Tag Archives: divorce

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Little People

“Little People” discusses the evolution of not only what it means to be a child, but also the evolution of family life in general. The article gives examples of how a so called “childhood” differs from different generations. Starting in the middle ages, the article discusses how a childhood was seen as working on a farm, to eventually being married off before one turns a teenager. Kids would be sent off from their homes for years at a time to work for someone else only to return home for a little before being married and moving out once again. Then their is a jump in the way children were treated during the 18th century. During this time a large amount of illegitimate babies, and at times these babies would be either killed or abandoned by the woman who gave birth to them. This dramatic shift continues during the late 19th century and 20th century as children were used more as workers in factories to help support their families. Today children are not expected to serve as workers for their families, but are still controlled in a way by their families as they are forced to go off to school to get an education. Even though the lifestyle of children has changed over the centuries, their freedom has not. They’re  fates are tied to that of their parents and it has been the same since the beginning of this whole “childhood” society. 

Not only has the evolution of childhood changed, but so has divorce. Their was a time back was divorce was not even seen as an option to men or women. Then when it became an option it was only granted under extremely drastic measures. Nowadays, divorce is a part of our society, people now don’t even get shocked when they hear that someone is divorced or getting a divorce because it has become something we have accepted into our culture. 

Childhood and divorce will continue to evolve over time and in centuries from now they will look back at how children’s lives were during our time and how divorce was as well. 

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Jackson’s Blog on “Little People”

This article goes to great lengths to compare the theories and research of several major sociologists and anthropologists on when we started treating children like children.  At one point they were viewed as mini-adults with responsibilities and roles to play.  Then they became “innocent, fragile, and temptable” beings (Joan Acocella, Little People) who needed protection and guidance.  One might ask- what sparked this transition from independent being, to practically helpless individual?  The author suggests that in reality kids have always been kids.  Society and it’s flaws have determined whether or not they had the freedom to act like children.  Infant mortality, poverty, illegitimacy, religion, even marriage norms all contributed to the quality of life of children throughout history.

I found that I appreciated the author’s perspective and sense of irony when he wrote “while disposing of your child was easy, getting rid of your spouse was next to impossible.” (Joan Acocella, Little People).  After all, what did it matter if one author believed children were too coddled and another disagreed.  Societal factors such as; poverty, fear of social stigma, and religious constraints caused women to abandon or dispose permanently of their children.  And that was okay.  Yet, marriage was to be endured regardless of abuse, infidelity or incompatibility.

Joan Acocella makes sure that the reader not only remembers the continuity or sentimentalist theory, but that historical factors determined the lifestyle of children.