“Master of the House”?

This chapter examines the underlying tension in relationships predicated on the gendered distribution of cultural power by focusing on the actions of artisans' wives. Implicit in the concept of the hierarchical household was a corresponding set of cultural expectations for wives, servants, and slaves. Such expectations, articulated most fully for gentlemen's wives but applicable across city households, were rooted in the notion that dependents were obliged to submit to the will of the master of the house and embrace his values without question. By analyzing the experiences of wives, servants, and slaves as they interacted with the propertied white men who defined the terms of their existence, this chapter reveals the many different ways that dependents attained a measure of autonomy in their lives. It also brings to light the vulnerability of New York City's patriarchs to pressure from their dependents.