{"product_id":"my-wayward-pardner-or-my-trials-with-josiah-america-the-widow-bump-and-etcetery-partner","title":"My Wayward Pardner; or, My Trials with Josiah, America, the Widow Bump, and Etcetery. [Partner]","description":"xvi, [2], [19]-490, [2] pp. Green cloth, gilt titles and decorations, blind-stamped decorations on front and rear boards, black-and-white frontispiece and illustrations. Marietta Holley's style of writing was often compared both in content and popularity with that of the famous Mark Twain. She used wit and gentle satire to pose questions concerning women's lack of rights in a then male-dominated world. Her fictional spokeswoman Samantha, wife of Josiah Allen, speaks in a rustic dialect to poke fun at all sorts of claims and pretensions. For example, Samantha cannot understand why men are trying so hard to protect women from the effort it takes to walk to the polling booth and slip a piece of paper in a box. She has noticed that these same protective instincts do not apply to churning butter, baking bread, and washing clothes, which she observes take considerably more effort. Samantha Allen challenged the status quo of social and political reality of the times and planted herself squarely on the side of sensible women's rights. She raised questions concerning history's treatment of women and their powerlessness before the law. She insisted that a woman, upon marriage, gave up control of her body, her property, her wages, even her personal possessions. She was not allowed to testify in court, sue, contract, hold title to property, sign papers as a witness, or establish businesses. A wife's will had to be signed by her husband in order to be legal. Husbands, even proven drunkards, had control of children after a divorce and were generally able to secure a divorce on broader grounds than were women.","brand":"American Publishing Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44637415342150,"sku":"2352293","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1232\/9510\/files\/2352293.jpg?v=1771297217","url":"https:\/\/ym-demo.myshopify.com\/products\/my-wayward-pardner-or-my-trials-with-josiah-america-the-widow-bump-and-etcetery-partner","provider":"Yesterday's Muse","version":"1.0","type":"link"}