|
|
Article: The Work of the Heart: Young Women and Emotion, 1780-1830.(Book review)
- Article from:
- The Historian
- Article date:
- June 22, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Phi Alpha Theta, History Honor Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
The Work of the Heart: Young Women and Emotion, 1780-1830. By Martha Tomhave Blauvelt. (Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia Press, 2007. Pp. 275. $39.50.)
If diarists are chroniclers of history, then The Work of the Heart is an invaluable study of what the author classifies as "emotion history" (2). Focusing on several diaries, the author presents a compelling sample of white, Protestant young women of means and the challenging "emotion work" contained in their diaries. The result of that "work," as Martha Tomhave Blauvelt notes, is the evolving task of maturing and adapting to society's standards.
Those private, often secret, and even ...