Symbolism, moral ambiguity, or attitudes toward women in American literature from the period 1776-1860During this period, attitudes toward women gradually exchange. For quite a long period of time, the important role played by women was ignored. In society, they were considered the weaker sex. Women were easily associated with roles such as caring for the family, procreating and raising children. It was considered their natural job. As a result, morality was largely based on gender differences and responsibilities to others, instead of focusing on the cultivation of individual symbols, values, and ideas. Materialism has been widely used to construct gender aspects. Isecke (33) notes that materialism was widely invoked, hence the neglect of the important cultural system. As my essay shows, society helped to challenge this norm by elevating the status of women, whereby they were considered an important figure in society and had the same rights as a man. According to Buckley (35), a woman's life was largely based on the moral, sacred, and emotional spheres of life, which primarily included religious ties and family affairs. During this period, there was an increase in the female population in the church. To some extent their growing numbers in the Church even exceeded those of men. The role of women was therefore considered to be that of disseminating both moral and religious values. By becoming involved in Church activities, women can now feature in the public sphere of life. Women were also considered to have very little value in economic matters. It was thought that they would serve better as mother figures to their children. They had to serve... middle of paper ...... so they have the right to marry. At the end of the revolution, the need to modify the right to child custody arose. The courts were more than willing to abandon the original laws that required men to take custody of their children in the event of a custody dispute. With the new laws, women gained the right to care for their young daughters, but not their sons (Buckley 101). . This act clearly indicated the moral influence that a woman had at home, while the domination of the man was exercised in the political and commercial domain. There is a clear differentiation between gender-based ideologies. Isecke notes that women widely applied the concept of moral motherhood in order to benefit from social justice in the years that followed. This marks a new stage in the way women are perceived in society. Greater attention was paid to them and their influence on society was widely appreciated..