What Diantha Did by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman | Published: 1909-1910
What Diantha Did Synopsis
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s first novel, What Diantha Did, was initially published serially in her magazine, The Forerunner, from 1909 to 1910. The novel follows the journey of Diantha Bell, a young woman who bravely leaves her home and fiancé to establish her own housecleaning business. Diantha's resourcefulness leads her to expand her business into a comprehensive enterprise, offering services such as a maid service, cooked food delivery, a restaurant, and even a hotel. What sets Diantha apart is her ability to assign a monetary value to the traditionally unnoticed work of women. By doing so, she not only creates opportunities for the well-being and moral uplift of working girls but also liberates middle-class and leisure-class women from the burdens of conventional domestic chores. Through her professionalized approach to housekeeping, Diantha convincingly demonstrates to her family and community the significant benefits that come with embracing a more modern and efficient way of managing households.
Excerpt from What Diantha Did online book
One may use the Old Man of the Sea,
For a partner or patron,
But helpless and hapless is he
Who is ridden, inextricably,
By a fond old mer-matron.
The Warden house was more impressive in appearance than its neighbors. It had “grounds,” instead of a yard or garden; it had wide pillared porches and “galleries,” showing southern antecedents; moreover, it had a cupola, giving date to the building, and proof of the continuing ambitions of the builders.
About Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Charlotte Perkins Gilman was an American novelist, poet and social reformer who had a major impact on the women’s rights movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She is most well known for her 1898 work, The Yellow Wallpaper, which is considered one of the earliest examples of feminist literature.
Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1860 to two prominent authors – Frederick Beecher Perkins and Mary Fitch Westcott – Charlotte’s interest in writing began at an early age. After her parents divorced when she was young, she experienced financial hardship and was forced to become self-reliant. She did not allow these struggles to stop her from following her passions however; rather they motivated her to fight for equality among the sexes by advocating for women’s rights and suffrage throughout her lifetime. Find out more about Charlotte Perkins Gilman sevenov.com