more on the value of domesticity

"Like the fire, the woman is expected to cook: not to excel in cooking, but to cook... the woman is expected to tell tales to the children, not original and artistic tales, but tales--better tales than would probably be told by a first-class cook... woman must be a cook, but not a competitive cook; a school mistress, but not a competitive schoolmistress; a house-decorator but not a competitive house-decorator; a dressmaker, but not a competitive dressmaker. She should have not one trade but twenty hobbies; she, unlike the man, may develop all her second bests." G.K. Chesterton, "The Emancipation of Domesticity"