Solitary women and family mediations in america and french textiles cities : Manchester and Roubaix

摘要

Patterns of women's position in households around 1900 in two industrial textile cities, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA and Roubaix, France are compared by analysis of nominal census records. Occupation and national origin are examined in relation to household position over life cycle. For the great majority of women in both cities, the customary residential pattern was that of a familial or surrogate familial setting. Nevertheless, there were proportionately more women living alone or as heads of their own households in Roubaix than in Manchester. Transition into the labor force by native born women was not generally accompanied by departure from parents' households, but there were different patterns of work and residence for young migrant women. These were boarding and lodging in Manchester, servanthood in Roubaix. The latter pattern was connected with proportionately more solitary women in older age groups. In both cities, the most common form of woman-headed household was that of older women who lived with their unmarried children. The familial stratégies which enabled older women to continue headship of their households also prevented young women from living alone. It was older women who were most likely to live alone when thèse stratégies failed.