Phase Three: Trying on an Investigative Lens-- Haldeman

For this phase of the project, I was able to read a letter from Mrs. A.H.H. Addams to her daughter, Sarah Haldeman. The letter was written on December 18th, 1908. It is handwritten by the elderly Mrs. Addams, so it is a little squiggly and hard to decipher. 

While most of the letter focuses an acquaintance who has gotten married, a friend who has died, and general concern for Haldeman's health, there are a couple sentences at the beginning of the letter that concern Haldeman's daughter, Marcet. It seems that Marcet has written Mrs. Addams a letter, which the elderly woman thoroughly enjoyed. She is also very pleased with how intelligent the girl sounds, saying, "It is remarkable in solid conclusion more like a mind of a 40 than tender twenties; you are a wise mother to have let her learnt." 

Based on this statement, it is obvious that Mrs. Addams supports education for women. Because she points out that she sounds like a woman of 40, she's praising the way Marcet wrote her letter (perhaps she used a good vocabulary, relayed intelligent information, sounded wise with the way she shaped the letter... we can't be sure). It is important to notice that she describes the minds of girls in their twenties as "tender." It seems that Marcet is not as invested in silly, frivolous things that other girls her age are typically presumed to be interested in. (Funnily enough, the first time I tried to read the messy handwriting, I thought that Addams said, "You are a wise mother to have let her love"... But clearly that didn't make sense in this context). 

Based on the reason she praises Marcet, it is clear that Addams does not necessarily value or support the idea of educating women only to be good housewives and mothers. She values solid education that will provide women with something other than the ability to clean and change a diaper. 

-Merey