Acknowledgments   vii

Introduction / Charlotte J. Rich  1

Dedication to the Housewife  25

I. Handicapped  27

II. An Unnatural Daughter  37

III. Breakers  52

IV. A Crying Need  63

V. A Friend in Need  72

VI. The Cynosure  84

VII. Heresy and Schism  93

VIII. Locked Inside   104

IX. Sleeping In  114

X. Union House  127

XI. The Power of the Screw  136

XII. Like a Banyan Tree  155

XIII. All This  169

XIV. And Heaven Beside  180

Charlotte Rich

“Charlotte J. Rich has brought to light the complex history of Gilman’s insistence that housework be professionalized. In this compelling edition, we see how Gilman addressed the ‘servant question’ in light of national anxieties about race and ethnicity, class mobility, and sexual harassment. Terrific for American studies courses, What Diantha Did demonstrates Gilman’s belief that middle-class women could be saved by the invention of ‘kitchenless houses’ and professional housekeeping.”—Dale Bauer, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

“Charlotte Perkins Gilman is an important figure in both literary and intellectual history, and it’s good to have this entertaining book back in print. It’s a fascinating example of the strengths and weaknesses of the lost tradition of ‘material feminism.’ Charlotte J. Rich frames the novel in its historical moment and makes it even more readable and valuable.”—June Howard, University of Michigan

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