Prior to the Industrial revolution, the life of a young woman was one of domestic chores within the family's household, learned from their mothers from a very early age. Young girls had to learn how to perform all the domestic chores such as cooking, making and washing clothes, cleaning, etc. in order to prepare for the moment they got married. When single, the life of a girl or young woman was controlled by her father. When married, her life was controlled by her husband. Single or married, a woman would always depend on man's will. In summary, women were generally considered as inferior to men and placed under men's control.
The above-described paradigm would remain pretty much the same for a woman working in a textile factory. Even though a female factory workers earned a salary for her work, her father or husband would usually take over her money. Nevertheless, the mindset of some women would gradually begin to change. The idea of female empowerment through work began floating in the air. Before the Industrial Revolution, machines were exclusively considered as men's business. The fact that women could be equally or even more competent in operating complex machines led intelligent women think of a life free from the control of a male. Despite the logic of this reasoning, women at the time perfectly understood that a woman leading a life of her own would have to meet the overwhelming opposition of social tradition heavily supported by religion and even science.
Most women would lead exhausting lives because of working in the factory and taking care of her household (cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, etc.) and family. However, a few women dared challenge the social tradition of her time by choosing to stay single, leave their parental house and live in a place of their own, under their own rules. In time, the number of independent would grow just like their political conscience and their feeling as productive members of society worth of enjoying the same political and social rights as male citizens. By the turn of the twentieth century, women would openly fight for their rights as citizens, particularly, the right to vote for public government officials.
