Free: Coming of Age at the End of History

by Lea Ypi

In the past, all women had been expected to work. They had been expected to work everywhere. All my friends’ mothers worked. Not one stayed at home. They were up at dawn to clean their houses and prepare their children for school, and then they went on to drive trains, dig for coal, fix electric cables, teach in schools, or nurse in hospitals. Some travelled long hours to reach the offices, farms, or factories in which they were employed. They returned home late and exhausted. They still had to prepare dinner, help the children do their homework, and wash the dishes. They had to cook into the evening, preparing meals for the next day. During the night, they had to nurse their babies or make love to their husbands. Or both. At home, the men rested. They read newspapers and watched television, or they went out to see their friends. Many expected their shirts to be ironed and made sarcastic jokes if their coffee was served a little less than piping hot. If their wives left the house to see their friends too, their husbands had a right to know why.