The Devil Baby at Hull-House by Jane Addams

This essay was initially about the myth of a devil baby in the Hull house, the story then unfolds into a commentary on the lives of immigrant working women and what they have sacrificed for their own children. The author, Jane Addams, was born in Cedarville, IL and graduated from the Rockford college for women. She is a very credible author because she was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace prize. The context written by Addams is that initially she initially dislikes the visitors who come to see the Hull-House to see the rumored devil baby but then she begins to take interest in the stories told by women who come to see the baby, having their own "devil" baby. The author's purpose is to show male’s dominance over the hard working women and the women’s helplessness towards raising their children. This mirrored the role of women during the time period the essay was written. The intended audience is essentially women and those who are mother of children. Addams is able to achieve her purpose through several anecdote's in the story. With this, she tells short narrative stories of the women who come to the Hull-House and their lives. We can see the parallels between male dominance and their stories. I believe that the author doesn't do a good job with achieving her purpose because the essay goes in a lot of different directions, and at times the reader can get lost very easily.

Male Dominance

(http://www.bms.co.in/do-we-live-in-a-male-dominated-society/)

"Each story tells a variation of male dominance over hardworking women, which results in the creation of a devil baby"