She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
The verse pictures a thoughtful and industrious wife and mother who considers a field and buys it, then plants a vineyard with the fruit of her own hands, producing by her own labor what she has earned. Her practical work and her wise use of her earnings display the dignity that belongs to everyday toil.
The verse defines the true sphere of woman as the practical, skillful management of her household by her own hands. It therefore means it is her right and duty to receive thorough training in every department of domestic labor, in the kitchen and in the garden, taking her regular share of household duties from childhood. That training includes cutting, making, and mending clothing, preparing food in a wholesome and palatable manner, and washing, sweeping, dusting, and doing garden work.
It also includes understanding the human body and the principles of hygiene, diet, dress, labor, and recreation, together with the best methods of treating disease, so she can care for her family in sickness. This useful labor gives her healthful exercise in place of useless amusements and fits her to preside as a queen in her own domain, to guide and instruct her children, to direct servants, and, if need be, to minister with her own hands to the wants of her household. This practical competence is more important than ornamental accomplishments such as painting, fancy work, and music, and without it even a well-educated woman falls below the true sphere of woman and wrecks the happiness of her family.
The verse pictures a thoughtful and industrious wife and mother who considers a field and buys it, then plants a vineyard with the fruit of her own hands, producing by her own labor what she has earned. Her practical work and her wise use of her earnings display the dignity that belongs to everyday toil.
The verse defines the true sphere of woman as the practical, skillful management of her household by her own hands. It therefore means it is her right and duty to receive thorough training in every department of domestic labor, in the kitchen and in the garden, taking her regular share of household duties from childhood. That training includes cutting, making, and mending clothing, preparing food in a wholesome and palatable manner, and washing, sweeping, dusting, and doing garden work.
It also includes understanding the human body and the principles of hygiene, diet, dress, labor, and recreation, together with the best methods of treating disease, so she can care for her family in sickness. This useful labor gives her healthful exercise in place of useless amusements and fits her to preside as a queen in her own domain, to guide and instruct her children, to direct servants, and, if need be, to minister with her own hands to the wants of her household. This practical competence is more important than ornamental accomplishments such as painting, fancy work, and music, and without it even a well-educated woman falls below the true sphere of woman and wrecks the happiness of her family.