Lyddie: Chapter 16 - Fever

1825-1850 Annis Curtis’s Pieced Quilt.

National Museum of American History. Public domain.

Lyddie reluctantly withdraws money from her bank account to pay Mrs. Bedlow for Rachel’s housing. She also buys Rachel new clothes and a few books. The next day at the mill, Brigid is working slower than usual, and Lyddie loses her patience. Brigid tells Lyddie that she can’t focus because her mother is very sick. Lyddie takes all the change she has in her pocket and thrusts it at Brigid, telling her to get a doctor. With her mother taken care of and her mind at ease, Brigid gradually learns to keep up with the speed of the machines without Lyddie’s help.

One evening at the end of the work day, the overseer stops Lyddie on her way out. When he begins making unwanted advances towards Lyddie, she struggles to free herself, then finally raises her boot and stomps down hard on his foot. He lets her go and she runs back to her boardinghouse. For days after that, Lyddie is bedridden with a terrible fever and is in and out of consciousness. She wakes one morning, unsure how long she’s been sick. Though weak and exhausted, Lyddie has survived the fever.

Fact Check: Male Overseers

Did male overseers use their position to take advantage of their female workers?

What do we know?

There are some recorded instances of overseers acting inappropriately toward their female workers. It is possible that many cases were unreported because workers feared losing their jobs and/or being blamed for the overseers’ actions.

What is the evidence?

Primary Source:

“I am glad Lydia has made up her mind to go and earn her own living but I am sorry very sorry … that she has gone to work for Mr. H for he is one of the greatest villains I ever got acquainted with without exceptions. I Summered & Wintered there before I even dreamed of his character which proved to be to seduce [lead astray] every innocent girl that was in his power…”
Bixby, Eliza. “Dear Brother.” March 3, 1852. Lowell National Historical Park

Lowell National Historical Park

Primary Source:

“He was an overseer in the room where I worked, and I had noticed his familiar manner with some of the girls, who did not like it any better than I did; and one day, when his behavior was unusually offensive, I determined to speak to him about it.”

Robinson, Harriet Hanson, Loom & Spindle, Kailua: Press Pacifica, 1898.

Secondary Source:

“…on the job they could be, and they were, harassed by supervisors. Men would walk up behind them in the shop, rub up against them, do the kind of thing one could imagine. And women needed this work, and so there was always the threat of being fired. There was no union, no protections, and so if you didn't behave the way the boss wanted you to behave, that was a possibility. So lots of times, older women workers, workers who were maybe older in the sense of, like, 20, would take 14 and 15 year -olds under their wing and watch out for them and make sure that they weren't harassed, cornered in the stairwell or something like that”

“…most of the young women who come to the city of Lowell are sending money back to help pay for the farm. They may be paying so their brother can go to school, health problems at home, whatever it might be, and so the money is extremely important and that does put young women in the mills at risk. They don't want to lose their job, and so it puts them in a distinct compromised position.”

Howard, Barbara and Robert Forrant. “UMass-Lowell Historian on Sexual Harassment in the Lowell Mills.” WGBH News, October 25, 2017
https://www.wgbh.org/news/2017/10/25/local-news/umass-lowell-historian-sexual-harassment-lowell-mills

Voices from the Field

"Moral Turpitude" by Dr. Robert Forrant, Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and author of Empty Mills, No Jobs, Zombie Cities.

Photos & Multimedia

Being in the city, Lyddie had a lot of stores readily available to get Rachel everything she needed. Lowell City Directory, 1845. Store advertisements. Center for Lowell History

Millinery store advertisement, Lowell City Directory. Lowell National Historical Park.

See it yourself

Visit the working weave room at Lowell National Historical Park

www.nps.gov/lowe

Writing Prompts

Opinion

Lyddie was very sick when Mr. Marsden approached her after work. How do you think she might have handled the situation differently if she hadn’t been sick? Use evidence of Lyddie’s personality from the book.

Informative/explanatory

Explain Lyddie’s attitude as she withdrew money to pay for Rachel’s rent at the boardinghouse and to purchase what she needed. Use information from the chapter.

Narrative

We know very little about Brigid from the description in the book. Write a character sketch including details about her age, what she looked like, and how she might have felt during her first days of work in the weave room. You may want to include details about what she might have heard, smelled, touched, and seen. Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details.