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Never Done: A History Of American Housework

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This book is a history of American housework, covering common household tasks, related equipment, and the people called on to do the work. The main topics of the book include food production and processing, food preparation and the evolution of cookstoves, home heating and lighting, the spread of domestic gas and electricity services, water supplies and plumbing, laundry, weaving and sewing, taking in paying boarders, maids, the scientific housekeeping movement and the birth of home economics, childcare, and consumption as an avocation. The book is amply illustrated with black and white reproductions of period paintings, drawings, and advertisements. In addition to a bibliographic note for further study, there is a section of source notes at the end of the book citing original materials, as well as an index.

In reading the acknowledgements of Ruth Schwartz Cowan's book "More Work for Mother," I had noted that Strasser was listed there as an undergraduate research assistant of Cowan's. With that in mind, I expected the thesis of this book to be similar to that of Cowan's, especially given the similar titles. However, whereas Cowan's book claimed in an almost contradictory fashion that American women have had to shoulder more and more housework over the last century due to industrialization, Strasser takes the viewpoint that industrialization gradually wore away at the value of the contribution women could add to their households by doing work around house, leading eventually to the necessity of their taking paid work outside the home. Strasser points out that in the pre-industrial period, both men and women worked the land with the goal of being as self-sufficient as possible, but that both men and women engaged in some activities to bring in outside resources or income. For example, some women earned extra income for their families or supported themselves entirely by sewing or doing laundry for others. With the advent of industrialization, these tasks were taken over by machines or factories, and while women were freed from the tasks of having to do their own sewing and laundry by hand, they could also no longer earn an income from sewing or washing clothes for others. At the same time, women became more isolated, since they had been in the habit of doing much of their work, from sewing to laundry, in the company of other women.

Whereas Cowan claimed virtually all middle class American households in the late Nineteenth Century had domestic help and that a family's housework was so heavy that it could not be undertaken by one woman working alone, Strasser points out that by studying census records, we find that the vast majority of families did not have live-in maids. In fact, enormous numbers of households included people unrelated to the family- -boarders, making the mistress of the household a kind of professional housekeeper, who undertook the cooking, cleaning and laundry not only for her family, but also for the boarders. In general, Strasser comes across as relying heavily on her research materials for her claims, while Cowan seems more driven by her political agenda.

Strasser notes that industrialization simplified many household tasks, from cooking to heating, from dress making to laundry. This enabled women to accomplish more in less time, but rather than reap the benefits of having spare time, she cites time use studies that show that following industrialization, women devoted the same amount of time to their housework, but were able and consequently expected to work towards much higher standards. As if this weren't enough, manufacturers also pushed women to fill their spare housework time by increasing their consumption activities, to take on consumption as a new household task alongside cooking, cleaning and childcare. But since virtually every source of income from women's work in the home had dried up by this point, in order to go along with the drive to consume, women needed to take jobs outside the home to supplement the family income. And that's why their work is never done.

A particularly fascinating topic was that of prepared food and its easing of the household task of cooking. Back at the turn of the Twentieth Century, several cooperative housework ventures had been proposed that sought to make the task of food preparation more efficient by having meals cooked in a central kitchen and then delivered rather than each housewife preparing food for her own family. These ventures had generally been started in academic middle and upper class communities, and most, if they got off the ground at all, failed in a year or two. But Strasser points out that the idea of making such household tasks public rather than domestic has actually come to pass, although this fact has not been generally recognized because it has taken an alternative form. Paradoxically, instead of central kitchens catching on as a cooperative housekeeping venture, the success of such kitchens has been in the capitalist world, where mothers and fathers, tired from their long work days at their cash employment, purchase their food ready to eat from fast food establishments, some of which even deliver meals to the front door, just as the early idealists had proposed.

Overall, Strasser's book is quite fascinating. Her arguments are very well supported by her extensive research. While I found certain chapters, such as those describing the history of specific household technology more engaging than others, in general the book is very well written and quite comprehensive.

