Monday, January 07, 2008

Where are the Mormons?

I'm currently reading (or re-reading, probably) Peggy Pascoe's Relations of Rescue: The Search for Female Moral Authority in the American West. One of her case studies is an industrial training home for plural wives in Salt Lake City.

She describes three images of Mormon women that the Protestant reformers wanted to help, and her categories struck a chord with me:

1. The "wronged first wife," or Barb.
2. The "deluded plural wife," or Nicki.
3. The "besieged young girl," or Margene.

Ok, so she doesn't really use those names.

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interested in borrowing that book, if you are willing to lend it. Or I'll add it to my "read eventually" list, and pick it up at Powells sometime :).

Working on understanding the relationships between Puritan, frontier, and historical European Christian moralities ... plus feminism, utopianism, blah blah blah ... you know, the small questions ;). This book looks like it has a lot to offer.

12:28 AM  
Blogger Courtney said...

unfortunately, it's an interlibrary loan that I had to return, so no borrowing from me. But it's old (1990?) so Powells is bound to have some used copies.

It handles lots of what you mentioned, and tends to not simplify into the "Missionary women were the only chance to save these heathens" or "Missionary women were racist, supremicist jerks who wanted to control their clients," which is refreshing.

the other major coolness, Pascoe is at UO. Go Ducks!

6:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

:)! Yes, the non-simplifying (to me, non-pre-judging) was what I was hoping for. I like analysis that is analysis, not lensed description ;).

OK, onto the list of "eventual Powells" it goes. Thanks :).

11:10 PM  

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