Miriam Grace Monfredo's "Seneca Fall Inheritance" and women's rights

Seneca Fall Inheritance

Seneca Falls Inheritance

Seneca Falls Inheritance is a book written by Miriam Grace Monfredo and the entire story happens in Seneca Falls in New York in 1848. It is a historical novel based on the Seneca Falls Convention that took place in 1848. The Seneca Falls COnvention was one of the first woman's rights convention that was organized by a group of women in New York to fight against the discrimination and restrictions imposed on them by the society. During this period, women were not allowed to do a lot of things like inherit property or to even work. Only a few jobs were open to women and even here, they were paid way less than men for the same amount of time and effort. To fight against these discrimination, some women came together and started a movement.

In response to this petition, the New York Assembly passed the Married Woman's Property Act on April 7, 1848. After the passage of this act, women had the right to inherit property and enjoy it during their marriage. This was a significant act because it was the first of its kind that gave women some measure of empowerment.

During the course of these protests, many women gave speech to encourage others. One such woman was Elizabeth Cady Stanton who spoke to the women in Seneca Falls about temperance and this character is skilfully woven into the novel by Monfredo. Also, in this novel, the author brings historically accurate information that are not very well-known and weaves it into an intriguing plot.

The Plot

The protagonist in this story is Glynis Tryon, the librarian of Seneca Falls. She is a charming, single, open-minded and outspoken lady who believes that she has a bigger role than merely being a wife and raising children. Just around the woman's convention, this town was shocked by the death of the rich and wealthy Friedrich Steicher and his wife. When Tryon was busy cataloging some of the books that Steicher gave to the Seneca Falls library, a woman by the name Rose Walker appeared. She said was a friend of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a friend of Tryon's mother.

Soon, Tryon hears about the news of the murder of Rose Walker and then also hears the shocking news that she is the illegitimate daughter of Friedrich Steicher. Within a few days, her husband, Gordon Walker arrives in the city and sues the Steicher estate for his wife's share. This irks Karl Steicher, the only heir of the Steicher estate and Tryon, along with, Jacques Sundown gets to the bottom of the murder.

Implications of this book on the society

This book by Monfredo is one of the first books of its kind to have a strong female voice. Through this book, the author explains the plight of women during this period and the amount of suffering they had to go through because of the restrictions imposed on them by the society. It shows the amount of household chores, child bearing and the sexual abuse that women had to go through and this is the reason, Tryon chooses to remain unmarried. Monfredo shows how the society and her family shunned her because Tryon chose to study and develop her intellectual abilities rather than be a married lady and raise kids. Through this book, Tryon also insists that during this period, many women chose to remain like Tryon because of the cruelties that came with married life.

Another important aspect of the book is the way Monfredo chose to combine historical characters such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton into the novel. At the end of the book, she has given a note that talks about the importance of Stanton and other women leaders in the movement.

In short, it is one of the most historically-accurate book that depicts the daily life of women in America during the nineteenth century and the impact of the first woman's right legislation, namely, the Married Woman's Property Act in 1848.