Question

How is middle class female respectability tied to the private sphere? in Iron Jawed Angels film

Answer 1

The film, Iron Jawed Angel, narrates the true stories of the most influential women of during the 1910s, such as Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, Anna Howard Shaw and Carrie Chapman Catt and their journey with the North American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA). While being committed suffragists and feminists they often felt the pull of both “private” and “public” spheres. Women of this time were expected to be caregivers, housekeepers and wives. They were obligated to stay where they were needed, which was in the private sphere. If a woman dared to flirt with the public sphere, they were seen as radical and unfit to participate in the private sphere as well.