![]() ![]() When the authorities were called, Bowker spun a "dark and wondrous story." The community became divided over the scandal of the decade, rather than unified in the condemnation of yet another unwed mother. Her midwife pronounced it a monster." The story was told by the midwife and confirmed by attendants. "On the sixteenth day of January 1569 she was delivered, not of a child, but of a strange creature that looked for all the world like a skinless, shriveled cat. Agnes Bowker found herself unmarried and pregnant, but instead of suffering the shame of a morally criminal act, Bowker concocted a story that caused a sensation and took the eye of censure off her actions. Stories ranging from medieval times to recent history celebrate women who pushed the social limits of their time. ![]() Controversy erupted over whether it was a proud, feminist motto or a reprimand toward scandalously behaved women.ĭecades later, Ulrich provides both an explanation and a compilation of stories about some of the most courageous, outrageous and generally ill-behaved women in history in "Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History." However, this catchy declaration would quickly take on a life of its own. She had originally used the statement in a discussion regarding sermons written to praise well-behaved Puritan women during the colonial era. ![]() ![]() In an article published in 1976, historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich began with the line, "Well-behaved women seldom make history." This soon became a popular slogan found on T-shirts, buttons and coffee mugs. ![]()
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