Stratifying by Sex - Response

In her essay “Stratifying by Sex: Understanding the History of Working Women,” Alice Kessler-Harris commentates on the family being a traditional “keystone of social order” (99) and breeding ground of morality. Although I do agree with the author that females have typically held the more celebrated roles in constructing and maintaining the family’s moral code, I feel as though she may have overlooked the function of the father and his contributions to the family’s structure of ethics. I would be intrigued to read Kessler-Harris’ perspective on the father-son connection and the importance the patriarch plays in shaping his son’s moral standpoints. At least in classical literature (The Aeneid comes to mind), it is evident that the son often desires to successfully emulate his father and thus trusts his parent’s guidance unequivocally. Despite the fact that these examples are from an ancient time, I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to state that many young boys today still look to their fathers as moral teachers. My request to Kessler-Harris would thus be to further investigate the contrast between the strength of a father’s ethical influence on his son and the perception of females being the moral nucleus of the family. In my opinion, the implications of this power dynamic could potentially challenge the culturally imposed necessity for women to stay at home and preserve family principles.