A Useful Woman The Early Life of Jane Addams by Gioia Diliberto

   I have been waiting for enough time to write this review. This book gave me a lot to think about and was so worth the time it took to read it! A Useful Woman is the type of 920 book that makes the genre as good as it is; informational and enjoyable. Gioia Diliberto writes clearly, appreciates the reader's need for context clues and cites well.
   Jane Addams was completely new to me; I knew nothing about her before reading the book and resisted a Wikipedia sneak peek to find out. I'm glad I did. It was fun to meet her as I read the book and, I think, a little less confusing. Jane Addams was a feminist, activist, unionist, charity working liberal. She put her time, money and life where her mouth was and agree or disagree with her she lived her beliefs. Keep in mind that Jane Addams was born in 1860, a different time indeed.
   A little about me. I am almost ardently anti-union, I enjoy spending money on May 1 because it's May Day and have little sympathy for feminism as it is known today. That being said, I also believe there was a time when unions and feminists were necessary and on the right side of the issues more often than the wrong side. Jane Addams' era was one of those times. She provided educated women an opportunity to work and gave educational and vocational opportunities for the poor by running Hull House. She worked hard and dedicated her life to improving the lives of the poor and uneducated in a concrete way. Ms. Addams saw traditional charity as little lasting help and believed that education and vocational instruction were the way to change lives.
   Jane Addams was not perfect, and in fact, was a pacifist (something that goes against my moral grain), but she stuck to her guns. I always appreciate someone who says what they mean and means what they say. Whether I agree or disagree with someone, I respect those who stand by their opinions; it seems that Jane Addams was one of those people.
   Gioia Diliberto emphasizes the "drudgery" of a woman's life in the home as though all women were unhappily confined. It's an obviously feminist perspective, but seemed pretty fair in her assessment of Jane's good and bad characteristics. Jane Addams' perspective that women were morally superior is an expression of the time that seems to still abound today in the argument that there would be fewer wars if women were in charge. Both are arguments that are equally silly then and now.
   One of my favorite things about the book was that Diliberto didn't tell the reader how much money Jane was left and leave it at that. She went on to tell the reader what the money would be worth today; it is something that makes a difference in understanding the context of the time.


Favorite Quotes:

Written by John Addams (Jane Addams' father) in his diary, "Integrity above all else. Am firmly impressed that 'Honesty is the best Policy,' and hope that I may by all means and through all hazards stick to the above Proverb. Let come what may, let me stick to the above."

Written by Jane Addams, "Life's a burden, bear it. Life's a duty, dare it. Life's a thorn crown, wear it. And spurn to be a coward!"

Jane Addams: "If you don't take charge of a child at night you can't feel a scared trembling little hand grow confiding and quiet as soon as it lies within your own."

Ellen Starr, one of Jane's friends: " I love Franscesco better than any child in the world. I would like to own him if I could make enough money to buy his clothes & food...we omit the small circumstance that his parents probably want him. Italians never give up their children."

In response to the district's corrupt alderman, Johnny Powers, who bought off the constituent's: "Indeed, what headway can the notion of civic purity, of honesty of administration make against this big manifestation of human friendliness, this stalking survival of village kindness? The notions of the civic reformer are negative and impotent before it. They give themselves over largely to criticisms of the present state of affairs, to writing and talking of what the future may be, but their goodness is not dramatic, it is not even concrete and human."


Overall Opinion:

What an interesting book. Full of history and contextual references.


Rating:

9


Links to: Hard Call Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them by John McCain with Mark Salter