1. According to Hochschild, the footsteps suggest that Nancy is at work on her "second shift." The first shift is the full time job that takes place during the day and the second shift is what takes place after. For Nancy this includes shopping, cooking, paying bills, taking care of the car, the garden, and yard; keeping harmony with Evan's mom who drops over quite a bit, "concerned" about Joey, with neighbors, their voluble babysitter, and each other. Some of the things Nancy discusses as part of the second shift include: "We're out of barbecue sauce... Joey needs a Halloween costume... The car needs a wash.." The second shift is continued work that takes place with home life after the full time job ends.
2. The story of Evan and Nancy is based around the division of labor in the second shift. Nancy takes the responsibility of cooking, laundry, child and more where as Evan is concerned with relaxing and the garage. Their son Joey is attached mostly to Nancy and has a problem falling asleep at night. He puts most of the attention on himself and his parents have little time for themselves. There is also a disconnected relationship between Evan and Joey because Joey and Nancy are so close. They tried to make a schedule where Nancy and Evan would alternate cooking every other night. Evan would continually forget it was his night so that plan did not work out. Nancy longed for "equality" in the second shift and Evan did not feel the same way. The next plan was dividing the house into upstairs and downstairs. Nancy took the upstairs which consisted of the living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms, and two baths. Evan was responsible for the garage, car, and Max the family dog. This worked out, but Nancy soon felt resentment. Her solution was to cut down hours at work which meant that her time at home was still part of the first shift and not considered a second shift. In the end, Nancy is able to come to terms with the arrangement of everything being considered "hers." Everything is hers except for the garage; Evan takes care of and maintains the things down there. The only thing in his area that she goes near is the washer and dryer. She even got to the point where she calls Joey "her son." This arrangement made it easier for her to live with a division of labor.
3. Hochschild argues that families create myths about the household division of labor. The one that is created between Nancy and Evan is the upstairs-downstairs solution. As I discussed in the previous question, Nancy pretty much took care of the entire house while Evan was responsible for the garage, car and dog. They believed this would work because they needed it to work for their marriage. As stated by Hochschild, it allowed Nancy to continue thinking of herself as the sort-of woman whose husband didn't abuse her. However, Nancy felt resentment from this form of living. It also led to Nancy and Evan comparing different husbands they knew and how much work they did in the household.
4. According to Hochschild, the purpose of family myths is was an attempt to agree that there was no conflict over the second shift, no tension between their versions of manhood and womanhood, and that the powerful crisis that had arisen was temporary and minor. It was a solution to a problem that the family "once had." Hochschild also states that Nancy wore the upstairs-downstairs myth as an ideological cloak to protect her from the contradictions in her marriage and from the cultural and economic forces that press upon it.
5. I really enjoyed the Hochschild reading because it kept me wondering what would happen next. I did not agree with their choice of upstairs-downstairs because it was more of taking the easy way out so there was no conflict. Also, Nancy ended up doing everything while Evan pretty much got to act like a child and play with his tools. I hope that when I am married there is an equal division of labor; and when I equal I mean 50/50, not the form of equal that was established in Nancy and Evan's household. I want my husband to pitch in with the children and housework like my father does now. It takes two people to run a household so there should be no reason as to why a man can not help out.
2. The story of Evan and Nancy is based around the division of labor in the second shift. Nancy takes the responsibility of cooking, laundry, child and more where as Evan is concerned with relaxing and the garage. Their son Joey is attached mostly to Nancy and has a problem falling asleep at night. He puts most of the attention on himself and his parents have little time for themselves. There is also a disconnected relationship between Evan and Joey because Joey and Nancy are so close. They tried to make a schedule where Nancy and Evan would alternate cooking every other night. Evan would continually forget it was his night so that plan did not work out. Nancy longed for "equality" in the second shift and Evan did not feel the same way. The next plan was dividing the house into upstairs and downstairs. Nancy took the upstairs which consisted of the living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms, and two baths. Evan was responsible for the garage, car, and Max the family dog. This worked out, but Nancy soon felt resentment. Her solution was to cut down hours at work which meant that her time at home was still part of the first shift and not considered a second shift. In the end, Nancy is able to come to terms with the arrangement of everything being considered "hers." Everything is hers except for the garage; Evan takes care of and maintains the things down there. The only thing in his area that she goes near is the washer and dryer. She even got to the point where she calls Joey "her son." This arrangement made it easier for her to live with a division of labor.
3. Hochschild argues that families create myths about the household division of labor. The one that is created between Nancy and Evan is the upstairs-downstairs solution. As I discussed in the previous question, Nancy pretty much took care of the entire house while Evan was responsible for the garage, car and dog. They believed this would work because they needed it to work for their marriage. As stated by Hochschild, it allowed Nancy to continue thinking of herself as the sort-of woman whose husband didn't abuse her. However, Nancy felt resentment from this form of living. It also led to Nancy and Evan comparing different husbands they knew and how much work they did in the household.
4. According to Hochschild, the purpose of family myths is was an attempt to agree that there was no conflict over the second shift, no tension between their versions of manhood and womanhood, and that the powerful crisis that had arisen was temporary and minor. It was a solution to a problem that the family "once had." Hochschild also states that Nancy wore the upstairs-downstairs myth as an ideological cloak to protect her from the contradictions in her marriage and from the cultural and economic forces that press upon it.
5. I really enjoyed the Hochschild reading because it kept me wondering what would happen next. I did not agree with their choice of upstairs-downstairs because it was more of taking the easy way out so there was no conflict. Also, Nancy ended up doing everything while Evan pretty much got to act like a child and play with his tools. I hope that when I am married there is an equal division of labor; and when I equal I mean 50/50, not the form of equal that was established in Nancy and Evan's household. I want my husband to pitch in with the children and housework like my father does now. It takes two people to run a household so there should be no reason as to why a man can not help out.