A dry but thorough history of American housework from the Herculean tasks of colonial days to the consumerist present which ties in broader factors of social trends, economics, and technological advances. Through substantial research and appropriate illustrations, the book documents well the massive, though little noted revolution in the management of the American home over the last 200 years.

The author's interest in the history of American housework traces back to a 1968 undergraduate thesis later expanded to a Ph.D. thesis. She has used as sources old cookbooks, etiquette books, woman's magazines, household manuals, catalogs, and studies by government bureaus, etc. An example of her source material is the series of comprehensive 19th century manuals published over four decades, beginning in 1841, by Catharine Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe's sister, which reveal in each subsequent edition essential changes in technique and expectations. Strasser noted that although it was clear that until recently woman's role was 'in the home', it was not clear what that entailed and how it meshed with broader societal and economic trends such as technology, urban growth, new work opportunities outside the home, etc.

The book's 16 chapters each address a major housework category: food availability and obtention; cooking; providing light and heat; the gradual advent of gas and electricity; water and sanitation; washing; making and mending clothing; home income opportunities like boarding, seamstressing, laundering; use of servants; growth of systemization and the home economics movement; child care; informed consumerism; proliferating appliances; fast food; and the environment of today's working mother.

She notes the colonial household WAS colonial society, serving the functions of home, factory, school, and welfare institution, albeit via Herculean labor and hazardous living conditions, institutions that little by little were usurped by private industry and government. Women spun and wove cloth; made clothing; grew and prepared food for storage and eating; cut wood; hauled water; tended wood fires; made soap, candles, etc.; laboriously laundered clothing ('blue Monday': the worst task by far); and cared for children in their 'spare' moments. Close living and dirt producing heat sources required massive annual spring cleanings. Socially though, families were close, sitting together before the fire (only warm/light part of the house), and neighborly, assisting in chores, sewing circles, laundry day, etc.

The first big break-through product to affect housekeeping was the cast iron stove. Appearing mid-19th century, it was an enormous improvement over the open hearth. Then in the 1890-1929 period, things really began to change as labor saving appliances appeared (especially plumbing, and gas and electric heat and lighting) and households began to consume the products of American industry like prepared foods, ready-made clothes, purchased and delivered energy/fuel, commercial laundries, and finally labor-saving appliances including electric refrigerators, washers and dryers. And with these changes came massive changes in the American economy. Industries consolidated. Advertising became pervasive. Consumption and the consumer mentality ballooned. The bygone social intimacy and value was lost to 'organized' work and 'organized' leisure at an untold societal price in lost civility, family dissolution, etc. But Strasser notes that these losses must be weighed against the better nutrition, health, and female emancipation that have also resulted.

The book is an excellent if scholarly study of a massive though little considered revolution that has affected us all.

I first heard about this book when I attended Evergreen State College. The topic of housework came up as we read "Roll, Jordan Roll" by Eugene Genovese. Some of my classmates wanted to know about housework in its relationship to slavery. And the teacher, Nancy Allen, mentioned that a great book on the subject of housework was "Never Done", by Susan Strasser. Nancy also used the book as a good example of source notes that we might want to learn from in our own course work/research.

Fast forward my life ten or so years. I'm in an English class and reading "O Pioneers!" by Willa Cather. I remember Ms. Strasser's book! So I read it to broaden my understanding of Ms. Cather's novel and of pioneer and womens domestic lives at that time.

I had a romanticised view of life in America; times were simpler and therefore better. Susan's book assisted in effectively yet politely dismissing those flowery notions from my thoughts.

The research required for such a book as this--- clearly labor-intensive, but Ms. Strasser effortlessly writes in a reader-friendly style which doesn't undermine the scholarly nature of this work and its value to Womens Studies.

Great book. Very interesting and intriguing.

