Ten Thousand Digital Absurdities: The Power of the Needlework in 19th Century America

On Tuesday May 4th at 7pm, the Natick Historical Society is welcoming Mariah Gruner for a virtual presentation about needlework in 19th century America.

Suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton may have dismissed women’s needlework, declaring the frustration she felt “whenever I have seen any daughters of our grand Republic knitting, tatting, embroidering, or occupied with any of the ten thousand digital absurdities that fill so large a place in the lives of Eve’s daughters.” But many American women found power and meaning in their needlework and even used it to challenge typical assumptions about women’s social place. Join us for a virtual conversation with Mariah Gruner. We’ll discuss the ways that 19th century women used the stitch to change women’s history. We’ll even look at a few examples from the NHS Collections!

Mariah Gruner is a PhD candidate in American Studies at Boston University, where she is currently a dissertation fellow with the Boston University Center for the Humanities. She writes on the political uses of American women’s decorative needlework from 1820-1920 and the ways that craft is gendered and gender is crafted.

This event is FREE and open to the public. Advanced registration is required; you can register online here.