Strangers in the Family: Work, Gender, and the Origins of Old Age Homes

Abstract

Through an examination of nineteenth-century familial correspondence and the records of various Protestant charitable organizations in Quebec City and Montreal, this article explores the changing culture of family care during illness and old age. It posits a new interpretation for the foundation of asylums for women that emphasizes changing perceptions of the family, especially the attitudes regarding the care of servants within the household. Furthermore, it argues that the treatment of servants as both caregivers and those in need of medical care is an important yardstick by which to measure the waning of the patriarchal household and the emergence of more explicitly contractual relations between the classes.

From Interdependence to ‘Modern’ Individualism: Families and the Emergence of Liberal Society in Canada

“…39 39 Nancy Christie, “Strangers in the Family.” Here I have argued that old age homes were founded to provide care for servants rather than kin. This in turn shows that the late 19th century marked a transition away from older views of family governance in which apprentices and servants were viewed as under the control and care of the male head of household.…”