Final answer:
In the 1890s, women in Louisiana were generally confined to traditional roles with limited rights to property and income. Women's suffrage and economic participation were budding social issues but faced societal resistance, especially in the legal framework influenced by the Napoleonic Code. The women's rights movement made some headway, but racial and class disparities significantly affected women's roles in the workforce and society.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Louisiana in the 1890s, women were still considered to occupy a stereotypical feminine role, primarily confined to domestic spaces and expected to undertake roles such as homemakers and caregivers. The society, influenced heavily by patriarchal values, left women of all classes with few rights to property, income, and political engagement. Upper-class women were discouraged from working outside the home, viewing employment as improper, while poor women might work as domestic workers or in light-industry factory jobs, though these were often looked down upon by the upper echelons of society.
Despite Queen Victoria's powerful presence as a ruler, the Napoleonic Code significantly restricted French women's legal rights, a code that influenced Louisiana law. The women's rights movement of the late 19th century did result in some gains, such as the 1896 law allowing married women to retain their earnings. However, radical tactics for suffrage were not employed in Louisiana as they were in Great Britain and the United States.
Black women, in particular, faced far more stringent societal limitations and were often confined to servant roles, with little entry into the clerical jobs taking hold among white women in the labor market. Additionally, pioneer women in the West, while essential to the family and homestead life, faced harsh physical conditions with limited rights and a high workload. Across the South, gender roles were strictly divided, with women largely relegated to domestic duties, reinforcing their subordinate status within the patriarchal society.