Dolls are created for play and recreation, but their purpose is also to prepare girls for their later roles as mothers and housewives.
Until the end of the eighteenth century, children were regarded as small, unfinished adults who had to be trained for adult life. Miniature tools from the adult world were designed to familiarize them with that world and prepare them for the tasks that would later await them.
In the nineteenth century a young woman’s task was to marry and look after the home as mother and housewife. Everything needed to make the home function was also part of the doll’s life.
Third part of my summary of the online article ‘<a href=”http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Co-Fa/Dolls.html“>Dolls – History, Materials, Doll Types, Role Models, Conclusion</a>’]