--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Housekeeping is not beautiful; it cheers…" description: "\"Housekeeping is not beautiful; it cheers and raises neither the husband, the wife, nor the child; neither the host nor the guest;it oppresses women. A ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beautiful_housekeeping-is-not-beautiful-it-cheers_668365.png" --- # Housekeeping is not beautiful; it cheers and raises… ![“Housekeeping is not beautiful; it cheers and raises neither the husband, the wife, nor the child; neither the host nor the guest;it oppresses women. A house kept to the end of prudence is laborious without joy; a house kept to the end of display is impossible to all but a few women, and their…” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beautiful_housekeeping-is-not-beautiful-it-cheers_668365.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beautiful_housekeeping-is-not-beautiful-it-cheers_668365.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beautiful_housekeeping-is-not-beautiful-it-cheers_668365.png) > “Housekeeping is not beautiful; it cheers and raises neither the husband, the wife, nor the child; neither the host nor the guest;it oppresses women. A house kept to the end of prudence is laborious without joy; a house kept to the end of display is impossible to all but a few women, and their success is dearly bought.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Domestic labor is portrayed as burdensome and oppressive, especially for women, offering little joy or social elevation. **In simple terms:** Housework is hard and often oppressive for women. Key Takeaway Recognize and address gendered burdens in domestic work. Themes gender roles labor oppression social expectations Mood reflective critical somber Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - marriage - family life - household management - women's rights Key Concepts feminist critique social hierarchy domestic labor Questions to Reflect On - How can households distribute chores more equitably? - What societal changes could reduce domestic oppression? A Different Perspective It overlooks the potential for shared responsibilities and modern solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Housekeeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/housekeeping/) [Housework](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/housework/) [Husband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husband/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Prudence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prudence/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) ## Related quotes > [The cart before the horse is neither beautiful nor useful. Before we can adorn our houses with beautiful objects the walls must bestripped, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-cart-before-the-horse-is-neither-beautiful-nor-useful-before-we/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“But after all, while she was in the house, I kept myself in hand. And the worst of it all is that she's already……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/but-after-all-while-she-was-in-the-house-i-kept-myself-in-hand-and/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The house kept its own time, like the old-fashioned grandfather clock in the living room. People who happened by raised the weights, and as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-house-kept-its-own-time-like-the-old-fashioned-grandfather-clock/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I hate housework. You make the beds, you wash the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-hate-housework-you-make-the-beds-you-wash-the-dishes-and-six-months/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [Housework is a treadmill from futility to oblivion with stop-offs at tedium and counter productivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/housework-is-a-treadmill-from-futility-to-oblivion-with-stop-offs-at/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [You sometimes see a woman who would have made a Joan of Arc in another century and climate, threshing herself to pieces over all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/you-sometimes-see-a-woman-who-would-have-made-a-joan-of-arc-in/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“A household has to be tended if it is to flourish and grow. Housework is never 'done' in the same sense that gardening is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-kim-peterson/a-household-has-to-be-tended-if-it-is-to-flourish-and-grow-housework/) Margaret Kim Peterson > [My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/my-idea-of-housework-is-to-sweep-the-room-with-a-glance/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [Housework can kill you if done right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/housework-can-kill-you-if-done-right/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [The obvious and fair solution to the housework problem is to let men do the housework for, say, the next six thousand years, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-obvious-and-fair-solution-to-the-housework-problem-is-to-let-men/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [The Rose Bowl is the only bowl I've ever seen that I didn't have to clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/the-rose-bowl-is-the-only-bowl-i-ve-ever-seen-that-i-didn-t-have-to/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [The most useful and honorable science and occupation for a woman is the science of housekeeping. I know some that are miserly, very few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-most-useful-and-honorable-science-and-occupation-for-a-woman-is/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [It's the perpetually unfinished quality of housework that makes it oppressive - it never ends, like bad psychoanalysis, or a dream interrupted. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/it-s-the-perpetually-unfinished-quality-of-housework-that-makes-it/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [. .women are house as well as factory slaves and are forced to bear a double workload.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-zetkin/women-are-house-as-well-as-factory-slaves-and-are-forced-to-bear-a/) [Clara Zetkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-zetkin/) > [I've got four women in my house - my wife and my three daughters - and I tell you what, it's pretty scary. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-holloway/i-ve-got-four-women-in-my-house-my-wife-and-my-three-daughters-and-i/) [Ian Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-holloway/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Beautiful quotes > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Being beautiful comes naturally!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-beautiful-comes-naturally/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [You will never know just how beautiful you are to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-know-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [Growing up in Iceland, it was very beautiful, very safe, but quite isolated. There was something about jazz music that had a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laufey/growing-up-in-iceland-it-was-very-beautiful-very-safe-but-quite/) [Laufey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laufey/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [God's Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rothschild/god-s-word-does-provide-life-lessons-to-teach-us-how-to-live-and-it/) [Jennifer Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rothschild/) [Browse all 17,976 Beautiful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Housekeeping is not beautiful; it cheers and raises neither the husband, the wife, nor the child; neither the host nor the guest;it oppresses women. A house kept to the end of prudence is laborious without joy; a house kept to the end of display is impossible to all but a few women, and their success is dearly bought.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/housekeeping-is-not-beautiful-it-cheers-and-raises-neither-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beautiful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/housekeeping-is-not-beautiful-it-cheers-and-raises-neither-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beautiful_housekeeping-is-not-beautiful-it-cheers_668365.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beautiful_housekeeping-is-not-beautiful-it-cheers_668365.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beautiful_housekeeping-is-not-beautiful-it-cheers_668365.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Housekeeping is not beautiful; it cheers and raises neither the husband, the wife, nor the child; neither…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Housekeeping is not beautiful; it cheers...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/housekeeping-is-not-beautiful-it-cheers-and-raises-neither-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/housekeeping-is-not-beautiful-it-cheers-and-raises-neither-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```