I also dreamt life 100 years ago was so much better than today. So simple, so lovely...but Strasser's book blew that theory out of the water.

If you ever wondered what a typical day was like for women and girls at the turn of the last century, you'll love this book.

Well written and extremely interesting.

A fascinating and delightful examination of the history of housework in American history - specifically about the changing role of women as "houseworkers" and consumers. Of the hundreds of books that I had to read for my Masters degree in U.S. history, this work stood out not only as one of the very best (it was a real eye-opener!), but one of the most enjoyable to read. An excellent work of social history and women's history, with a sense of humor to boot! Let's see it back in print soon

I first read Never Done in 1988 as a college student studying women's history. I enjoyed it then, and I enjoyed it again this time as a re-read.

Strasser has the most rare and excellent quality of being able to condense academic research into a genuinely engaging and readable book. I find that she treats the material in an open and balanced way. She looks at the past without nostalgia, but is honest about the price that was paid for advancement. I also like that rather than focusing on the appliances themselves, she tends to focus more on the infrastructure that allowed them to be adopted as agents of change (i.e., electricity, plumbing).

I am not a historian, so I cannot say that I would recommend it for that purpose. However, I would recommend it for the student or for the general armchair type of historian who may want to supplement period reading.

If you've ever wondered, "how things were done before the invention of such and such common household item?" this book has the answers for you. This is a fascinating volume on several levels. It provides a detailed history of basic items most people take for granted, such as the iron, the washing machine, or the stove. For anybody trying to lighten their participation in consumer society, it helps to know how people did common tasks like getting and cooking food, making and cleaning clothes, and so forth in the past.

It also is an enlightening social history about the constructs of the family and its larger place in society. The theme that comes up again in again is the move from a producer-based economy, (i.e. home production) to a consumer-based economy, which focuses on consumption in the home. The most obvious ramifications, particularly in a book about house work, are for women. Especially for modern women sometimes confused about their place in the world, or what they want it to be, the details of what women used to do can inspire some informed deep thinking.

The delightful surprise of the book, however, is that the transition from producer to consumer effects men as well. The family as a whole, both sexes, and kids, used to make things at home and not buy much. In the full realization of the consumer economy at the end of the 20th century, we reached a point of the opposite: men, women and children buying almost all things, and making nearly none at home. This is something we all need to think about. The revelation that separate spheres or the issues of housework apply to everyone, and is not just a "women's issue," is perhaps what takes Strasser's work up to the level of genius.

The contemporary reader will have a new appreciation of modern appliances after reading Susan Strasser's Never Done: A History of American Housework. While history texts often focus on political and economic movements, Never Done looks directly into the American household. Strasser's close inspection of domestic life gives the reader a more intimate view into the American family throughout history, particularly women's roles at home and emerging into the workplace.

From child care to sewing, the illustrated exploration of housework is framed in complete, well rounded chapters. The writing may be heavy but it is not necessarily dry. In her introduction, Strasser comments on the under appreciated value of housework. "In a society where most people distinguish between `life' and `work', women who supervise their own work at home do not seem to be `working.'" The weight of the incorporated facts demands a respect for previous generations of women. The book details how simple tasks today, such as washing laundry or making dinner, formerly required a great deal of strength and time. Imagine, for example, hauling gallons for water to your home from a public pump down the street.

The author carried out a remarkable amount of research, referring to advertisements, literature, etiquette books, scientific studies, and magazines. Some sources include old ads from the Ladies' Home Journal, photographs from the Farm Security Administration and excerpts from Miss Beecher's Housekeeper and Healthkeeper. On a local note, there are regular references to the Manchester textile mills and New England farms.

Never Done is the perfect book for those interested in family heritage, history, gender and/or women's studies. Those seeking an entertaining beach read probably should turn pages elsewhere. However, Strasser's book is a great conversation piece and source of relief when looking toward a pile of dirty dishes.

Review written by Manchester, NH's Literature Examiner:
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