home, unless her husband is physically or mentally unavailable to work, should have the title of mother denied her. Perhaps these are harsh words. Yet, can’t a great proportion of the ills plaguing our society be attributed to the breakdown in family life?”
He went on to write: “She’s just lazy. Isn’t it easier going to an air-conditioned office or store than doing housework, attending to the needs and wants of her children?”
Hart’s immediate response was: “When you hit, you hit hard, don’t you? The “good old days” when only spinsters and widows went to work are gone forever, and not likely to return. More than 2.5 million women whose children are under six are in the labor force, according to the National Manpower Council. And that a lot of “chain-smoking frustrated females!” She goes on to cite a sociologist from Washington State College who noted that a working mother might strength the family.
Hart – the mother of two children – concluded in bold: “The working mother lazy? She works doubly hard because she has two jobs instead of one. Hew of her ilk spend lavish amounts on maid service, gold-plated lunches and fancy clothing. Her biggest money expenditure is competent day care.”
Lance and I presented a paper about Eleanor’s columns last fall.
