Being a woman has never been an easy task. There have always been stereotypes surrounding the place of women in society. They have been expected to maintain the household and everyone in it. While this could be seen as a simple task it is not. Taking care of the household means endless work to make sure everyone and everything is in order. A man’s job ends when they get home at night, but a woman’s job never ends. Women never seemed to get any recognition since they are always supposed to be doing the household work. The only way a woman would get any attention would be by acting up and getting in trouble. Social mobility has always been a challenge for women regardless of any other variables.
In “Escaping Salem” by Richard Godbeer there is an assault on women by a woman because of the need of attention . Women in this puritan colony were supposed to stay at home and work. Children were also sent out to be servants. Families sent their children to be servants because they needed more income, or they wanted their child’s bad behavior to be sorted out. In Katherine’s situation she was an orphan, so she became a servant for the Wescot family . Katherine was struck one day by fits where she claimed to be in great amounts of pain. While logically they could be explained through science this was not the first turn to at the time. Illness was considered, but they eventually landed at the conclusion that she was bewitched . Whether she was bewitched or not there was a lot of skepticism in the town. There were tests that people tried to do to prove if she was or not. People wanted to know if it was true because the supernatural was intertwined in their religious beliefs. If the supernatural was involved it would be the talk of the town. This knowledge being apparent could have led to Katherine claiming she was bewitched. Seeing the Wescot’s daughter having similar fits a bit before could have sparked her want to copy . She says how much attention they gave their daughter when she went through that, so she assumed if she did the same thing that she would get the same attention. Katherine kept the people questioning because she would never let them do the tests on her except for one time where they held a sword over her head. If she laughed it would mean that she was bewitched and if she didn’t it means that she was lying. Originally, she laughed when it was over her head, but then when it was out of her sight she did not laugh . Proving and raising more skepticism about her bewitchment. She continued this act and even went as far as to accuse some women of tormenting her. She accused a few women. Some of which were easily accusable and some of which weren’t. Women like Goody Miller got away before she could be taken into custody. She fled and was protected by her brothers, but other women didn’t have support systems that would protect them . The women that were easily accused were ones that were widowed, had no kids, were older, and were known to not be so nice. For instance, Goody Clawson had previous altercations with the Wescots . She was also older with no family. She was not the nicest women and people knew it. Katherine chooses people whom she knew were vulnerable and wouldn’t have protection. She knew that if she accused a woman who wasn't well rounded that everyone would agree because they wouldn't fit the norms for women. When a woman stepped out of the gender norms of the community people don't like that, so they look for anything that could get her in trouble to put her back in her place. Katherine was not a stupid girl to pull this off. She was very smart about what she was doing. She knew that the only way she would be able to have any social mobility would be by getting married, but this was not an option for her. She was an orphaned servant, therefore there was no man who would be able to raise her from that. She knew that the way to get any attention would be to say she was bewitched. Receiving any attention was better than her life of just being a servant with no hope of escaping to have her own life.
In “Never Caught” by Erica Armstrong Dunbar the strength of women is challenged . Some female slaves were chosen from the field slaves to become a house servant. Being a house slave was very hard and especially for Ona because she wasn’t even an adult yet. They worked all the time with little to no breaks. This changed when they moved to Cherry St. She was able to see the freedom that was in the city around her, but for women, it was never easy to go get their freedom. While run-aways were common most of them were male. Women usually had to bring their kids with them if they wanted to run away and that would be very hard . For Ona though, it would not be ad hard because she had no kids. She did have family back in Mount Vernon, but it was either her family or her freedom . Since her time on Cherry St, Ona wanted to be free, but it was always too risky. When the capital moved to Philadelphia Ona’s chances at freedom increased. She was able to go out and speak to the free blacks that lived in the city. She would be able to find people to help her with her plan of escaping. Local communities would offer to help Ona . What drew the last straw that sealed Ona’s fate at running away was that she was to be given away. She was going to be given as a wedding gift to Mrs. Washington’s granddaughter. This terrified Ona because she was afraid of what her new master would be like. She already knew how her Mistress would be, but she was scared like all female slaves about sexual advances her new master might try to make on her . While having Washington as a master she could become comfortable that he wouldn't make any sexual advances towards her, but with the move, she would worry about her new master and if he'd make any sexual advances. Opposed to male slaves female slaves constantly worried about sexual advances made by their masters. After her escape, she had to be cautious when traveling alone since women were usually chaperoned wherever they went . Ona knew that she would have to get freedom for herself because she would not be able to get it any other way. She was smart because she knew that no one would question if she would run away or not. The Washington’s had given her a good life and she was a woman, so the thought of her running away was never even a thought. Ona wanted a life outside of slavery. Other than Ona other women like her mother were still searching for ways out of slavery. Her mother had a few children with a white servant. Hoping that when he was able to leave he’d come back for her and their kids, but he never did . Her sister searched for a way out too. Eventually, her husband was freed and then was able to buy her out of slavery . Slavery is for life, so there was never a hope for a future. Ona had to run away to reclaim her future.
Women in both of these books wanted to move their place in society. For Katherine, her path was already set in servitude to the Wescots. She had no hope of getting out of her situation, so she created a rise out of her town. She wanted people to care about her for once because no one was going to. She was just a servant and wanted attention. In this time period, children were expected to grow up fast, so it makes sense that she wanted the attention. She didn't get to have a real childhood and she most likely realized that this would be the rest of her life. She wanted attention and she went as far as to accuse other women of witchcraft to get that attention. In Ona's case, she knew that slavery would be her whole life. During that time a person was a slave for their whole life. Unless granted freedom in the north or being able to escape successfully. There was no promise of freedom. Being lucky enough to go with the Washingtons to New York and Pennsylvania showed Ona the kind of freedom she had never even dreamed about. Having that freedom be so close yet so far was a tease to her. She needed to have it even if the odds weren't in her favor. She took her chance and it worked out. Both knew that there were no chances of them having any social mobility. The differences were that Ona went out and took her own freedom while Katherine tried to get the attention on her for once instead of trying to gain any mobility.
Women of any background can attest to the lack of social mobility they can have when starting from the bottom. Both Katherine and Ona started from the bottom. Ona rose while Katherine rose and then dropped back down. Social norms in society create boundaries for women that prohibit them from ever moving through classes. If Katherine weren’t a servant she would have been able to marry a man and moved up her social class. If slavery had never existed Ona would not have gone through all her struggles just to be able to be free, get married, and have children. Gender plays a huge role in both of these cases. Katherine was just a servant girl, but as soon as she mentioned witchcraft the whole town flipped upside down. People are quick to believe that women are guilty rather than men. If Katherine would have accused a man it would have been very different. In Ona's case, the fact that she was a woman who escapes from the president of the United States is amazing. Even though women were usually the ones who didn't try to escape she still knew what she wanted. She wanted her freedom and even though she would have to escape and then survive afterward she did it. She knew that she would have to work extra hard then when she worked for the washingtons, but she still did it because she knew she wanted her freedom more than easier work. Ona showed that she could be a strong woman in her triumphs to freedom. Women have always had to rely on men to move their class, but with Katherine and Ona, they were able to move their classes.