As far as cooking family meals......... A woman had to be like an army general to organize food supply and cooking fuels back in the age when there was no refrigeration and no electrical or gas stoves. When was the last time you cooked on a wood stove? :) The whole female side of the family (daughters grandmothers etc) was involved in cooking, laundering, cleaning, vegetable gardening (maybe), birthing, child raising, sewing, darning........ The real domestic side of the woman was there by economic necessity.
The simple division of labor being the man slaving away outside the house and the woman (wife) slaving away inside the house which was her rightfully earned her domain. We still kinda have this division of labor but it was better done in times past. The stooopid primitive Mooozlims have this part right.
I read a book (can’t recall its title) about the life of the typical farm wife back then. When you say she had to be like an army general, you aren’t exaggerating. Every day, making fresh bread was a part of her routine, and she would get up in the wee hours to do it so it could rise. Nowadays, bread-making is a rare venture (I’ve done it once, for the novelty of it).
Laundry day was usually Monday, and it was a dawn-to-nightfall exhausting chore, with breaks in between to make those meals. I think about those women every time I drop clothes into my washer and dryer, take them out and fold them up.
I’ve never cooked on a wood stove, and I can’t say it’s something I want to do. :)
My working just didn’t suit us. A job combined with all my other responsibilities made me tired and crabby, and most nights we just ended up ordering takeout. It wasn’t a good situation. Some nights I would be vacuuming at 11 p.m....my husband wanted to help but I wouldn’t let him.
Then my job wanted me to work even more hours. Husband had already told me to give my notice. They said, “You really don’t have a choice.” I replied, “Actually, I do. Good-bye.”
Things improved greatly after that.