Day 4 of the WordCrafter “Sarah” Book Blog Tour

Posted: May 9, 2024 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Book Release, Books, Fiction, Giveaways, Historical Fiction, Western, Women in History, Women's Fiction, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press |16 Comments

It’s Day 4 of the WordCrafter Sarah Book Blog Tour and I’m pleased to welcome you all back to Writing to be Read for my post on ‘Modern Medicine’ & Women’s Suffrage in the American West, and how they played a part in the book. But first, I have something special to offer today. A special thank you for dropping in and following the tour, not available anywhere else. The offer is only available through Sunday and then the PayPal button will be gone, so get your copy now.

‘Modern Medicine’ & Women’s Suffrage in the American West

As Hair of Fire, Sarah had been the acolyte of the Ute Medicine Woman. She earns her keep in Glenwood Springs by using these healing skills, which are gladly accepted by the women of the community, who are tired of being but not so well received by most of the men. They rejected her primitive heathen ways in favor of methods of ‘modern medicine’ practiced by the overpriced and overrated doctor. When I looked at what these “modern” practices consisted of, I had to wonder if the primitive methods were much more inferior.

Female Hysteria

Many of the values in the west had been handed down from the Victorian era, and women were expected to don any number of binding and uncomfortable undergarments to appear prim and proper. Respectable women and soiled doves of the higher classes were forced to wear tight-laced corsets, layers of petticoats and bustles – the former, by their husbands, and the later by their employers. It was house rules at the Old Homestead House brothel in Cripple Creek, Colorado, that ladies weren’t allowed into the parlor and entertainment areas of the house without proper corseted attire.

Corsets were binding, especially when crossed-laced and pulled tight to give the women the hourglass figure that was the trend at the time, cutting off breath, and sometimes even fracturing ribs. Most homes and brothels were furnished with at least one fainting couch, as light-headedness and fainting were common experiences for women of the day.

Men of the day attributed fainting spells and any other female behaviors they didn’t deem appropriate to female hysteria, one of the most common diagnosed illnesses for women through the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Fainting, headaches, backaches, anxiety, depression, infertility, and even a fondness of writing might be attributed to the ‘disorder’ of female hysteria.

There were a variety of treatments which might be prescribed for this malady, which didn’t seem to affect persons of the male gender, but was specific to the fairer sex, including rest and isolation, dietary changes, ‘hysteric hypnosis’, hydrotherapy, pelvic massage, and ‘vibratory massage’.

• The ‘rest cures’ often involved lying immobilized for extended periods of time, isolating the afflicted away from societal view indefinitely.
• The use of ‘hysteric hypnosis’ involved women being placed under hypnosis in search of past traumas as the root of the affliction.
• Cold showers, warm baths, and localized water sprays were utilized in hydrotherapy to reduce nervousness and anxiety, and restore equilibrium.
• ‘Vibratory Massage’ and Pelvic massage were the most common treatments prescribed for the treatment of hysteria. They involved manual or mechanical manipulation of the female pelvic regions, the goal being to relax the subject and release tension. Treatments were performed by male doctors on female patients, so it is not surprising that these were the most commonly prescribed. Perhaps the women probably weren’t complaining about these treatments. They may have been quite pleasant to undergo. But, when their symptoms didn’t seem to decrease with repeated treatments, you would think the men might have had second thoughts.

The Women’s Suffrage Movement

In 1887, the women’s suffrage movement was a ripple which would eventually become a huge wave across the nation, earning women the right to vote and giving them voices that demanded to be heard over time. Most women in the American West at this time were wives and mothers, or lived in their parents’ or relatives’ homes, although there were some, like my characters Lillian and her girls, or Big Nose Kate, who found themselves alone in the world after husbands or parents passed on, or chose to strike out on their own, independent of a man. With few options to make a living, many of these women were prostitutes or madams.

In the story of Sarah, it doesn’t take long for a young girl used to living among the Utes, where the women wore comfortable clothing to necessitate free movement to carry out the day-to-day tasks of tribal living to put ideas in the heads of the women of Glenwood Springs and stir them into action. To find out what happens though, you’ve got to read the book. 😉

References

“Treating Hysteria in the 19^th Century: Methods and Controversies”. 19^th Century Events and Developments. https://19thcentury.us/hysteria-treatment-19th-century/

“The Classification of Hysteria and Related Disorders: Historical and Phenomenal Considerations”. The National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4695775/

Baloh, Robert W. 1 December 2020. “The Golden Age of Histeria”. Spring Link. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-59181-6_3

“Overview: Medicine 1800-1899”. Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/overview-medicine-1800-1899 Cohut, Maria PhD. 13 October 2020. “The Controversy of ‘Female Hysteria’”. Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/the-controversy-of-female-hysteria

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About the Book

Sarah is a young girl trying to make a place for herself in the world.

Sarah is not the young girl stolen away from Delilah anymore. Now she is Hair of Fire, mate of Three Hawks, even as she blossoms into a young woman and tries to make a place for herself among the Ute tribe.

Follow along on her journey to learn who she truly is and where she belongs in this rough, and often hostile frontier.

If you like strong and capable female protagonists, you’ll love Sarah.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/Sarah-Women-in-the-West

About the Author

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That wraps up today’s stop on the WordCrafter Sarah Book Blog Tour. I hope that you enjoyed learning about American frontier life in the 1880s. Join us tomorrow over on Patty’s Worlds, where Patty interviews me and reviews the book.

Don’t forget to leave a comment for an entry in the giveaway and a chance to win a free digital copy of Sarah. You can comment and enter at each stop. If you missed a stop, you can access them all from the links in the Schedule below.

Schedule

Mon. May 6 – “The Soiled Doves of the American West” – Writing to be Read

Tues. May 7 – “Utes in Glenwood Springs & the Legend of Chapita” – Roberta Writes

Wed. May 8 – Interview & Reading – Book Places

Thurs. May 9 – “‘Modern Medicine’ in the American West” – Writing to be Read

Fri. May 10 – Interview & Review  – Patty’s Worlds

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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!

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