With responsibility always comes respect, and there is a permanent and direct relationship with the amount a person works and the amount their worth. Women established their respect by overtaking the responsibility of the chores that needed to be done around the house. Society soon saw that women "were also a key component in running and maintaining the household," and with their role established their worth was as well (Ulrich 32). In the book "Good Wives" by Ulrich we are able to see the role society created for women. In the nineteenth century, as the move west is becoming a growing trend, a women's space and role is badly threatened and turned upside down. This temporary threat to women's traditional role can be read about in Shlissel's, "Families in Transit." Women became accustomed to the role and personal space they had established, when this role and space is threatened by change the consequences can include loss of privacy, more work, anxiety, and isolation.
Before the move westward to Oregon and California, women had already established the role of the housewife. Their job included the "roles of housekeeper, mother, and wife" (Ulrich 33). Women were proven to be an essential part of society then, as they are today. After the move westward for a different life, families encountered shifts in boundaries between husband and wife. Life on the trail was different from living in rural towns. These changes expanded and threatened women's traditional role and typical space. Since "work roles were blurred on the frontier," many women were placed with greater responsibility and greater anxiety (Shlissel 85). "The depressing necessity of having to do men's chores," gave women more work and more stress (Shlissel 78). These chores ranged from driving a team of oxen to becoming actual cowgirl and lumberwomen. All of these chores were placed on top of a woman's existing responsibilities, which included cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children.
