Final answer:
A virtuous woman should see her home as a great place of sanctuary and service for God, embodying the principles of the Cult of Domesticity, which aligns with religious devotion and selfless sacrifice, especially during the era of the Second Great Awakening.
Step-by-step explanation:
A virtuous woman should see her home as a great place of sanctuary and service for God. The concept from the Cult of Domesticity suggests that a woman's role within the home is both a religious and social calling. By adhering to the roles of devoted wife and mother, she fulfills a Christian ideal, making her domestic space sacred. The home, thus, becomes a 'haven from the heartless world' for the family, as well as a site for demonstrating Christian virtues such as devotion and selfless sacrifice.
Historians Ellen Carol DuBois and Lynn Dumenil highlight that this vision of 'true womanhood' was heavily influenced by the fervently Protestant context of the Second Great Awakening, adding redemptive power to women's roles within the home. This notion is deeply ingrained in the period's culture, emphasizing that a woman's everyday duties are intertwined with her spiritual obligations. Whether through creating an environment that resembles the tranquility of a Friends' meeting-house or symbolically carrying 'the heavens in her hands,' her contribution is seen as vital to the moral and spiritual fabric of her household.