Lyddie: Voices from the Field - Chapter 23 Oberlin

Would Lyddie Have Liked Oberlin? Would Oberlin Have Liked Lyddie?

At the end of Katharine Paterson’s novel, Lyddie Worthen vows to leave Vermont and get an education at Oberlin College in Ohio. She would have been in for a surprise when she got there. Life at Oberlin in 1846 could be as restrictive for women as it was at Lowell.

Oberlin was established by devout Christians. They believed both men and women had an important role to play in spreading religious values, so they founded Oberlin as the first “coed” college. But while Oberlin would “take a woman just like a man,” as Lyddie says, the college was preparing men and women for different social roles (chapter 23). Women were expected to become wives, mothers, and teachers. While they were not forbidden from earning bachelor’s degrees like men, most women at Oberlin and other coed colleges chose the “ladies’ course” instead. It did not include advanced courses in political theory, ancient Greek, and Latin. These subjects were only considered necessary for “male” professions like law, medicine, or the ministry.

Student life at Oberlin was highly disciplined. Lyddie’s daily routine there would have been as demanding as it was at Lowell. When she was not in class or asleep, she would have been studying, working (every student had a campus job), or worshipping. Religious observance was mandatory, even if you weren’t religious. There were daily prayer meetings and chapel services. While women were considered more “naturally” religious than men, they were also considered the “weaker sex” and therefore more vulnerable to corruption. To protect their purity, college women were subject to a special code of conduct. It forbade them from doing things like leaving their rooms during study hours, recreating (that is, playing) on Sundays, or socializing with men without permission. Since Lyddie was a free spirit who “cared nothing for being a lady or being religious” (chapter 12) adjusting to these strict regulations would have been difficult.

It is possible Lyddie would not have been admitted to Oberlin in the first place. Female applicants were required to write a letter “certifying their present attainments, character, and promise of usefulness.” Lyddie is a hardworking and ambitious young woman with unmistakable determination. But if Oberlin learned the Concord Corporation had deemed her a “troublemaker” and fired her for “moral turpitude” (chapter 21), would a college that cared so much about women’s behavior have given her the benefit of the doubt? Her Oberlin career might well have ended before it began.

About the Author

Dr. John Frederick Bell, assistant professor of History at Assumption University and author of Degrees of Equality: Abolitionist Colleges and the Politics of Race (2022).